Oliver Sacks had an essay in one of his books, called, "The President's Speech," which we can work out referred to Reagan, based on the timeline. It was about watching a televised speech with a group of total aphasic people. As they were unable to understand language, they just watched the presentation and pomp, as well as the President's body language.

They all found it a hoot. They laughed and laughed, and had a grand old time.

This suggests to me that Reagan was popular based on his personal affect, bypassing his supporters' critical thinking and appealing to them on an emotional, subconscious level. That's why none of them could give a coherent answer as to why they liked him.