Make America Great Again....Again

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In 1980, a former California Governor and movie star burst back on the scene for his second run to be the GOP nomination for President with a campaign slogan "Make America Great Again."  First use of Make America Great Again At the time the United States was suffering with a poor economy, high jobless rate, a prolonged Cold War with the Soviet Union, rising gas prices, and an Iran that had taken Americans hostage.  For many, it seemed that America wasn't such a great place after all.  Although President Carter had the poll numbers that indicated he would win the election, a failed hostage rescue, along with other factors seemed to contribute to the win of the unknown, and untested, former California Governor and movie star.  The unknown went on to win not on the GOP nomination against the better judgement of the established GOP elite, but he also won the general election and became President.

Ronald Reagan would go on to survive an assassination attempt and help grow America's economy back into a power-house among nations.   To many, he would become one of the greatest motivators the country has ever seen and to this day he is still called "The Great Communicator."  Unlike any President since, he would make positive and pro-American comments on almost any situation from the need to defeat the Soviets, to the need for a strong family as the American backbone.  While there will always be different opinions about exactly what Reagan did right and what he did wrong, few can argue that his campaign slogan became a driving force behind the 1980's boom.

The slogan originated, perhaps because until that time nobody wanted to ever admit that America might not be as great as it once was.  It has become the cornerstone of dozens of political campaigns since.  It's no wonder that Donald Trump, the presumed nominee for the 2016 GOP presidential candidate, would latch onto Reagan's famous slogan.  Once again "Make America Great Again" is being splashed across the world.  This time, unlike in Reagan's time, social media, websites, text, and community journalism around the world is picking up the slogan.  For, or against him, Trump has made the slogan almost seem like his own.  It's apparent to anyone paying attention, that the slogan "Make America Great Again" is back....again.

Some things the reader may want to keep in mind as we rapidly approach the general election.  First, like Reagan, Trump is also an outsider to Washington politics.  Both had ties to people in Washington, but neither one had ever held a Washington insider job before.  The second thing to keep in mind is that both had their share of radio and television time before running.  In other words both are able to reach out to the general population and communicate.  While many may say Trump is politically incorrect, those same people would do well to remember that without social media quoting everything he said each second of the day that Reagan was also politically incorrect on a lot of things.   Finally, both Reagan and Trump were not well liked by the GOP top tier.  In other words, they were not the party favorite for the nomination.  That one thing they share alone may be enough to push Trump into the White House, because the voters seem to want Washington outsiders who care more about America than about looking good on the news while making their party grow.