ABSTRACT
The Barry Goldwater phenomenon is the great mystery of American politics. His nomination as Presidential candidate by the Republican Party and his campaign for election has profoundly challenged accepted theories of American politics. This chapter deals with an explanation of why Goldwater won the nomination, and provides an examination of his special political style. The convention delegates of the Democratic and Republican parties are elite groups of political activists. An important component of the Goldwater style was the guiding principle that the parties ought to be different. The privatization of politics leads to an a priori approach to politics. The campaign speeches of Barry Goldwater are a testimonial to the extraordinary importance he assigned to political style. The focus of the campaign upon problems of personal competence was directly connected with the existence of profound differences on public policy. In the light of Goldwater’s professed devotion to consistency a major paradox of the campaign was his apparent inconsistency.
