Forty-four years ago, Ronald Reagan asked the most devastating question in presidential-campaign politics. “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” he asked in reference to the Jimmy Carter presidency, an utter disaster economically and on foreign policy. That question crystallized an American electorate tired of being told to get used to decline, and it touched off an economic and military revival that eventually ended the Cold War.
Tonight, the theme for the Republican national convention is “Make America Strong Again,” a slogan that got a broad sweep in the speeches from the stage. Border security dominated the earlier speeches, but Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia focused on military readiness and standing in the world, as did the speakers that followed. He reversed the Reagan question, and instead asked delegates and viewers to think in these terms: “Are our…
