Page 2AFhe Battalion/Tuesday, February 2, 1988
Opinion
Shame on Dan Rather, shame, shame, shamefT
Shame on Dan
Rather, shame,
shame, shame!
Not only did he
lure the naive, in
nocent vice presi
dent of the United
States onto the
CBS Evening
News with the,
promise of ques
tions about the
Iran-contra affair
anchorman shouting at each other, in
terrupting each other and'otherwise act
ing like refugees from the McLaughlin
Group. I thought it was quite wonder
ful, and I thought Rather the clear win
ner. Apparently, I am alone.
Donald
which that noble statesman did not wish
to answer. Further, when Mr. Bush
tried to lead Rather off the trail with a
whining counterattack, Rather had the
effrontery to persist in his questioning,
trying in effect to control his own inter
view. Is there no limit to the lengths TV
journalists will go in the pursuit of a
story?
Not since Rather himself sassed back
President Richard Nixon at a press con
ference 15 years ago (“Are you running
for something Dan?” “No sir, Mr. Presi
dent, are you?”) has a performance by a
network newsman evoked such bitter
condemnation. Calls to CBS stations af
ter the broadcast ran as high as 20-1
against Rather. The public has spoken
and the public is appalled.
The confrontation between Rather
and Mr. Bush Monday night was truly
extraordinary, perhaps unprecedented.
The nation was treated to the sight of a
sitting vice president and a network
It is also wrong. Twice in the past
month George Bush has been chal
lenged by a newsman on his role in the
Iran-contra affair, and twice he has
lashed out in an intemperate attack at
his questioner. The first time was at the
Republican debate in Des Moines when
Des Moines editor James P. Gannon
asked him about it and then again Mon
day with Rather. Both times Bush failed
to answer the questions put to him, in-
Family relationships
provide many benefits
In our mobile
society, we often
unthinkingly sac
rifice things that
are fundamental
to our happiness
and well-being.
We move from
place to place as
nomads, seeking
Brian
Frederick
the perfect job or
the highest salary.
This mobility is
usually achieved at high costs to our
relationships with others.
Perhaps the most important
relationships that suffer are family
relationships. It’s not that such
relationships are terminated by separa
tion but that they are severely restricted
by the distance. I know. I’ve learned
about it first hand.
Growing up in Washington State, I
was fortunate to have my whole family
nearby. All my aunts, uncles, cousins,
and grandparents lived within an hour’s
drive from the home I shared with my
parents and brother. I usually saw ev
eryone together each year at Thanksgiv
ing and Christmas and saw them indi
vidually at intervals during the year.
But that all changed when my parents
moved to Texas after my sophomore
year in high school.
Other than my immediate family, I
had no family or friends in Texas. I
came expecting to shrivel under the
burning sun of a parched desert. I did
not see how I could survive coming
from the cool, evergreen paradise of the
Pacific Northwest where I had many
friends and family members. Yet I sur
prised myself by liking Texas immedi
ately. I quickly made some good friends
from among the friendly Texans and
soon felt quite at home.
Though I was relatively content, I felt
a void where my family had been. I
missed the summers spent at my pater
nal grandparents’ home on the shores
of Puget Sound. No longer could I
spend time with my dear grandparents
who had helped make many fond mem
ories. Walking the tideflats, fishing with
my grandfather, cutting wood, and
working in their large garden had be
come activities of the past.
When I reflected upon my past some
thing grandpa had said to my father of
ten came to mind. Shortly before we left
he said it is people that make life worth
living, and he, for one, would never
leave the Northwest where his family
and friends lived. Nothing in the world
could compensate him for those
relationships should he leave them.
Now that my contact with my extended
family was limited to letters, I began to
appreciate the truth of his words.
Certainly letters could not replace the
physical presence of my maternal
grandmother. Born of Swedish immi
grants in a sod house on the Kansas
prairie, she is a precious lady, still hale
and hearty in her 80s. Our departure
deprived her of her only child and
grandchildren, taking away the pleasure
of seeing those grandchildren become
adults. We certainly missed her and the
delicious Swedish cookies she loved to
bake for us.
I had indeed left behind a wealth of
relationships. No matter how hard I
tried, nothing could ever fill the places
in my heart occupied by my family.
Texas could never be a real home to me;
home was where my loved ones resided.
Yet my sojourn in Texas had served a
purpose. No longer did I take my family
for granted, and I was coming to under
stand the benefits of living near them.
For instance, when I left Washington,
I had five cousins — all of them girls.
While I was gone four more female
cousins were born. I suppose they came
as substitutes for the sister I had always
wanted but whom my parents refused to
have for me. Yet I could derive little joy
from their births when separated from
them by hundreds of miles.
When I returned to Washington last
summer and Christmas, my cousins be
came special to me. The older ones were
now adults; I valued them as friends.
The younger ones were darling girls
who were always ready to give their
older cousin a hug. Had I not spent
those years in Texas 1 would not have
. come to appreciate them so.
Proximity to my family provides me
with a group of people who love me and
accept me unconditionally. Parents,
aunts, and uncles are special older peo
ple who supply me with wisdom gar
nered from their own extensive experi
ence. For a young person, such wisdom
is invaluable, for it is senseless to learn
the hard way when you can learn from
someone else’s experience.
The family supplies a refuge to which
I may retire and find healing from the
world’s hard knocks. An evening spent
with caring relatives can do much to re
juvenate a discouraged spirit. In this
world, such support is rare. It should
not to be cast aside lightly.
Thus when I finish my schooling, I
will return to my native Washington. I
will do so not because I depend upon
my family to live but because life is
richer for them and for me when we are
together. I will not live with them for I
am a responsible adult. But I will be
close enough to reap the incalculable
benefits of being part of a family.
Brian Frederick is a senior history and
Russian major and a columnist for The
Battalion.
stead calling into question the fairness of
his antagonists’ respective news organi
zations.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
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Southwest Journalism Conference
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News Editors
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Sam B. Myers, Photo Editor
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lege Station TX 77843-4111.
Gannon, perhaps hemmed in by his
role as moderator of a debate, beat a
gentlemanly retreat, but Rather rolled
up his sleeves and went to the mat with
the vice president, giving as good as he
got. Unfortunately, it’s hard to look
good yelling at a vice president. Both
newsman lost. Mr. Bush is showing a tal
ent for counterpunching.
any question except what I told the pres
ident and I’ll answer it.” Then someone
asks him a question and he goes ba
nanas.
That doesn’t make him right, how
ever, merely successful. The fact re
mains that there are serious discrepan
cies in Mr. Bush’s explanation of his
part in the Iran-contra affair and he re
fuses to confront them.
There is no single, magic question
that will unlock the George Bush-Iran-
contra mystery, not even what he told
the president. The real issue is the role
of the vice president in this administra
tion and his judgement. If he didn’t
know more about the arms trade to Iran
for hostages, why didn’t he? If he did,
what did he do to stop it? Those are le
gitimate questions to ask of a man who
aspires to the presidency, and throwing
tantrums does not answer them.
Mr. Bush’s assertion that he didn’t
know he was going to be grilled on Iran-
contra when he went on the CBS Eve
ning News is ridiculous on the face of it.
You don’t get 15 minutes live on a net
work news show to talk about views on
education; Bush knows that.
He keeps saying, “Ask me a question,
A close reading of the record renders
it implausible that Mr. Bush was as inno
cent of guilty knowledge as he claims.
He has been put forth as one of the anti
terrorist experts in the administration
and was in close contact with major play
ers in both the Iran arms deal and the
illegal resupply of the contras. It strains
credulity that he would not have picked
up even a hint of what was going on. He
doesn’t seem that dumb.
The point is, he can’t have it
ways. He can’t say he has spent thepil
seven years on the cutting edge ofajj
ministation policy, then plead ignorarf
when things go bust. As Alexander Hal
put it to him: “Were you in thecodpS
or were you on an economy ride intilfe . ", f
back of the pl.iiu r" Mi . Bush didn't
swer that question either, incidentally, ership
Let us never forget this: The safety^
arms to Iran was a bad idea fromtkBF n
word go, regardless of the hosta^K r j n ,
What would “moderates” in Iraniand Pe
with missiles? Where would theystutycha
iIk’. g( >t 111< 111 \ in 1 11 it were madep Texas
lie that tin \ uric (li'.iluig the the
States, wouldn’t that discredit them
the eyes of their fellow countrytnerKeac
And how could it fail to become puHthai tri
given the sleazy nature of the peopleiiucation
volved? Rh in
|p.l or
There may be answers to these (^Eid.
lions but Mr. Bush won’t providetkBThe
by beating up on poor, defenseless,Jw83 b
million-a-vear anchormen. R
sources
What is George Bush hiding? women
Copyright 1987, Tribune Media Services,Ik. positior
The
OH, (SORfifif YOU'RE SO
MAHUY WHEN YOU REFUSE
TO TEUh ME THINGS/
Mail Call
II
0
Problems with the credit union?
EDITOR:
I have noticed recent advertisements in The Battalion
by the Texas Aggie Credit Union. Before opening any ac
count, please examine all local financial institutions.
If your considering the Texas Aggie Credit Union, be
sure to talk either to current members or the growing
ranks of former members. The timeliness of their service
can be a real problem, and their lack of communication
concerning additional fees and charges can cost you a lot
of money.
The Texas Aggie Credit Union is regulated by the
state of Texas. If you are a current of former member and
would like to inform this agency of any problems you have
had with the Texas Aggie Credit Union, contact the fol
lowing:
Credit Union Department
914 East Anderson Lane
Austin, Texas 78752-1699
phone (512) 837-9236
merit in general.
And don’t worry about America falling — the doom-
sayers have been predicting it since 1776, and it hasni
happened yet. The people of America are tougher and
more politically aware than you realize.
Floyd Largent ’88
No yell leader support
EDITOR
Ron Rice
grad student
Americans are tough
EDITOR:
In response to Todd Honeycutt’s article of Jan 28, “A-
pathy is Everywhere”: Who cares? If President Reagan
had anything significant or truthful to say, he would have
said it all long ago. Maybe the people of A&M and the
country have simply lost faith in Reagan and the govern-
How many yell leaders does A&M have? I just re
turned from the Lady Aggies basketball game with t.u.,
and as far as I can tell A&M has just one yell leader. This is
not the first time that there hasn’t been at least three. lean
understand not having them all there on a school night,
but on a Saturday night they all should be there. I have ye!
to see all the yell leaders at a girl’s game.
Coach Hickey has a right to be upset over the lack of
support her talented squad gets. There were ninebusesof
t.u. fans from Austin and we couldn’t even send five yell
leaders across campus. We didn’t elect these yell leaders
just to lead yells at football games; they also are supposed
to be there for all the other sports. By the way, the only yell
leader that has been to all the games consistently is Steve
Keathley ’89. He is what yell leaders are supposed to be
like. Why don’t the rest of you guys follow his lead?
Stan Golaboff ’89
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff n-
serves the right to edit letters for style and length, hut will make every effort to
maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the clas
sification, address and telephone number of the writer.
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