Would he rant and curse like Nixon and kick in television screens whenever the latest countercultural outrage presented itself? Did he see himself as the guardian of all that was decent and virtuous? Or were his actions and statements motivated more by simple politics and cynicism, playing to the so-called 'silent majority' (which wasn't yet called that by then, I assume)?

By "counterculture" I have specifically in mind the whole HaightAshbury/SunsetStrip milieu. The ones who "live like Tarzan, look like Jane, and smell like Cheetah", to quote Mr. Reagan. Although I know he flipped out over the Oakland Black Panthers, and had it out for the Berkeley radicals.

Any further reading/sources would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.