Liberal Democrat Gary David Goldberg created Family Ties during the Reagan administration, probably, it seemed to me as rare viewer, to make sure America saw conservatives as his rather narcissistic and cold-hearted Alex Keaton character. (I wasn't yet a Reagan conservative at the time, but even then I sensed, in such parodies, something deeply unfair going on.)

Goldberg on Reagan:

It was impossible to spend time with Ronald Reagan and to not like him, regardless of political disagreements. A special tour of the White House was arranged for me, and a young aide who kind of reminded me of Alex showed me around. Then there was a quick handshake from the president, and he waved goodbye from the helicopter. This was during the Iran-Contra scandal, but within 15 minutes of being around Reagan, I was cheering him on: "Go get those guys!" I found that I was on his side. And it wasn't just the allure of the Oval Office. Ronald Reagan himself was a captivating person.

The dangers of attempting writing someone like Alex is that, unless you have no conscience at all, an author sometimes will at time feel a need to attempt a bit of balance and fairness; he can end even up having sympathy for his "devil" character. Apparently, this happened as the series wore on.