Reagan v. the Beltway

Occasionally, Washington outsiders have tried to tame the ultimate company town but few were as stunningly successful. A look back at his arrival shows that other than the favorite restaurants, little has changed in the capital. “The incredulity that a man with such extraordinary views and such an unconventional background could sweep to the pinnacle of power is testimony to the isolation of Washington, D. C., and the parochialism of the media and political class,” Steven F. Hayward writes in The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution 1980-1989. “The political class regards only official appointments and long tenure in elected office as genuine ‘experience,’ and deprecates the way in which private participation in public affairs can prepare someone for high office.”

Hayward, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, will be the featured speaker at Accuracy in Academia’s next author’s night on November 5, 2009 @ Armand’s on Capitol Hill from 6-8 PM.

Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.