In October 1980 Ronald Reagan, then on the presidential campaign trail, delivered a televised address and outlined his foreign policy, if elected:

“In the next few minutes, I would like to outline for you… specific steps that I will take to put America on a sound, secure footing in the international arena…

The present administration has been unable to speak with one voice in foreign policy. This must change. My administration will restore leadership to U.S. foreign policy by organising it in a more coherent way. An early priority will be to make structural changes in the foreign policy-making machinery so that the Secretary of State will be the President’s principal spokesman and adviser. The National Security Council will once again be the coordinator of the policy process…

With effective machinery in place, we must first address the conduct of our relations with our allies, with the Soviet Union, and with the People’s Republic of China. Confidence and trust in the United States have fallen to an all-time low. This must be reversed. The United States has an important leadership role, and this role can be effective only if our alliances are cemented by unity of purpose and mutual respect.

Worldwide, our allies are stronger, most are robust and healthy. But the challenge of the 1980s is to assemble that strength in a manner which allows us to pursue the objective of peace together. If our alliances are divided, only our adversaries benefit. With our allies, we can conduct a realistic and balanced policy toward the Soviet Union. I am convinced that the careful management of our relationship with the Soviet Union depends on a principled, consistent American foreign policy. We seek neither confrontation nor conflict, but to avoid both, we must remain strong and determined to protect our interests.

Our relationship with the People’s Republic of China is in its beginning stages. It is one that can and will grow, and I repeat my intention to assist its rapid growth. There is a historic bond of friendship between the American and Chinese peoples, and I will work to amplify it wherever possible. Expanded trade, cultural contact and other arrangements will all serve the cause of preserving and extending the ties between our two countries…

For our long-term strategy, the communication of our ideals must become part of our strategy for peace. We have a story to tell about the differences between the two systems now competing for the hearts and minds of mankind. There is the poverty and despair in the emerging nations who adopt Marxist totalitarianism and, by contrast, the freedom and prosperity of free-market countries like Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore.

As the next requirement for a program for peace, I would assign a high priority to strategic arms reduction. I have repeatedly said in this campaign that I will sit down with the Soviet Union for as long as it takes to negotiate a balanced and equitable arms limitation agreement, designed to improve the prospects for peace. To succeed at arms control, however, we must first be honest with ourselves so that we can be convincing with the Soviets.

We must honestly face the facts of the arms competition in which we are caught. And, we must have a view of the world that is consistent with these facts and that does not change to suit different audiences. The Carter administration told Congress that the Soviet Union has long been investing about three times as much as we have in strategic arms and is expected to continue doing so, with or without SALT – the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty…

As president, I will make immediate preparation for negotiations on a SALT III Treaty. My goal is to begin arms reductions. My energies will be directed at reducing destructive nuclear weaponry in the world, and doing it in such a way as to protect fully the critical security requirements of our nation.

The way to avoid an arms race is not simply to let the Soviets race ahead. We need to remove their incentive to race ahead by making it clear to them that we can and will compete if need be, at the same time we tell them that we prefer to halt this competition and reduce the nuclear arsenals by patient negotiation…

My task as President will be to strengthen our defences and to lead our allies in a sustained and prudent effort to keep us, and the entire world, secure from confrontation. The preservation of peace will require the best resources we can marshal in this precarious decade. We can marshal them by reaffirming our national purpose, by reasserting our will and determination, and by regaining our economic vitality.”