# Who first called Reagan “The Great Communicator”?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-called-reagan-the-great-communicator/1008241>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 29, 2024, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-called-reagan-the-great-communicator/1008241 "2024-09-29T14:06:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-called-reagan-the-great-communicator/1008241/1 "2024-09-29T14:06:03Z")

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In the song “Popular” from _Wicked_, Galinda has the line _When I see depressing creatures/With unprepossessing features/I remind them on their own behalf/To think of/Celebrated heads of state/Or ‘specially Great Communicators_…

To begin with, I’ve always interpreted that as a sly dig at President Reagan, who was often characterized as “The Great Communicator” (especially since she goes on to sing _Did they have brains or knowledge?/Don’t make me laugh!_).

But I never knew who first applied the term to Reagan, or even if it was coined specifically for him. Do Dopers know?

TIA

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-called-reagan-the-great-communicator/1008241/2 "2024-09-29T14:33:51Z")

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This NYT article refers in turn to a 1976 NYT column referring to him as a great communicator: [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/13/weekinreview/and-yes-he-was-a-great-communicator.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/13/weekinreview/and-yes-he-was-a-great-communicator.html). I couldn’t find any earlier references.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-first-called-reagan-the-great-communicator/1008241/3 "2024-09-29T14:39:57Z")

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That could be the earliest reference. Later on Pat Buchanan among others used the term frequently.