The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics
Nineteen sixty-six was a pivotal year of national turmoil and change. From the Watts riots the summer before to the burgeoning anti-war protests, America was on the verge of a major revolution. A revolution that would begin with Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in the California gubernatorial race.Before 1966 Reagan was regarded as a B-movie actor, shrill anti-Communist, and president of the Screen Actor's Guild, not the leader of a major political movement that would forever change American politics. Pat Brown, his rival in the race for California, was a seasoned professional: "The Giant Killer" who had defeated Richard Nixon in 1962 and represented the best of liberal America. How a small time conservative Republican could beat this popular and powerful Democrat by over a million votes is a fascinating story that takes us to the heart of who Ronald Reagan was, as a man and as a politician.
With charm and insight, Matthew Dallek shows how Reagan, through his tremendous political savvy, was able to assess the climate far better than his rival and deliver what people wanted. He chronicles a victory that marked the beginning of a complete shift in politics that would eventually carry Ronald Reagan to the White House.
