Bookends Visions of America

"Reagan and his redefinition of what to admire in our national character proved to be the irresistible forces of the campaign," writes William Henry in his account of the lopsided 1984 election. Reagan won 59% of the popular vote not because he outcampaigned Walter Mondale. Instead, says Henry, who covered the election as TIME's Press writer and is now the magazine's drama critic, the winning candidate identified himself with the growing national appetite "for optimism, for prosperity, for the strength of the individual and the stability of the national defense." Mondale's jeremiads about fairness and budget deficits were well aimed, in Henry's view, but the cola- commercial vision of America that Reagan sold voters had little room for unpleasant realities. Democrats should watch more television.

Henry has avoided the ordinary postelection recap of secret strategy sessions and off-camera skulduggery. Instead, Visions is a delightfully opinionated essay on politics, social change and the rise of the political right.