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The Battalion
Wednesday
Texas A&M University
October 15, 1980
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Reagan showing signs
reminiscen t ofNixon
By HELEN THOMAS
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President Carter’s
strategists say that Ronald Reagan is “avoiding
the issues” in the campaign. And it appears that
a face-to-face debate between the two is not in
the cards.
Carter had counted on debating with Reagan
on television, hoping to show the differences in
political philosophy before millions. Now he is
finding that it is difficult to fault Reagan without
being accused of unfair tactics, and Reagan has
adopted a “more in sorrow than in anger” atti
tude toward Carter’s attacks.
Campaign manager Robert Strauss says the
press is letting Reagan “get away with murder”
and not cross examining him, especially when
he speaks of returning to the military “superior
ity,” a policy dropped at the start of the Nixon
era.
Both candidates are being packaged and
programmed. But after the foot-in-the-mouth
gaffes at the start of his campaign, Reagan, is
sticking to his “cue cards,” according to Strauss.
Obviously, Reagan’s strategists feel if they can
keep him in line for the next few weeks, they
will be home free.
The strategy is very reminiscent of Richard
Nixon’s 1968 and 1972 election campaigns
when he laid low, avoided reporters’ questions
and had enormous amounts of money to spend.
In those days, Nixon forces also made sure
that the reporters were comfortable, well-fed
and told little.
In fact, Reagan may be learning from the
master. His press secretary Lyn Nofziger told
reporters that Nixon is sending “memos” on
tactics to the Republican nominee.
Aides say the president, whose ratings in the
polls have been on a roller coaster since he took
office, feels sincerely that the Reagan policies
are fraught with “danger” for the country. But,
Strauss has said, “maybe he doesn’t express
himself clearly.”
There is no question that Reagan is a com
municator and a smooth speaker on the stump.
He keeps his audiences with him as anyone
would who has mastered the podium for more
than 30 years.
On the other side of the coin. Carter has not
had a firm grip on the economy and it falters
now between recovery and recession, hardly a
happy thought for a politician seeking re-
election.
And then there is the one-year anniversary of
the capture of the American hostages in Iran,
which falls on election day. Reagan keeps
saying that Carter will pull an “October sur
prise” like a rabbit out of the hat and suddenly,
presto, the hostages will be home in time for
the president to win re-election.
The likelihood of their early return now
seems far fetched with the war in the Persian
Gulf unabated. And so far, no one is ready to say
“peace is at hand” as Henry Kissinger did in
Nixon’s 1972 campaign.
Warped
Carter’s campaign comparing
Reagan with 1967 Goldwater
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By ARNOLD SAWISLAK
United Press International
WASHINGTON — It now seems clear that
Jimmy Carter was trying to do to Ronald
Reagan what Lyndon Johnson did to Barry
Goldwater. It remains to be seen whether he
will give up the attempt as a bad idea.
Those who remember the 1964 presidential
campaign may recall the most striking example
of the hatchet job the Johnson campaign did on
Goldwater — the television commercial with
the pretty little girl picking a daisy followed by a
nuclear blast.
The purpose was to suggest that Goldwater
would start a holocaust and it worked. The
Johnson campaign succeeded in making Gold-
water seem to be a trigger-happy hawk and the
president was re-elected in a landslide. Then
Johnson went on to build up the U.S. commit
ment in Viet Nam to half a million men, which
resulted in more than 50,000 American deaths.
Through last week. Carter repeatedly tried
to plant the impression that Reagan would be
too quick to shoot in the event of international
trouble.
He has said several times in different ways
that the question of peace or war is riding on the
1980 election, and several of his commercials
have had others directly questioning Reagan’s
ability to keep cool in times of stress.
The Democrats have compiled a long list of
Reagan quotations about what should have
been done in various international situations in
the past to back up their claim that he might be
trigger-happy.
They consider their approach perfectly prop
er and their ads may continue to use it even if
Carter, as he told Barbara Walters, decides to
take the high or “presidential” road in his own
speeches.
His jabs at Reagan in the first half of the
campaign raised charges of “mean” and “dirty”
campaigning against Carter, not only from the
Republicans but from much of the news media,
which expected the Democrats to try to recre
ate the 1964 campaign.
Interestingly enough, the first indications
were that Carter apparently was not being
hurt too badly by the criticism of his campaign.
The CBS-New York Times poll released late
in September showed 58 percent of the people
did not think the campaign had been dirty, and
of those who believed it was, exactly the same
percentage put the onus on Reagan as Carter.
Further, 42 percent of the people in thei
pie said Reagan had been making “uS
charges” against his opponents as company
36 percent for Carter. , ]
The attack on Reagan on the war
issue is particularly inviting to the Carter:^ g oarc j
paign because this is one area where c jj airnian
president’s record actually gives him ^Governing
vantage. Hrversitie
Even the Iran hostage situation,
doesn’t seem like much of an asset to the. (
dent at this point, can be said to demon* ^ term
that he is not one to move rashly in ce-merls- v j ce
international situations. Effing Boe
Reagan has no foreign policy record,® o
the Democrats can seize on his statemolBy. seni<>1 .
the past — such as blockading Cubatoinj^T^^,
the Iranians to free the hostages — to 0 f t h’ e
that he would be a disaster or bring one search Ce
For the most part, Reagan’s response
been to accuse Carter of underhanded: McClun
paign tactics. That may not seem vei)!® 35 A&1
lying, but neither is the alternative, *^ mina tU]
would be to attempt to describe whathe*^ year t(
do as president in the case of hypotM^^gj. 0 j
He needs no introduction. Whether through
his movies or the fact that he has been on the
banquet circuit and on radio since the ’60s,
Reagan is a household name.
As president. Carter is accountable for the
state of the nation, domestically and in foreign
policy. In many ways, he will be getting his
report card on Nov. 4.
Not one to admit a mistake. Carter feels he
has accomplishments he can boast about, in
cluding the nation’s first energy policy that
already has achieved a 20 percent drop in im
ported oil. He laid the groundwork for the na
tion to develop synthetic fuels to end depen
dency on foreign oil, and to reap some of the
revenues from the windfall profits tax.
In his nearly four years in office, he has also
kept the nation out of war, and he played a
major role in the peace treaty between Israel
and Egypt. He also helped pave the way for
Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) to achieve independence
and rule by the black majority.
And he negotiated a strategic arms limitation
treaty with the Soviets although he shelved it
when Russia invaded Afghanistan.
He and his family have pursued ratification of
the Equal Rights Amendment and he has made
more appointments of women, Hispanics and
blacks to high places in government and on the
bench.
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12th Man needed leadership at Houston
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Editor:
Since the yell leaders take it upon them
selves to lecture the student body at midnight
yell practice on how we should conduct
ourselves at the football games, we would like
to take this opportunity to comment on Mark
Outlaw’s action (or rather lack of action) at the
football game against Cougar High. The
Twelfth Man was ready and willing to support
the team throughout the entire game, but due
to a lack of leadership during the second half,
we could not fully express our support. We feel
that the Aggies needed as much if not more
support when they were behind during the
second half of the game. Apparently, Mark Out
law disagrees since he could not find it in him
self to start more than two yells throughout the
entire second half besides the traditional yells
after scoring and kickoff.
We think that Mark Outlaw needs to uphold
the tradition of the Twelfth Man by using a little
more ingenuity in the future. After all the
Twelfth Man should support the Aggie team
whether it is ahead or behind. If Mark Outlaw is
not capable of fulfilling his duties as head yell
leader, we suggest that he resign and let a
“True Ag” take the responsibility.
Stacy Surles ’81
Drive champions, do hereby issue a chaEen!
to the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. We chafe
We
Port
Tex
you to give more blood than we do. E*.
Blood drive challenge
Editor:
Aston Hall, the defending Texas A&M Blood
semester, the Band attempts to match our
tions, but have failed miserably in four of
last five attempts. This semester we will pi
once and for all that Aston is undefeatable
Aston
Bob Hancock ’82 Presi
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanii
three other signatures.
By Scott McCullar
The Battalion
U S P S 045 360
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