Nixon had a lot more on his plate. Vietnam, inflation, and the energy crisis. Also, Nixon was President while there was a powerful free press. He lit the fire, but wasn’t able to really get to work. Heck, Nixon had to start the EPA because a river caught fire.

Reagan had incredible luck. He had three Soviet leaders die within months of each other while the USSR was caught in the Afghanistan fiasco. Not to mention Chernobyl, Solidarity trade union in Poland, and other headaches. He also came in at the dawn of Fox News and the cable revolution that helped him gut the Fairness doctrine and deregulate the media.