I
J~/7
Reprintpd by pprmission from
€l}r ~('wfiotk Q!imnJ~a.tit\t
OC TOBItR 6. 19a~
Copyri[,ht ( c) 1985 by t he Np.w York Times
I ..
By Leslie H. Ce!b
ONALD
REAGAN
JS
unique in the his lory of
American Presidents. He is
alone In pos s es~l ng the mind
of both an Ideologue and a
politician.
He has all the moral force
and power that swell {rom
abso lute conviction. His
rhetorical lightning bolts
aboul what IS good and evil
seem to set him apa'rt from
the wodd ot waffling politi.
cians. Yet. unlike other true
believers who have a~
cended the n;.ltional s lage like a Barry Goldwater or a
William Jennings Bryan - he is a natural horsetrader. often compro,nisJng his positions to move
toward his political ends.
,.
Somehow. this contradictory cast ot mind
works for Ronald Reagan. In political terms, he
has been an extraordinary success. His popularity remains astronomical. For all of his compromises, he stlll manages to look like a man ot
unbending principle. He has seen many of his
ideas translated into legislation, and helped move
the n ational agenda In his diTection - toward the
right.
Yet the President's commitment to his prln cl~
pies bas led him to take extraordinary, controversial actions, such as running up unprecedented
bud pet defiCits and Igniting new mi lita ry compeUllon with the Soviet Union In space. Critics and
even members of his own staff question just how
Leslie H. Gelb is The Times 's natio,tal security
correspondent.
iT5'7Zl
deeply he understands the issues in these and
other BreDS. They worry about his frequent carelessness with the {acts.
How can one understand the min d of Ronald
Reagan'?
.
That was the central question posed In dozens of
Interviews w ith President Reagan's past and
presE'nt aides, whh his adversari es and during an
hour-long Interview with the President himself.
They were also asked how he goes about making
deCisions. his sense of history, his system (or getting Information. the roles played by his wife and
hisnides.
What emerged was a rich, provocative and
sometimes contradictory portrall. N It one of the
friends and aides interviewed, for example, suggested that the PreSident was, In any conventiona l sense, analytical, Intellectually curious or
well·informed - even though it would have been
easy and na tura l for them to say so. They clearly
d id not think it necessary. Time and again, they
painted a picture of a man who had serious intel·
lectual shOrtcomings but was a political heavyweight. a leader whose insUncts and intuition
were right more often than their own analyses.
His mind, they said, is shaped almost entirely by
his own personal history, not by pondering on history books - he thinks anecdotally, not analytJ.
An ideologue, yet a
consummate politician,
RonaJd Reagan is uniqu~
among U.S. Presidents.
. cali),.
The President's mind, they suggested, turns on
two philosophical poles, truth and n ecessity. To
him. truths are Simple and he knows them. He
may momentarily' yield if he feels he has no
choice politically, but he almost InvarIably keeps
coming back to his principles. And he Is tough.
minded and stubborn about it. No souner does he
compromise (as he did in 1981, approving a tax
measure thal had fewer breaks for business than
he wa nted) than he reaffirms his goal (slashing
Government r egulation of business) . He Is a sincere believer, his aides say, but they also depict
(
.~
!:.lANLEYTAE1K
The Prmdmt (in the Owl Office, opposilt" page)
kups 0 IJmbol ofprOgmolUm (01Jow) on Ilu desk.
"If! con t el 70 or 80 percmt ofwhat if is I'm
trying 10 get, .. he JIIys, """Iote IMI and tllm
continue 10 try 10 get th~ ,.~t. ..
T
I.
him as a man who is quite capable of sophlstlcaled maneuvering thal incl udes the usual Itlnds
01 political deception.
These are the keys to Ronald Reagan's th inking
- and to h is poli tical success as head of the
Screen Actors Guild, as Governor of Ca lifornia
a nd ' President of t11e United States. ill S c ritics
h a ve otten attributed those successes to his slUlls
as the "Great Communicator" or to bumbling
good luck. But the President knows what he is
dOing, when to yield and when to fight , and he
t alked freely about It during a n interview in the
Oval Office.
At one point , he was asked about cnt icism of
some of the political compromises he has made,
He s aid he knew who the critics were.
"Die-hard conservatives though t that if 1 couldn 't gel everything I aske d for, 1 should Jump off
the cliff wltl1 the fla g Hying - go down In fl ames.
No, if I can get 70 or 80 percent of what It Is I'm
try ing to get, yes I'll take tha t a nd then continue
to try to gel the rest in the future. And m aybe .it's
easier to get it as they see that this works. And
lhis was what they were c ritical of. They couldn't
stand it that 1 would compromise and se ttle for
less than I'd ask."
Just witl1in the past month, P resident Reagan
has dramatica lly d emonstrated this political (lexlol1ity on forei gn trade. For four and a ha lf years,
he stoutly resiste d protectionist pressures from
Cungress. But with the trade deficit approaching
$15l1 billion for the year, and with Cong ress threatening ils own action, he shl-tted ground - seeking
sub:;l(.lics for Ameri Cal1 exports and drivi l1g down
lhe value of the dolla r to make American Imports
dearer and exports cheaper.
The Presidem was ve ry much in control of lhe
in terview, durll1g which we were seated side-bySide faCing a camel-a in front of the fi replace.
Asked why he had been underestimated !hrou6hout his politica l life , he los t his smile. Turning his
h ••d, he flJted me wit.h a hard stare as If hitcl'llng
up his bell for a brawl. " By whom?" he wanted to
know. That toughness, natural and pu rposeful,
wa:o; in e vidence every t ime he felt cha llenl~ed.
"The polls kind of Il1dicate that the jolJ rating
right now IS very reassuring," he cOl1tinued.
Maybe, he said, reople ha d someti mes underestimated him because or "m y prevIous profession"
as an actor. " You know, it was only a generation
ago that actors couldn't be buried in the c hurchyard . "
The President said wha t he wanted to say, his
mind never wavering from tha t goal. lie was
askt.'<1 about his sense of hislory. "You have to
have an historical background Cor rea ll y sane
policy decisions," he rep lied. Then he told about
dQlnJ.!, hiS " own research" while writing speeches
early til his cal;eer, and that led suddenly to an explanation or how he stopped be ing a New Deal
Democrat when he came to believ e that " govern.
ment had grown beyond the consent of the gov('rned Olnd that It was gove rnment tha t· was can·
\nbutlng to our econumic woes - and incidentally, I'm not an intellectual , but my degree was in
economics. "
He WilS asked to expla in some of his contradictory statements and act ions. H e condemned the
Panama Canal Trealy bl' tore becoming Presldt'nl, but has done nothing about It since. "Wen,
Il's passeU." He h a d ca\\ed lhe. sign ed
b\ll unra\\lied SALl' n Treaty of t979 "fa tally flawed," but
"as be~n \n{ot'ma\\'j (lbseN\n\'. \ts \eTms as PTCS\tl\:nL "I learned that the Sovie t Union had a capacity to Increase weaponry much fas ter than Ole
treaty PQrmitled, and we didn't," What at-v ...t lhe
huge national debt - it hils more than doubled in
the five years of his Administ rati on - in light ot
his prumise to eliminate deficits? "They aren't
quite as far out of line if you take them as a percentage of gross na Uonal product."
It was an interview with a man who had a dear
Idea of what he wa nted to accomplish and how to
go about It. Yet, according to his friends and
aides, he can be complex, opaque. They ha d trouble explaining his occasional moral obtusenessas In his statement that the German soldiers
buried in the cemetery at Bitburg were "victims
of Nazism ... victims, just CIS surely as the victims in the concentration camps." Faced with a
dec ision, he will usually consult with his staff and
take thei r advice, but sometimes he suddenly
ve-ers 0(( on hIs own In entirely new, untried directions. He can be so secretive that his aides could
not predict with any confidence what kind of compromises he might make, either at the November
sum mIt meeting In Geneva with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev or with Congressional leaders
on tax reform and trade.
In so m a ny ways, for good or ill, Ronald Reagan
is a different kind ot Preside nt.
"
NE KEY TO PRESlDENT "\
Reagan's success is rhat he's
always been underestimated," says Michael K . Deaver,
aide to Governor Reagan in
California, deputy chief of
staff in the first Presidential
term and a close personal
friend of Nancy Reagan. It
has been said again alld again
by those who have worked
with and against the President, but it never seems (0
Sink in.
The standard Ilne from
most academics and commen·
tators is that tl1e President is
Ignora nt, dogmat ic and lucky - very lucky - and
that he geLe; by on being a nice guy and a maiter ot
the media. But that ignores eight successful years
as Governor. four as President and a resounding
re-election in 1984. No one is that lucky, that nice
and that sonorous,
Time after time during 'ils Pre!lldency, Ronald
Reagan has demonstrated his unrelenting determination to have his way. In the process, he may
outrage supporters, employ sophistry, totally reverse his position while all the while de nying It.
Yet he is also capable of making tl1e lUnd of difficult dectsions his recent predecessors in the White
House ha ve avoided. It is a different cast of mind.
Richard Ni xon and Jimmy Carter, for example,
of len played at the margins of Issues, moving incrementally. President Nixon withdrew from
Vie tna m s lowly, :lver ye ars, and never finished
lhe job: President Reagan withdrew American
forces from Lebanon in a Single stroke. President
Carter tin kered with the economy; President
Reagan m a de bold, vast changes.
Previous Presidents have spent theJrdays read.
ing le ngthy poSition papers, meeting with outside
experts, keeping up to the minute on international
deve lopments. But President Reagan, according
to legislators and others who see him privately,
gene rally shows little knowledge about most subjects under discussion. They say that his participation In discussions is often exhausted after he
has read aloud the Information his staff has written for him on three· by-five Index cards.
According to a member 01 the President's Commission on Strategic: Forces, "He never partiCipated I n meetings beyond what he'd been told to
say by Sud McFarlane." (Robert C. McFarlane Is
\\\e P\"es\dent's nat\ona\ securi,ty advi,ser.) "He
didn't undersLand what It was we were trying to
do with strategic programs and arms control. He
just understood that what we were recommending
was the way to get the MX missile."
But whatever the President did or dld not un·
derstand, he bought the commission's comprom ise proposal. worked out a deal with Congress
and got his missIle.
Controve rsy bas erupted this year over the
President's words and actions concerning Bltburg
'When there's a conflict
of the people around him,
he opts for keeping
the pragmatists.'
OENNIS BRACK/Bl.ACK 51 AA
Nancy R~olon and (opposiu PO/~) 11r~ President
willi (from Ie/I) DelmJ~ Secraary Cmpor
Weinba'la', Secretary of Stale Georg~ Shultz and
nO/lono/ Jecrmiy advis~ Robert McFarlane.
and South Africa. How was it possible that a
I,
From his mother came a
kind of fundamentalism;
from his father came'
populist instincts.
NtiI, ROIIIIIJ 11114 N~Uie­
A IIrOnI ~ ofn'gN
IIiIIIlIiIiaiIIll,,111M lUI tl1III'.dllism IMI
"'-~ism.
President could be so untiloughttul and so ill-informed?
During the course ot a European tour, the White
House announced, the President would visit we
German military ce metery at Bltburg. When it
became known that Nazi S.S. troops were buried
there, we up:oar began. According to Soml" or the
aides directly Involved In the Issue, virrually all of
the President's statt recommended that the visit
be canceled. Nancy Reagan agreed, says a senior
aide, "because she felt it was a n~win situation
and would ruin the Presidenc's whole trip to Europe." The President's comment equating soldiers and Holocaust victims added fuel to the tire.
But the President was adamant. The senior aide
quotes the President as telling his staf(; "I don't
want you to change anything. History will show
I'm doing the right thing." He was going to prove
to the Gennan Government that he was a staunch
aUy, and, according 10 several ot his aides, he predicted.that lhe incident would soon be forgotten.
Why did he make the "victims of Nazism" remark? Some ot his aides suggest that their boss
Just did not think the issue through and spoke ort,
the top of his head. In the interview in the OvaJ Office, he insisted; "Never would I ever suggest
that those other victims were victims in the same
sense as the victims of the Holocaust." Yet that
was In fact the suggestion he had made, seeking to
justlfy his visit to the German cemetery.
In August, President Reagan declared that the
Government of SOuth Africa had "eliminated the
segregation that we once had in our own COWl- '
try." The statement produced an uproar.
But the President had made the remark as part
of a defense ot his firmly held policy at the time,
that the best means of innuencing Pretoria was to
avoid public condemnation of the Government
there. And though he somewhat backed off from
his words, he was still ambivalent. At a press conference, the President said he hadn't intended to
say what he did, and ne went on: "( did know that
all the people that have been coming back here
have becn r eporting to me on how widespread was
this, and I' m sorry that 1 carelessly gave the impression that 1 believed that it had bean totally
eliminated. There are areas where it hasn't." Indeed, most areas.
Not for the (irst time, the Presiditnl was - after
having a factual crror pointed out - hanging
tough, even repeating the original error, A willingness to knowingly bend the truth It it serves his
cause is part ot the political technique of mo~t
Presidents. President Reagan does not nonnally
get blamed tor it. But this is the same man who,
while refUSing to publicly name Communist sympathizers beCore tbe House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950's, was privately
providlng the names to tile F. B.l.
." Michael Deaver sees his tormer boss In Somewhat different terms: "The President has been
accused of contradictIng himself and denies it,
and he believes his denlals. He rationalizes them
in hls own mind. When It comes to changing positions, he convinces himself tilat It has to be done
in the short term, but he keeps his goals ...
These qualities were clearly demonstrated in
President Reagan'S decisions on Lebanon and on
the deficit.
When the President sent the Marines to Lebanon, he declared that the viability of tbat nation
was vital to American security. Congress went
along wilh the decisiof' When he took the Marines
out, after 241 Americans were killed by a terrorist
bomb and Lebanon lay in chaos, he insisted that
thei.t mission had been accomplished.
A senior Administration omci ~' explained. the
President's moves this way : "The statement
about getling inlo Lebanon, the importance of
Lebanon, was made to justify the action. He 00- .
Jleved in the vitalness ot Lebanon because that is
what his briefing papers said. When it was time to
-
- -= -
take the Marines out, 1 don 't think he believed
their Job was done, as he said publicly. He had to
put the best race on a bad situation."
In the end, President Reagan decided to cut his
losses, even though he knew it would be viewed by
many as confirming a major policy error. Other
Presidents have been unwililng to face that consequence.
Ronald Reagan showed equal boldness when it
came to making the deciSions th~t led. to the doubling ot the Federal deficit. According to a senior
Administration official, the President was well
aware that the burgeoning deficit could lead to a
severe economic downturn. He was a.lso aware
that tax cuts and increased military spending two of his most cherished goals - could make it
necessary for the Government to borrow more
money, worsening the deflcit. But, the orficial
says, "If Reagan has to choose between taxing
and borrowing to cut the deficit, he believes that
borrowing is the lesser 01 the two evils ...
He also continues to believe that his tax cuts
will produce enough economic growth eventually
to take care of We deficit. Most economic analysts
disagree. Even his advisers are uncertain, feeling
less optimistic about the prospects of growth. But
although his st,a rt has great innuence with him on
most matters, Ronald Reagan thinks like a gambler when it COmes tQ the big issues. He trustS his
instinct and so far, It has paid oCt tor him.
NE OF THE PRESIDENT'S
real strengths is his inner
compass." says Treasury Secretary James A. Baker 3d who
earlier served as White House
chief of staff. "He not only believes certain things strongly
but has believed tilem {or a
long time." Perhaps more
than anyone in American politics, Ronald Reagan is the embodimellt of 20th-cenlury
America - the radio arlnOllncer, the movie star, the television host for General Electric's "Death Valley Days." It
has been an era ot communication, ot symbols; make-believe has become
central to our dalJv lives-more rea' than rca'ily.
He got ahead easily and Without much apparenl
pain or eUort. Sell-confidence and oplim'ls m became ingrained in his whole outlook. NOlhlng was
impossible for a man born under a lucky Slar.
Books never played a major role 10 hiS early
yeClts. The President likes to say, as he did in the
interview, that he is "a voracious reader" and
"history buft." But neither . he nor his friends.
when asked, could thiJlk of particular his lOry
books he had read or historians he liked,
Rather, it seems, the President's ideas about
the world now from his iife, (rom personal history
rather than studies. He developed, not so much a
coherent philosoph~, as a set of conVictions.
lodged in his mind as maxims.
From his BlbJe-quoting mother came a kind of
fundamentalism . He grew up with a strong sense
. of right and wrong, with a view or the world as a
battleground ot gOOd and evil. "Mr. Reagan believes in a literal interprelallon of the Bible,"
says Michael Deaver.
From his rather, a down-on-his-luck, New Deal
Democrat, and from the experience of growing up
in a small town in Illinois, came his populist instincts, including nationalism and anti-elilism.
The antj~litism emerged as anti-intellectualism,
\n atla~ks on the Northeast establishment and, ultim"tely, in speeches denouncing the bureaucrats
of Washington. There does not seem to be any hint
of populist racism in his pel'sonallife, but he came
out against el!orly civil-rights legislation and has
consistently opposed afIirmatiYe action.
During his presi(Conllnued on Page 28)
,.
As Govemor of
,
California, Reagan
agonized over the
abortion issue.
From the ::JI and stairway, aglow in gold and crystal, to the
marble of the promenade polished to a mirror sheen, Leona Helmsley
reviews the brilliance of the elegant entrance.
What better way to greet her royal family. You. Her guests.
455 Madison Avenue (a\ 50th Street). New York, NY 10022.
FO' reservations call toll-free: 800/221-4982 or in NY, 2121888-1G24.
TELEX: 640-543. Or call your travel agent.
The only hotol in New York ever 10 receivo the
~ I'i'Vc Diamond Awned ••• ••
CJhe&L~eJs oflhlfVlbrid.
:
j
dency of lhe Screen ActOrs
Guild from 1947 to 1952, while
batlllllg a Communist takeo\.' ,r 01 the union, his nationa lis m began to encompass a
fervid antl:Communis m. Il
became almost his entire
worldview, expf!'~s cd in
lough anti-Soviet rhetoric, a
deep suspicion about negotialing with lhe Russians and
frequent demands ror greater
and greater American military power.
Another element became
part of Ronald Reagan's set
of belie(s as he went around
lhe country deli vering his famous speech for G.E. and as
Nancy Re3gan began to bring
big-business executives iOlO
their social life. He chose to
become a Republican. He
managed to reconcile his new
devotion to capil<>.lism with
his populism, insistjng that if
the reins of Government were
removed , bUSiness would
boom, spreading prosperity
to all the people.
Everything locked info
place in that G.E. speech.
There he spoke of tax reform,
school prayer, the dangers or
appeasing the Russians.
Above a ll, he called for getting the Government off the
backs of the people and of
busmess.
By the time he became Governor of Californja in 1967,
Ronald Reagan's ideas were
fully (ormed . In fact, Michael
Deaver could recall only t WO
instances when his boss agonized over a decision. As Governor. he had to take a stand
on abortion and "he had
never really thought that out
before," Mr. Deaver says.
" So, he talked to lawyers and
doctors and came to the opin-
: Ion that a tetus was a human
being. Then he held tD this
.view trom then 00." Capital
punJshment was the second
instance. ·'He was the first
'~governor to put anyone to
· death in eight or nine years,"
'.Mr. Deaver says. ·~He had his
minister (ly up tD Sacramento
and talked tor a couple ot
hours in 1967. Then. he went
ahead with the executlon.'-
Since . those days. Mr.
Deaver says, "He has seldom
admitted changing his mind
on anything. I can't think ot
an instance'" And that view
was echoed by Mr. Reagan
himselt, when he was asked
whet;.cr be had changed his
mind or learned anyuling as
President. He responded,
"I'm continuing the same
thing that we did in California," ,lamely: IOto reduce the
size of government."
R
·
·
ONALD REAGAN'S
oJd friends and aWes
believe that. once he
became GovenlOr, he made
certain asswnpLions about
his future. It he just stuck to
his fixed ideas and never
budged, he would end up
being a one-term Governor.
or possibly a Senator. The
public had rarely elected
ideologues to executive posi.
tions - and never to the
Presidency.
. The tirst order of business
was to find a staff that could
both stand up for the truth
and bend to necessity. The
people around him in Calitor·
nia and later In Washington
have always included both
ideologues (to vouch for his
continuing ideological purity)
and conservative
pragma.
Us!,,> (to get the job don:-).
What - happens if the two
groups clash? Says Mr, Deav.
er, "He appreciates that he
needs expedjters ami techniCians who get the best deal for
him. When there's a conflict
of the people around him, he
opts for keeping the pragmatists,"
The Governor's office and
the White House stat! became
bargaining machines _ not
eager to compromise. but
willing. According tp a former top White House official.
House Speaker Thomas P.
O'Neill Jr. "always says that
the problem ot compromising
with the President is that
every time you compromise,
Reagan gets 80 percent of
what he wants," Actually, the
former official continued •.
"he'll take 40 percent and call
1t8O."
Meanwhile, througho~t the
process, the President denies
that he is a politiCian, even to
his staft. He is a far cry trom
. Richard Nixon and Lyndon
Johnson who were forever
30
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992·3523
25 Hanover PI.
83,·8485
Saul's Shoes
45U8 13th Ave.
435·9337
Topps Shoes
614 Bn8"IOn Beach Ave.
891·06 0 .
Trio Shoes
21PO 86th 51.
(Cor C'y Pkwy.)
Shoe~"
796':J737
5703 M;rtle Ave.
821·7,,70
Re. Cross Sho.s·
WOODBRIDGE
Red Cross Shoes·
Woodondge Cenler
634·6600
NEW PROVIDENCE
~9.Utill_
NANUET
Nanuet Mail Upper Levei
623·0666
Patchogue
Plaza Boolerv
483 Franklm Ave.
WHITE PLAINS
14 S. Ocean Ave.
475·1047
·667·8964
ROCKVilLE CENTRE
PARAMUS
Halperin Slioes
1 No. Vlltage Ave.
766·4830
Globe Slloe,
Route 17
843·6515
Red Cross Shoes·
WANTAGH
Rand Shoes
1895 Wanlagh Ave.
785·7578
"This product hu no connediOn whalrtrel wllh n-.. Amencan Natiol\w' t"d Croft.
ROCKLANO
Country CobDler
Village Shop. Ctr.
665·0165
NUTLEY
. Jacobson Bros.
36 Mamaroneck Ave.
949·6788
Red Cross. Shoe· Sho~
The Gatlena
997-8110
694·3882
WESTFIELD
MILLBURN
PATCHOGUE
VALLEY STREAM
Shop Clr·
Futter's
333 Mdburn Ave.
376·0781
Richard York 01
J. Kraus
Red Cross Shoes·
Green Acres Shop. Clr.
561·2010
PT~akness
Hamburg Tpke.
Randal Shoe;
82 Elm 51.
232·3680
Marc's Boolery
38 Purchase S1.
967-1409
£aslchesl" Bootery
711 While PlainS Rd.
723·4100
Park Hills Shoes
ot Eastchester
686 While Plains Rd.
725·4664
WAYNE
Amenia's
Villaqe Boolery
Village S,op Cenle'
East MaiO S1.
543·9289
RYE
SCARSDALE
TOMS RIVER
LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP
Harwyn Shoes
Wall Whitman Shop. elL
49 Atlanlic Ave
20 Washington A....-e
Felgenson ShOes
43 W. front 51.
264·0147
101 Pondli,td Rd.
793·1403
Smith Shoes
TENAflY
23 Main S1.
349·2183
Purpuri II
Ocean Country Mall
240·6566
KEYPORT
253·1987
92 S. Moger Ave.
241 2186
SUMMIT
Tenally Oept. Store
Red '::ross
Heiler's Shoes
SOUTH PlAINFIELD
Vogue Shoes
Middlesex Mali
753·2226
FREEHOLD
UVINGSTON
Morgan's Shoes
SOMERVILLE
AI's Bootory
23 W. Main 51.
462·1155
HUNTINGTON
LYNBROOK
118 Paf;i Ave.
H•• DeU's
386 Spnngf"ld Ave.
273·2042
BRONXVILLE
MT. KISCO
Red Cross Shoes·
Rockaway Town SQ Mat!
328·1170
RUTHER FORO
Jacobson Bros.
KH~gS Plaza
78\)8 Fdth Ave.
745·3446
ROCKAWAY
CLIFFSIDE PARK
Harwyn Shoes
Roosevelt flelo
746·8778
Kruchkow'S
Marcus Shoes
63 E. Ridgewood A'/O
445·1808
743-2722
WESTCHESTER
COUNTY
Marc's Bootery
RIDGEWOOD
Paramus Park.
967·1075
PASSAIC
Red Cross Shoes·
620 Main Ave.
778·2024
REO BANK
Albe~
S. Miller Shoes
18 Broad 51.
741·1264
Brenner's Foolwear
NYACK
Herbels
98 M.,n SI.
358·1754
ORANGE COUNTY
MIDDLETOWN
Groo's
Red Cross Shoes·
Orange Plaza
342·4213
" f •• ·
Reagan on
Q
visit in the mid-1950's to a General Electric j et-engine plant in Evendale, Ohio.
A speech for G.E. had it all:
I
\
tax refonn, school pray.r~
the Soviet threat and the
ills of big government.
bragginA to their aides about
how clever or cynical they
were.
During the interview, without being asked, the President lold of a speech he gave
his stat! after he became
Governor: "I told them that
the one thing I did not want to
hear was the political ramifications oC any issue. 1
wanted onlv to hear debate on
what was good or bad {or lhe
people, because the minute
you start thinking about votes
and political things, it's a bit
like seeing a player's card you can't take out of your
milld that you know where
that card is no matter how
honest you want to be."
President Reagan may believe every word o( it, but a t
the same time, some of his
aides see it as part of his conscious, political technique.
"He once described to me
how he got into politics byac-
cic!ent," says a former senior
Administration of(icial. "He
told me he told someone, 'By
God, what am I doing in politics? The kinds of things I've
done so t ar are far away (rom
this. But then I thought that a
substantial part of the' political thing Is acting and role
playing and 1 know how to do
that. So I used to worry, but I
don't anymore.' ..
GENERAL, SAYS
former Senator Howard
H. Baker Jr., "The President is easy to predict." And
virtually all of the President's ; Ides and friends
agreed that, with some important exceptions, if you
know his basiC positions, you
know what decisions he will
make. "He's extraordinarily
analytical to test the options
against his philosophy," says
a senior a ide. The President
puts his mind to the big pic-
I
N
ture. The details he leaves to
his aides, giving them power
that is unprecedented among
modern Presidencies.
Says a senior White House
aide: "The President is not
terribly lnterest~ in the pr~
cess, and for a long ti'TlC I
wasn't sure he knew what I
did. He's comfortable letting
advisers come to him and tell
him the issues and options,
and then he'll use h is anecdotes ...
These are the maxims some of his aides call them
"parables" - that seem to he
central to the way the President 's mind works. Often, It is
not the logic of an argument
that he remembers or calls
upon but a circum&,tance or
story that connects the issue
at hand to his set ot basic
prinCiples. And these anecdotes, his staff says, are often
the last word on a matter; the
(Continued on Page J03)
My
\yellington
Counterfeit
Diamonds®
are so perfect
you'd swear
they were
mined in
'1e heart ofl
Africa ~:
(but Clank. God 1
tlretj're not)
:
Ii,I
"
Continued from Page 32
statt is expected to go forth
and carry out the boss's
wishe s.
The President's experience
at lhe Screen Actors Guild,
for example, may be cited
when the subject is negotia.
tlon with the Russians, the
message being: don't trust
ComulUnJst.'i. Or when hls
aides talk to him about the
deficIt, he often recalls that
President Kennedy's tax cut
stimu lated the economy, (he
message being: stand fast
against tax increases.
In fa ct, logical arguments
do not always sway President
Reaga n. As a tormer adviser
puts it: "If I told him something was probable or lin·
probr.ble, that might not be
PCrsLl:lsive because his life
has been full of Improbables
that worked out-It worked tor
him to be optimistic against
long l>d6s."
By all accounts, his aides
feel free (0 debate openly .n
fron, of the President, short
of directly challenging his
basic be!lefs. They say he Is a
good listener. At most meetlngs, the P ....~t sl'. quietly. 1f ,te offers an opinion,
he ~ eldom sets forth his un·
derlyinp, reasoning. Often, he
keeps Ius own' counsel entire.
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Sometimes, the President ·
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will stake out a new position
on h is own - with little input
from his aides or even in the
face of (hell" oppoSition. This
was the case with his idea for
the Strategic Defense Initla.
tive. After a few casual con.
versations on the subject with
the Joint Chiefs of Statt and
othe rs , he infonned his aides
that he wanted them to pre.
pare a speech (or him outlln.
109 a bold new space-oriented
mis!-ile
detense
system.
Many start members dis.
agrf'ed with the scope of his
plan , as did most military ex·
pert'> and members of Con.
gress, but found themselves
yielding In the face of his un.
bending will.
The President's system tor
gewng information is it criti.
cal factor In his decision.
making. According to his
aides , he relies primarily on
staff memos, which generally
are not detailed analyses.
The staft also sends him Jetters that tend to support his
belids. He skims the head.
lines of several dally newspa.
0 .... ...... pssentiall.v looking for
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PI4!-se YIl'l me m
an OWII«lg my own tJ1t'C'_r::e
Continued/rom Page 103
lorlal positions, usually not
r~'1 ling the main news stor ies. Friends send along
magazine a r ticles, mainly
from conservative journals
such as Human Eve nts and
Commentary. (A recent article In Commentary suggesting thal discrim ination had
been essentially eliminated in
South Arrica was behind his
controversial comment to
that effect, his aides say.)
Members of the President's
stat! never know JUSt wha t in[urmatiOn the Pres ident will
remember from his reading
or how he may usc it. "Reagan has grown up in an intellectual cocoon where he can
go from ill-informed articles
to 'rea sonably conclusive
sta tements," says a former
White Huuse aide who is now
elsewhere in the Administratiull. " Other peoplu would
normally ask who wrote the
article, what's his reputation,
what do others think. Reagan
will go .... Ith a fact or observation without
Lhrougb a
A member or the current
White House stat{ describes
his mission in these terms :
"You have to treat him as if
you were the director and he
was the actor, and you tell
him what to say and what not
to say, and only then doe.1i he
say the right thing." The
Presldent'$ aides frequently
refer to his "intellectual pas·
sivity. "
On domestic issues, the lee·
way given the staff will vary
with the subject matter and
particular issue. On economic questions, the Presi·
dent may take an active role
- he usually, for example,
goes down the prospective
budgel, giving his decision. on
each Item. But on most mat·
ters, he offers his views and
expects aides to find woys to
accomplish those ends through
legislation.
the
courts or Government regulations.
On foreign policy issues,
where the President is less
knowledgeable and less confident, the staff is generally
ceded even greater power. 1n
tJlose matters where there is
conClict among the aides,
they tend to come up with a
consensus that seldom breaks
new grOllnd.
Among L,use who have
been pushing the President to
take a greater role on arms
control Issues, aides say, is
his wife. According to Mr.
Deaver, Nancy Reagan " is
the most imponant person in
his decisions. But on the big
issues - like Bitburg, taxes,
defense spending - he's very
independent. She thinks more
about his place in history
than the President does. He
doesn't think about it at all,
except to say that he wants
people to say be did the best
hecould."
T NTELLECTUAL
.L question," a former senior economic adviser replied.
"The right question is, does
he get the right answpr? In
my experience, he fails the
essay questions but gets the
multiple choices."
Some critics see the Presi·
dent as being simple-minded.
Rather, a number of hiS aide~
suggest. he is simplistiC. That
6'!:~
"'~'~
a~
-IJ
S aturday Od. 19. 1985
:or more than:1
cntury. LaSalle
!ill (:11:' AC3dc:m r's
c~ord of overall
.\ cellenct.
unde r the gu
o f dedicated Club·
llan Groc/;ers and
larm co, !>uys de·
~.
\.l ."
I ) J.S
velop scho l a.'iticOIlly.
•
.luractcd OO\'S
spirituJllyand
:\) athletically. Tour
"racles 7 thm
12. Come visit
. .1. our campus. Talk
! 'oalle's lOS·
\?t with our bludcnl
" re SCI (ing.
~~ cadets and fac·
AO iucal boarding
~
ull}' m~mbers.
~chool 3tmo:,'
~~ .:'
~~ ObbC(VC our full
Ilhcrc where.
,", ' ' ,~
ore!>!i parade.
For your fonnal iovitacJon -.n~ fu.rlher
information call
• ext. 205.
"'
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A priVAte. co·~duc.ation.1, school for youngfters, agt. 11· 19, or bord~rlinf .b,lity. All
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In .. homeloke ~tm~p"e~ of warmth and
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In o~r.tion since 1<145. M.plebrook i.
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(201) 349·1121
AdmIral Farragut ~demy
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Box N . 51. Perslsbulg Fla. 33710
1813) 384·5500
HAMILTON HA;
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h'gh school equrUlt nty d••
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..
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~
.~,?~~. ,
My husband likes tt
mix it up. ·
And I taught him
everything he know
You can usually find my husband, Mike, in the kitchen of our
Barrington shop, slirring a big kettle of creamy.nc .,1(, chewy
mel or one of the velvety smooth creams that go mto our hand-d
chocolate miniatures. He's been mixing it up ever since w
married. nearty fifty years ago. Using recipes that have been p
down in my family since the tum of the century. ~d only the fre
natural ingredients. If you'd like to taste what MIke's been .coo
ask us to send you the,Berkshire. an ~so~ent of nuts, f"!lts,
chewy and soft centers covered in nch milk ~d de~p bltt~r.
chocolate If you order a pound for just S14.95 (lneludmg shlPf
111 send y~u some of my own favorite. Butt~r Krunch. a crisp bl
nut brittle. covered in chocolate and rolled In ground cashe,ws.
you're in the Berltshires, stop by and say hello. My husband s.th
with the spoon in his fist.
I
'He fails the essay questions,'
says a former adviser to
the President, 'but gets
is, he reduces complications
to Simple symbols and
images of good and bad,
American and un-American.
That allows him to cut
through the complexities that
bewilder and hold no Interest
for the general public, putting
him squarely on the public's
w-avelength.
The President's cast of
mind and political technique
ha ve gjven him a major hand
in reshaping the nation's attitudes toward the proper role
of government in the econ.
omy and the need for greater
military spending. He has
also restored t.he public confi.
dence that was so shaken by
the events I.n the Adminlstra.
tion of his predecessor. In
tact, two aspects of that
earlier time _ double.digit
innation with high interest
r:.ltes and the Soviet lnvaslon
of Afghanistan _ gave Ronald Reagan a running start in
IllS e rron to win the country to
his beliefs.
Today, though, he faces a
new set of problems, with an
economy taltering under the
weight ot budge~ and trade
deficits and the possibility of
a new, Increasingly expen·
sive and fruitless round o(
arms competition with Moscow. How will he respond?
It past performance Is any
indication, the President will
not wal t until failure over.
takes him. It the economy
starts to run sharply downhill, he will try the other solutions'- perhaps even some of
lhose ve ry m~asures he has
so long derided, such as Increased taxes and decreased
military spending. He would
most likely blame the deci·
sions on everybody else and
call them by another name,
but he would do It.
The President could count
on substantial support trom
Cong ress nnd from some of
his key aides If he took such
steps. On the issue of arms
control, thoug h, a departure
from form might run Into
trouble. A number ot his key
national security aides, partl.
cuarly those In the Pentagon,
strongly oppose offering
major compromises to Moscow on arms control. If an
agreement is what the Presi.
dent wants, and it seems that
it is, he would need the cooperaUon ot his whole team,
and even then he would face
hard bargaining with the
Russians.
President Reagan's think.
Ing and technique have been
enormously successful at the
simpler. negative tasks ot
hammering away at "big
government" and rhetori.
cally bashing the Soviet
Union. These were relatively
easy targets. a matter of
checking the right boxes. 3ut
looming ahead are some dan.
gerous economic icebergs
and an Intricate summit
meeting tn Geneva with lhe
Russian leader _ more com.
plex enterprises that will test
whether the mind of Ronald
Reagan can construct crea.
pve political essays. •
I~
I
I
I
Mdreu __________~_____________________
I
City
I
Check 0
I
0 Please send me'a one pound Ber1uhlre As$Ortmenlfor SlOS and include II
Butter Krunch. 0 Please send me your brochure;
N~
______________________________
State
AmEx 0
Zlp, _ __
MlSle~rd 0
.. An attractive clientele,
good food, and polished
service combine to
create a sense of wellbeing. and an exceptional wine list inspires
111\' 1l/roo!
confidence."
C.Hlm~t!I Ma/(u:jllt. ·Srl'l.
85
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Seven Days
1568 First Avenue
Bet. 81st & 82nd
628-6565
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Times
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