Ronald Reagan was highly successful politically with a message of optimism.

Judge as of 2018-10-09. TRUE: Reagan won major political victories (e.g. the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections, the latter by a landslide, and/or high approval when he left office), AND historians and political analysts widely describe his campaign and political message as optimistic (e.g. the 'Morning in America' campaign). MOSTLY TRUE: both hold, but sources describe optimism as only one of several main themes of his message. MIXED: he was clearly successful, but historians dispute whether optimism was a defining part of his message, or the reverse. MOSTLY FALSE: his message was optimistic but his political success was limited or mixed. FALSE: he was not politically successful, and his message was not characterized as optimistic.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 In dark times, Reagan ran on optimism NBC News · 13 October 2008

   “[Optimism] was just such a natural characteristic of Ronald Reagan that it was implicit in everything we did,” Meese said.”

2. E2 'Aura of good feeling' will be the hallmark of Reagan campaign The Christian Science Monitor · 17 July 1980

   “This GOP convention is setting a tone that Ronald Reagan intends to carry on throughout the campaign and, if he wins, into his administration, say his top campaign aides.”

3. E3 Matthew Dallek: The Divisive Underbelly of Reagan's Sunny Optimism History News Network · 3 February 2011

   “In Reagan's lexicon, optimism competed with anger.”

4. E4 In dark times, Reagan ran on optimism NBC News · 13 October 2008

   “In the face of a troubled economy and deep voter pessimism about the direction of the country, Ronald Reagan accepted his party’s nomination for president in 1980 with a stirring speech that promised better days ahead.”

5. E5 A Look Back At The Polls CBS News · June 2004

   “By Election Day, 1984, Reagan's popularity had rebounded to 58 percent, enough to carry 49 states, but by March of 1987, Iran-Contra had reduced it once again”

6. E6 Book Excerpt: President Reagan, The Role of a Lifetime | American Experience | PBS PBS (excerpt from Lou Cannon, President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, Public Affairs) · 2000

   “and then beating Bush for the GOP nomination and defeating President Jimmy Carter in 1980.”

7. E7 What US Scholars Think of the Reagan Presidency. He restored prestige of White House, but doubts on policies persist. PRESIDENTIAL REPORT CARD The Christian Science Monitor · 12 January 1989

   “He's made us feel good about the presidency and the country.”

8. E8 Book Excerpt: President Reagan, The Role of a Lifetime | American Experience | PBS PBS (excerpt from Lou Cannon, President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, Public Affairs) · 2000

   “a national survey of academic historians and political scientists conducted by the Siena Research Institute ranked him twenty-second among the then-forty U.S. presidents.”

Reagan's political success is documented by independent sources: he defeated President Carter in 1980 (E6), and by Election Day 1984 his popularity was 58 percent, enough to carry 49 states (E5). Independent coverage describes his message as optimistic. His 1980 acceptance speech promised better days ahead at a time of national pessimism (E4). His aides planned an "aura of good feeling" for the campaign (E2). Ed Meese said optimism was implicit in everything the campaign did (E1), and a scholar credited Reagan with making Americans feel good about the country (E7). However, historian Matthew Dallek writes that "optimism competed with anger" in Reagan's message (E3), which fits the criteria's "mostly true" case, where optimism is one of several main themes.