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The Battalion
Slouch By Jim Earle
Reagan needs practice
for press conferences
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON — President Reagan
asked reporters at his news conference last
week to remember that the words they
write are read all around the world and to
consider whether the message they send is
helpful or destructive to the nation’s in
terests.
Whatever you think of that plea, the fact
is that the most important message is the
one the President himsilf conveys by his
words and demeanor on public occasions.
For the most part, those appearances have
been helpful to Reagan in advancing his
goals. His wit, his good nature and his re
hearsed eloquence stand him in good stead,
whether he is delivering a toast at a ban
quet, a brief political speech or a televised
policy address.
But at the last two news conferences, the
impression he has created has been one of a
man under great strain. The comments on
Capitol Hill and in embassies suggest that
the tension and anxiety the President dis-
I plays when answering questions about his
policies are beginning to cause concern
among those here and abroad who look to
the White House for leadership.
That same anxiety is being expressed by
members of the White House staff who
have come to view each press conference as
a hurdle that must be negotiated with care.
They have adopted what my colleague Mar
tin Schram accurately describes as a “dam
age-control’ philosophy for dealing with
the press conferences: Schedule them in
frequently, slow down the pace of question
ing by lengthy answers, and hope that
Reagan gets out of them without hurting
himself.
That is a defensible, if obviously defen
sive, strategy. The practical problem is that
the President is so strained in executing it
— that he undercuts the effort to build
confidence in his leadership. The relaxed
sense of command and self-control that he
communicated so advantageously in his
1980 campaign debates and in almost every
formal speech he has made as President
turns into a very tentative and tense per
formance in the press conferences.
Explanations abound. Some say the Pres
ident’s hearing impairment forces him to
strain to hear the questions and puts him on
edge even before he gives his answers. His
aides have tried to reduce this problem by
installing an amplifier in his podium.
His critics put forward a much harsher
theory: Reagan is under strain because he
has such a shaky grasp of the policies for
which he is formally responsible that he has
a dickens of a time remembering what it is
that he is supposed to say about such-and-
such a subject.
If that is right, then we are really in trou
ble — not just this administration but this
country and the world. But before accept
ing that gloomy conclusion, I would like to
see how Reagan would do if he were hold
ing a press conference of some kind every
week.
He did that when he was governor. But
as President, he has held five news confer
ences in 10 months.
The Reagan we have seen at the last cou
ple of news conferences reminds me of the
uptight, unhappy Reagan of the Iowa
causus period early in 1980, when his then-
manager, John P. Sears, was trying to
shield him from the press and public. When
Reagan campaigned infrequently, under
Sears’ constraints, he was a lousy campaig
ner — always on the defensive. When he
was unleashed in New Hampshire, he was
terrific.
So it is, I suspect, with the news confer
ences. People like my colleague Lou Can
non who covered him in California remem
ber those gubernatorial news conferences,
not as ordeals to which Reagan submitted,
but as opportunities which he exploited
easily to carry his message to the people.
Maybe he’s lost the knack, now that he is
ten years older. But my guess is that he’s
just not getting enough practice to feel com
fortable in the news conference format. If
he had a regular schedule where on alter
nating weeks he would have big televised
news conferences and small Oval Office in
terviews with some of the White House
regulars, my guess is that he would be bet
ter briefed by his staff on a wide range of
issues, and much better prepared to discuss
them.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Angelique Copeland
Managing Editor Marcy Boyce
City Editor . . . JaneG. Brust
Asst. City Editor Kathy O’Connell
Photo Editor Dave Einsel
Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy
Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff
Asst. Focus Editor Debbie Nelson
News Editors Phyllis Henderson
Bernie Fette, Belinda McCoy
Diana Sultenfuss
Staff’” ■' . r ' - ker
i. iciiiR xj. ionicixciiic.^ cements
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Colette Hutchings, Daniel Puckett
Denise Richter, Mary Jo Rummel, Rick Stolle
Nancy Weatherley, Barbie Woelfel
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr.
Photographers Rose Delano
Daniel Sanders, Colin Valentine, Greg Watermann
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper
operated as a community service to Texas A&M University
and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Bat
talion are those of the editor or the author, and do not
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ty administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of
Begents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for
students in reporting, editing and photography classes
within the Department of Communications.
Questions or comments concerning any editorial matter
should be directed to the editor.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in
length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The
editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and
length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s
intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the address
and phone number of the writer.
Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and are
not subieot to the same length constraints as letters.
Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The
Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX 77843.
The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’s fall
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Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.
’
November 23, 1981
At these prices, what were yo
expecting
E.F. Hutton?
By DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Economics is truly a
living science, constantly evolving into new
theories and enriching our language with
new terminology.
We are all indebted to Budget Director
David Stockman for pointing out some of
the latest trends.
As we learned from an article about
Stockman in The Atlantic Monthly, econo
mics recently has progressed from the
“trickle down’’ theory to the “supply side”
theory and is now entering the “Trojan
horse” era.
Sometimes, these theories modulate too
fast for me to follow. Head swimming with
uncomprehended commentary in the
Stockman article, I got in touch with John
Kenneth Turnipblood, guru of the voodoo
school of economics, and requested eluci
dation on the Trojan horse concept.
“What sort of gratuities do you proffer to
show your appreciation for interviews?”
Turnipblood inquired.
“It varies, ” I replied, “but the going rate
is $1.79.”
Turnipblood said $1.79 would make him
feel appropriately appreciated, so we pro
ceeded to the q. and a.
The Trojan horse theory, as Turnipblood
explained it, is based on the premise that if
the government increases defense spend
ing while simultaneously cutting taxes, a
balanced budget will result.
The name, as you might have surmised,
was derived from a new type of weapon
system the Pentagon wants to develop.
Everyone, by now, is familiar with the
flap over the MX missile program. Deep
down, the Pentagon had its heart set on
mounting the missiles on tracks and moving
them around so the Russians wouldn’t know
for sure where they were.
The president, however, opted for put
ting the first MX models in existing missile
silos reinforced to make them harder to
destroy through the window of vulnera
bility.
According to Turnipblood, yet another
alternative under consideration would base
the MX missiles in Trojan horses.
The bases, being mobile, could be
led about from one ranch to another,
would have missiles inside, and
would not.
In theory, this system would ft
Soviets into aiming their missiles at
Trojan horses, thus weakening their
strike” capability.
“It’s a beautiful compromise,”Ti
lood said. “The equine nature of the
would make them more acceptable to
ern states that objected to the original]
ing mode.”
“How much would this system
asked.
“It depends on the overrun,’ Ti
lood replied, “but military sources a.«
me a herd of Trojan horses withm
capacity, coupled with tax cuts al
scheduled, should he enough to put
federal budget well in the black byFi
2024, if not sooner.”
Other economists, I’m sure, willpj
holes in the Turnipblood interpretali
On balance, though, he gave aboutas
an interview as you can get these dan
$1.79.
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Mail can mean a lot at Christmas
M
Editor:
As Christmas draws near, I have sad
memories of the lonely Cl’s I used to see in
Korea. The look on their faces as they
walked away from empty mailboxes is hard
to forget. Whether it’s their first time away
from home or if they ’ve been in the military
for a long time it’s hard to be in a strange
place away from friends and family for
Christmas.
In order to help brighten the days of
these people, a program called Armed
Forces Mail Call was set up. The Battalion
ran a story on it a while back. From what
I’ve heard, the response has been small, if
non existant.
Clements Hall is going to send a box of
letters to this program. I would like to in
vite everyone else in joining us in the
worthwhile cause. Please take the short
amount of time needed to cheer up these
people who are serving our country. Please
bring the letters and 15 cents per letter for
the postage charge to Room 309 or 423 Cle
ments or mail them to:
Armed Forces Mail Call
Box 6210
Fort Bliss, TX
79906-0210
Include your return address inside the
letter. Thank you for helping us in this good
cause.
Susan Murray
Fish Rep., Clements Hall
Towing unnecessary
Editor:
I would like to express my concern over
the fact that the University Police depart
ment feels that one unpaid parking ticket is
grounds for a car being towed off. Does the
fearless pen-wielding police department of
Texas A&M University feel that one unpaid
parking ticket is a serious threat to law and
order? If the case were for several tickets or
for tickets issued to motorists using the
handicapped spaces around campus, then a
possibly serious attitude might need being
used.
However, a single ticket issued at 7:45
a.m. in parking lot 40 near the Duncan
Intramural Fields on a Thursday does not
pose a major threat to anyone except the
ego of the notorious police department. I
feel that the campus police often enough
over extend their authority and should not
be concerned considering their ability to
block registration, grades, and in some
cases attendance. In my opinion this shows
the insecurity of the police department.
Douglas Giraud ‘84
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied
by nine other signatures.
Greeks problem at t.u.
them. One of the previous letters in
Battalion mentioning the greeks stated!
the place to be is off campus, but we do
off campus and we are still affected
them.
It is obvious to new students at U.T
if they are not members of a fraternit)
sorority then they might as well no!
there. We recognize the value of $
organizations that promote brother^
and involvement, and the Greeks origin
meant to do just that, but they have tin
out to be one of the biggest symbol
hypocricy. The Greeks are snobl
spoiled, over-dressed group that have
thing better to do than drive their loud
and look down their noses at others
dare to be different.
We strongly urge to Ags to learn
U.T.’s mistake. Down with Greeksai
with unity.
Alicia Old]
Melissa Hep|
The University of W
No cheerleaders
Editor:
We are students at the University of
Texas, or t.u. as we are sometimes referred
to. Since our enrollment at Texas, we have
become aware of a problem that concerns
our university and now seems to be a topic
of debate on yours. We refer to the growth
and recognition of fraternities and soror
ities.
We have visited the Texas A&M campus
and it is apparent that it is a friendly and
involved campus. We understand this
friendliness is about to be threatened by the
addition of fraternities, and we also suggest
strongly that you remain firmly against
Editor:
We,’the undersigned, support thetf
tion that only the players, officials,'
bands be allowed on Kyle Field duringf' 1
ball games. We feel that there shouldh
exceptions to this tradition. The recent 1
cision to allow the Texas cheerleaders
Kyle field this Thanksgiving downg^
the memorial to WWI dead. We doj
want the Texas cheerleaders on Kyle Fit'
Carl Co*
Mark Anderson
Editor’s note: This letter was
by 1,214 signatures.
accompli''’