The Soviets saw this, and backed down. The investment community saw this, and ratcheted up the stock market to unprecedented levels. The American people saw this, and consumed in record amounts. I hated Reagan. Because he was not an intellectual and because, as a result of this trait, he was so maddeningly successful.
Intellectuals hate to see idiots succeed.
It invalidates the intellectual and his quibbling. It renders insignificant the intellectual's arduous path of policy Sturm und Drang. All that is required is unwavering conviction and a little bit of charm. By nature, unwavering convictions are anathema to the thinker, who dissects and questions all. Bush is constitutionally incapable of such Sophistry.