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Party foes of Reagan have responded warmly to these signs of conciliation. Few people fought Reagan harder than Richard Rosenbaum, the former New York State G.O.P. chairman who supported Ford in 1976 and is now a national committeeman. "I guess I would have to say that Reagan is an idea whose time has come," says Rosenbaum. "Our problems are behind us, and the party will come to its full potential now." That sturdy pillar of the Eastern Establishment, former Senator and U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., claims to be comfortable with a Reagan presidency. Says Lodge: "Reagan has been around. He's very practical."
It is easier, of course, to like a man if he looks like a winner, and conditions seem favorable for a Republican candidate. Though registered Republicans still number less than one-third of all voters, the U.S. is now in the middle of a recession with unemployment climbing and inflation painfully high. Signs of increased Soviet aggressiveness were capped by the invasion of Afghanistan. There is a widespread sense that President Carter is not coping well with the problems facing the country. As Senator Laxalt acidly puts it, "Jimmy Carter is an indispensable ally." Says Leonard Garment, a Wall Street lawyer who served as an aide to President Richard Nixon: "We are seeing a new nationalism, a revival of strong feelings about the country, a desire for the kind of leadership that makes Americans feel good about their country and themselves. Carter conveys a sense of self-flagellation, of guilt about our power and our past."
Republican spirits soared when a survey was released last week showing that public confidence in the G.O.P. has risen sharply. The poll, by Robert Teeter's Market Opinion Research of Detroit (commissioned by the Republican National Committee), found that 58% of the people think the G.O.P. would more effectively control Government spending, compared control Government spending, compared with 25% who believe the Democrats would do a better job. For reducing inflation, the response favored the Republicans 53% to 24%. The G.O.P. outpolled the Democrats on holding down taxes 50% to 29%. By a margin of 49% to 29%, people believe the Republicans are more likely to maintain military security. The most startling finding of all showed that Democrats are considered better able to reduce unemployment by a narrow 41% to 38%. Last fall the same survey indicated a favorable rating for the Democrats on this issue of 39% to 18%; in 1974, only 8% chose Republicans and 54% sided with Democrats. This surge in the Republicans' standing has encouraged them to concentrate on unemployment in the campaign, an issue that has belonged to the Democrats ever since the Depression. And if they do not have that issue, what do they have?