About Robert Teeter: Robert M. Teeter was an American Republican pollster and political campaign strategist.
Without a Mayaguez, or something comparable that we don't see in the immediate future, there is probably no one thing the President can do to himself to turn this situation around.
This is easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but I think it once again points out how very important style of leadership, that is the way he does what he does, is to his perception.
Many citizens see all the leadership of these large institutions together in a conspiracy against them rather than in any adversary relationship with each other.
Research has shown that the perceived style of leadership is by far the most important thing to most voters in evaluating officeholders and candidates.
We have for the past year and undoubtedly will be for the next year, dealing with an electorate that is more alienated and more cynical than at any point in modern time.
The endorsement of respected conservative Republican officeholders and politicians is particularly important at this time as to destroy Reagan's credibility as a loyal Republican.
The President's political travel is going to get blamed (and probably rightly) for a share of this downturn.
The President has not created any Ford constituency, unique from that of any Republican President. The one exception to this is that he does show unique strength with young voters for a Republican.
As the society has gotten larger and more complex, individuals have lost their ability to influence any of the institutions that affect their lives.
Look at the declining television coverage. Look at the declining voting rate. Economics and economic news is what moves the country now, not politics.
While only about half of the voters feel they know very much about Reagan or what he stands for, the Republicans who do have a very positive perception of him.
We ought not to be looking for something spectacular but rather develop a plan in conjunction with the White House to work our way out of this problem over the next six weeks.
