AUTHOR DISCUSSES RONALD REAGAN'S ROLE

When Ronald Reagan spoke publicly he didn't just deliver a speech, he told a story -- a story of America, filled with the dramatic tales of achievements by regular people or of the great challenges the nation had faced.

Dr. Kurt Ritter described the former president's oratorical technique, style and power during a lecture Tuesday night at the Southeast Missouri State University Center.

"The debate continues on Reagan's place in American history," Ritter said. "There is no doubt about his position as an orator."

The director of graduate study in the speech department at Texas A&M University, Ritter is the author of "Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator." His is working on a second book about America's 40th president.

"Why was he such an effective political persuader? Ronald Reagan became the Great Communicator because he made preparation of political speeches a high priority," Ritter said.

Reagan was his own chief speech writer, according to Ritter. Reagan was constantly writing and rewriting his speeches, adding revisions even as he delivered his oratory.

"Why was he such a good speech writer? No. 1, because he had something to say," said Ritter.

Reagan's political philosophy, and hence the content of his speeches, were confined to four basic themes:

-- Government which governs best governs least.

-- A society based on individual freedom and private enterprise will prosper.

-- Government regulations menace the freedom of Americans.

-- Soviet communism is the greatest threat to American freedom.

Through his experience as an actor, Reagan also knew how to skillfully use the visual aspects of television to enhance and reinforce his words.

"He made television his ally, not his enemy," Ritter said, noting that some presidents, notably Lyndon B. Johnson, didn't have the knack.

It was Reagan's words, however, not his presence and personality that delivered the most punch, Ritter said, citing the former president's emotional handwritten note to the nation a year ago in which he acknowledged his affliction with Alzheimer's disease.

"His words alone, even when not spoken in that velvety voice, could touch the hearts of Americans," Ritter said.

Ritter also touched on the impact on Reagan's life of the Rev. Ben E. Cleaver, his pastor in Dixon, Ill. Cleaver moved to Cape Girardeau in the late 1940s.

Cleaver was a surrogate father for the future president, whose real father was a drunkard. Cleaver's daughter, Margaret Cleaver, was Reagan's high-school and college sweetheart.

Ritter attributed much of Reagan's moral development and ideals to the Rev. Cleaver, with whom Reagan regularly corresponded and visited until his death in 1976.