American History

Even though in at least one instance, he informed on an opponent who publicly insulted him.

He was also spokesperson for GE, where he traveled the country giving speeches to industry groups. It was then that he perfected "The Speech", which he wrote on notecards and edited regularly reflecting audience response. Of course, because of the make up of his audience, it became more and more conservative, nationalistic, and what we would today call bigoted. The Speech was so effective that he used it and variants of it throughout his career. it was through The Speech that he gained political backing and the attention of big money donors.

But my personal opinion is he was an imitation John Wayne. His career in movies was being cast as a John Wayne B-movie substitute, and I believe his political career was also as a substitute for conservatives who wished bygod John Wayne was running things.