I (and others) have opined on several occasions that the GOP always wants to nominate Ronald Reagan. Using that as a yardstick, how does Cruz measure up?
There are some similarities. Cruz, like Reagan, comes from the southwest. He looks comfortable in cowboy attire. Both of them were strong believers in traditional values. Finally, the two have two other important traits in common: the belief in simple black-and-white solutions to complex problems; and the complete lack of doubt in the righteousness of the cause.
In my eyes, however, the differences outweigh the similarities. Regardless of whether you think Reagan was a good President or not, you have to concede that he had a grace about him that appealed to people on both sides of the aisle. He was unfailingly optimistic, had a wonderful sense of humor, and was surprisingly tolerant on a personal level of social and ideological differences. In short, even his political opponents liked him, and many of them were willing to work with him.
There is a excellent profile of Cruz in a David Brooks column in today’s NYT. I have analogized him to a vampire; you could also call him a human death star, or a black hole. He just exudes a sort of negative force that feeds on the anger of his supporters. He has no interest in reaching out to anyone who doesn’t agree with him, because he views his opponents as being evil, not just wrong. His personality, therefore, is the opposite of Reagan’s.
Can you imagine seeing and listening to this guy on TV every day for four years? Neither can I, which, in the final analysis, is the principal reason why I don’t think he can win a nationwide general election–even more than his extremist views on taxes, spending, abortion, etc.