Reagan’s back in town

The Gipper has a new presence in the nation’s capital.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute — the nonprofit which sustains the magnificent Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California — has opened an office in Washington. The new Reagan Institute, situated in offices a mere two blocks from the White House, has a clear mission, and that is to tend to “Reagan’s unfinished business,” and to promote the vision and values of the 40th president. It’s a first. No other presidential foundation has established a formal D.C. presence.

The newly appointed pointman and director of the organization is Roger Zakheim, a thoughtful, canny attorney with a formidable track record of wrangling policy, power, complex budgets and government affairs with finesse.

Mr. Zakheim is also at ease with the media, having served as deputy assistant secretary of defense and currently a member of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy of the United States. His task is to develop public programming, issue-driven forums, exhibits, and education outreach of the new Reagan site.

Mr. Zakheim says he is looking forward to his new role, and vows he’ll work “to ensure the Reagan presidency continues to inform and inspire the politics and policies of our country.”

The new institute is making an emphatic and impressive debut.

The bipartisan Reagan Institute Summit on Education — affectionately known as “RISE” — begins Thursday in Washington, featuring Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and not one but seven former Secretaries of Education. That rarefied roster for the daylong event includes William Bennett, whose tenure in the Reagan administration began in 1985.

Mrs. DeVos and Mr. Bennett, in fact, will sit down to parse educational policies both past and present that can have profound effects on American families — including the Every Student Succeeds Act, school choice, measurements of student achievement and alternatives to traditional higher education.

Then there are the other six learned luminaries: former secretaries Sen. Lamar Alexander — a Tennessee Republican who served during George H.W. Bush administration — Richard W. Riley, Rod Paige, Margaret Spellings, Arne Duncan and John B. King.

Also on the list of 30 speakers: Condoleezza Rice, currently a Stanford University economy professor; Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University; Janet Napolitano, president of University of California; Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Virginia Foxx, former second lady Jill Biden, plus numerous school superintendents and experts of multiple persuasions.

All will review the “shifting educational landscape” over the last three decades.

The institute itself also offers Leadership and the American Presidency, a new scholarship program for undergraduate students centered in Washington and meant to “cultivate the next generation of citizen leaders” — Reagan style. The program, in short, provides “real history, real leaders, real world” experiences, with academic courses accredited through George Mason University’s School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs.

SURPRISING SUPPORT FOR TRUMP’S BORDER GUARD

Maybe Americans are not so opposed to President Trump’s proposal to deploy National Guard troops to the southern U.S. border — a move which ultimately could fire up his base of support as the midterms and presidential elections loom on the horizon.

A new Morning Consult/Politico poll finds that 49 percent of voters overall approve of the idea, along with 90 percent of voters who have a “very favorable” opinion of Mr. Trump, 87 percent of those who voted for him, 84 percent of Republicans in general, 80 percent of conservatives and 63 percent of evangelicals.

“President Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops is a hugely popular move with his base,” says Kyle Dropp, co-founder of the poll and chief research officer.

Predictably, only 22 percent of Democrats like the idea of a U.S. troop presence on the border — though 44 percent of independents and even 42 percent of Hispanics give it the thumbs up.

THE TRUE VALUE OF TRUMP TWEETS

Here’s the standard operating procedure in the age of social media: President Trump tweets, his fans rejoice, his critics complain, things get done and the media melts down.

“Washington has never seen a president operate like this. This seat-of-the-pants style makes him hard to cover, hard to work for and hard to negotiate with. But here’s the contrarian view: Trump is extremely frustrated with the slow pace of government. Having rid himself of some of his more cautious aides, he’s more determined than ever to trust his instincts and shake things up,” writes Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz.

“And he does this by announcing, or tweeting, ‘decisions’ that land with explosive impact in the media and political world. That forces everyone else to react. He moves the debate onto his turf. In other words, Trump’s pronouncements are actually just a negotiating position, as he would do as a Manhattan businessman. He dominates the media coverage, which he loves, and then the details are worked out — or not,” says Mr. Kurtz. “Maybe Trump’s shoot-first style will ultimately pan out and maybe it won’t. But given the Beltway’s bureaucratic obstacles, it’s not as crazy as it seems.”

FOXIFIED

As always, Fox News Channel wins the cable news ratings derby according to Nielsen Media Research, drawing 2 million prime time viewers last week to MSNBC’s 1.7 million and CNN’s 897,000. In the daylight hours, Fox News enjoyed a 1.3 million member audience compared to MSNBC with 943,000 and CNN with 664,000.

In addition, Fox News leads the entire cable realm during the day, ahead of HGTV and other non-news rivals, and is ranked second during prime time hours, just behind TBS, which got a one-time benefit from the NCAA basketball tournament.

Fox Business Network, meanwhile, continues to top CNBC according to Nielsen with a 12 percent overall advantage. “Varney & Co.” is marking its 46th consecutive week as the most watched market-focused program, while “Lou Dobbs Tonight” remained the No. 1 business-news program.

POLL DU JOUR

• 49 percent of voters rely more on national news to stay informed, 37 percent rely more on local news, 14 percent don’t know or have no opinion.

• 50 percent say national news is “liberal” in tone, 14 percent say it is conservative, 10 percent say it is centrist/non-partisan, 25 percent don’t know.

• 36 percent say local news is liberal, 28 percent say conservative, 13 percent say centrist/non-partisan, 23 percent don’t know.

• 27 percent trust national news more “to tell the truth”; 41 percent trust local news more; 32 percent don’t know.

Source: A Morning Consult/Politico poll of 1,994 registered U.S. voters conducted April 5-7.

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