I was more talking about never assuming good faith when dealing with. Obviously Reagan and Bush were inconsistent, but it is possible to negotiate with terms that they will choose to follow. These negotiations wouldn't be built on trust, but accurate assessments of self interest. No trust is needed in that sort of deal.

Fascists can be easier to predict if you ignore their words and look at their actions. They don't behave consistently with words, but they do behave consistently in strategy.