The Reagan Diaries

by Ronald Reagan

  Bill & Pat Buckley stayed the night. It was good to see them.

  Wednesday, April 27

  [Flew to New York with the Buckleys; worked on the plane; visited police precinct to meet private citizens who have stopped crime; addressed newspaper publishers association; returned to W.H.]

  8 P.M.—addressed Joint Session of Cong. & gave speech we’ve all been working on. Got 3 standing ovations with some Demos. on 2, & all of them on the 3rd. That was on the line that we had no intention of sending troops to Central America. I think we scored well with the TV audience.

  Thursday, April 28

  Nancy left for Phoenix—we’ll be apart until Monday. I don’t like this but I know it can’t be helped. The wires, phone calls & mailgrams are running about 3 to 1 in favor on the speech.

  Today named Dick Stone, former Dem. Senator as personal envoy to Central America. Sen. Dodd & other far out liberals & left wingers are all over the tube screaming foul. Dodd calls me ignorant. His claim to expertise on Central Am. is 2 yrs. as a peace corps vol. many yrs. ago in Dominica.

  P.M. Trudeau of Canada here for meetings & lunch. It turned out alright & he’s pleased with our plans for the Summit.

  [Phoned twelve-year-old former Cambodian refugee on winning a spelling bee; two medal ceremonies.]

  Patti called—she’s been looking for work quite awhile—needed to borrow some money.

  [Friday, April 29: flew to Houston; visited Cenikor Foundation, rehabilitation center; two party fund-raisers; minor motorcade accident. Saturday, April 30: met University of Houston basketball team; returned to W.H.]

  Sunday, May 1

  Went to church. We kept it a secret until the very last minute. It felt good. A little girl gave me a small safety pin on which small beads had been threaded. I learned it’s all the thing with kids today—a friendship pin. On way home stopped & put flowers at the Vietnam memorial. It’s quite a place—a very impressive & moving experience.

  Nancy phoned—very upset. Ron casually told the S.S. he was going to Paris in a few days. I don’t know what it is with him. He refuses to cooperate with them. […] I’m not talking to him until he apologizes for hanging up on me.

  [Monday, May 2: presented with new Bible edition containing his frontispiece declaring 1983 the Year of the Bible; addressed various local leaders from Mississippi and Ohio; preparation meeting for upcoming summit; met with International National Private Enterprise Task Force; interviewed by Family Weekly; received letters of support from congressmen regarding tax cuts; taped appearances.]

  Tuesday, May 3

  Opened day with Repub. Cong. leaders—subjects the budget & the MX vote plus the interference with Presidential authority in international affairs. Two House committees are putting together measures to limit our help to El Salvador & the freedom fighters in Nicaragua. My case on the budget was that the House Dem. budget was so far out of line, there was no way I could accept any split or compromise with the Sen. version. Howard Baker came up with the idea of passing the Sen. version—letting the Dems. in the House pass theirs & since the budget resolution is a non binding thing not a bill we’d have 2 and I would only sign appropriation bills conforming with the Sen. resolution. It would be quite a campaign plus—the Dem. & Repub. versions of govt. spending & the contrast.

  Cable traffic from Beirut was ring of optimism. George S. apparently believes they are close to an agreement on pull out. Foreign Minister Lee Bum Suk—S. Korea came by for a short visit. He’s a personable & very intelligent man & completely sincere about S. Korea friendship with us.

  Had a good Cab. Council meeting on Drugs & our help to our historic Black Colleges & U’s. On drugs we really have a great program going to steer kids away from them. There is real progress & Nancy is a big part of that.

  Presented the Am. Eagle award to Marvin Stone—editor of U.S. News & World Report—their 50th anniversary.

  Tonite the annual reception for the Diplomatic Reception.

  Wednesday, May 4

  Paul Laxalt came by to talk a little politics. He’s being pushed by friends who want to start fundraising etc. for ’84. We agreed it was not a good idea.

  NSC briefing not as optimistic as the last few days re the middle east. Syria is poisoning the well & the possibility of an Israeli-Syrian (plus Soviet) confrontation cannot be ruled out. Armageddon in the prophecies begins with the gates of Damascus being assailed.

  [Press ceremony with U.S. World Cup soccer team.]

  Congressman Carol Campbell brought in a young lady who is being honored as the handicapped person of the year. Mrs. Patti Just Long. Polio at age 4 & now in a wheel chair, she is one of the prettiest, most vivacious likeable persons I’ve ever met. Harold Russell was with her—he’s the soldier who lost both arms in W.W.II & won an Oscar in “Best Yrs. of our Lives.”

  Was interviewed by 6 press members on behalf of entire press corps. Think I got through it unbloodied—I’ll know when the evening news comes on.

  Dick Wirthlin with poll taken after April 27 speech. It did swing some people our way on Central America.—but it was astonishing how few people even know where El Salvador & Nicaragua are.

  Spent balance of afternoon calling Sens. on Intelligence Committee re El Salvador & our aid to the freedom fighters in Nicaragua.

  [Met with early campaign supporters in Congress.]

  Trip—Thursday, May 5 through Monday, May 9

  A meeting with members of Cong. re the MX—this one was preaching to the choir. Then time for a photo with Mrs. Clark, the widow of the Dr. who died after months of living with an artificial heart. She’s a remarkable & likeable lady.

  Off to San Antonio for the Cinco de Mayo celebration. A big outdoor event, a largely Hispanic audience & I believe a fruitful day. Then back on A.F.1 & on to Phoenix. Checked in at Ariz. Biltmore & over to Nancy’s mothers apt. for dinner. She was very much with it & we had a good visit. The next day I addressed the Sun City Posse & was made an honorary member. This is a group of vol. senior citizens who patrol that Sr. Citizens community & have markedly reduced crime there. A bite of lunch at the hotel & off to address the nat. convention of the Nat. Rifle Assn. A crowd of thousands—a 20 min. speech ran 35 mins. because of applause including a standing ovation. Back to Deedee’s—Nancy had arrived & we left for Pt. Mugu & Marine 1 & on to the ranch. Weather beautiful. Sat. like old times except that we rode after lunch because of the timing on some phone calls I had to make in the A.M.

  [Ranch work. Sunday, May 8: ranch work; lunch with Mike Deaver. Monday, May 9: flew to Ashland, Ohio, for speech, commenting, “It’s wonderful to get out in the country & meet the people of this land”; returned to W.H.]

  Tuesday, May 10

  Back to the routine. NSC meeting to settle some matters about the START talks. We’re going to emphasize “warheads” as a negotiation base not launchers or missiles. Over to C. of C. for a closed circuit T.V. program including Mac Baldridge in Paris & meetings of small businessmen + women in 42 locations. Everything went well.

  The problem of the Big 4—the press stories that a feud exists between them (partly true) is intolerable. Tomorrow I’m telling them they must get together, lay everything out on the table & heal their wounds. They have to restore trust in each other. The big split is between Jim B. on one side & Ed M. & B.C. on the other. Lately the leaks have been aimed at Bill & I think they come from the 2nd echelon in Jim’s department.

  Later in day I called the young Sec. of Cong. Don Young, Fla. He had told me of her dying mother—to whom I’d written. She died 4 weeks later. Beverly (his Sec.) wrote me the nicest letter. I felt I had to call her—glad I did.

  Tonite dinner W.H. with the 19 R. Sens. who are up for election in ’84. It was a pleasant evening even if a few of them have strayed from the party path.

  Wednesday, May 11

  [Busy schedule; gave small-business award to owners of Mexican food business.]

  Cardinal Krol came in. He will be with the Pope in Poland. We have made surp
lus food available at concession prices to the Catholic relief for the people of Poland. They have shipped $87 mil. worth this year. The Cardinal will now be on our Pvt. Initiative Council.

  [Met Ray Cave, new managing editor of Time magazine; lunch with John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends; meetings with senators on MX bill; signed proclamation for amateur baseball month, watched game on South Lawn, “I also signed a jillion baseballs.”]

  Late afternoon George Shultz came in—just back from the Middle East. He did a fantastic job & is not too discouraged about Syria’s Soviet backed troublemaking.

  At last meeting with several D. & R. Congressmen on MX & at last Home & Mother.

  Thursday, May 12

  Peter Grace, Chmn. of our private survey team (1500 Vol. Business men & w.) came in with a 1st report. I wish he’d been delivering it to those big spenders on the hill. It shows that if we don’t continue reducing spending—the deficits will be $500 bil. a year before 1990.

  Then met with our citizens commission P.F.I.A.B. which evaluates intelligence. We haven’t one Am. employee in the Soviet Embassy in Wash. They have 209 in our embassy in Wash [Moscow].

  [Met Prime Minister George Price of Belize.]

  Met with Dr. Nitze who leaves Saturday for Geneva to resume the Nuc. Reduction talks we call I.N.F. Like me he believes the Soviets won’t move until & unless we display our intermediate missiles in Europe. A Cabinet meeting to settle a few matters—one, whether to rush to complete filling our salt dome storage areas with crude oil or wait for possible lower prices. We’ll talk some more about that. The same with some changing Food stamp regulations. The cheating in that program is a scandal. Finally agreed to urge State Unemp. Ins. boards to permit unemp. funds to be used for training in colleges for the unemployed.

  [Reunion of White House Fellows; reception for party supporters.]

  Friday, May 13

  N.S.C.—discussed Soviet Summit & how to handle if they broached it. There is possibility Andropov might come to the U.N. If so we should invite him to Wash. & will.

  Met with speechwriters—told them shorter sentences & single syllable words wherever they can be used.

  Intelligence oversight board reported in (every ½ year). They told me they can not find that I’m breaking any laws regarding intelligence operations or covert in Central Am.

  Met with some bipartisan leaders of the House re MX. I think we did some good.

  [Lunch with Jim Baker and Senator Paul Laxalt (R-NV) on budget bill; met with representative of Catholic League for Human Civil Rights; with Lane Kirkland and foreign labor leaders, “Somehow they think we can solve the world’s ec. problems by increasing pay to labor”; visit by Mr. and Mrs. Charlton Heston regarding television syndication rights.]

  Off to Camp David. Weather beautiful. Cocktails outdoors. I have a load of homework with me.

  Saturday, May 14–Sunday, May 15

  Began to cloud up. We scheduled a ride for 2 P.M. It was my 1st ride at Camp David on Giminish. We had to cut it short. He was either spooked by the new territory or he’s got some problems we don’t know about. In the arena (Rock Creek park) when I rode him he was perfect. He began acting up on the trail & became darn near impossible. I felt a little loose in the saddle a few times.

  Went back to the house & got a lot of work done.

  [Senator Paul Laxalt (R-NV) called to withdraw his support of budget compromise, agrees with president to “stay the course”; returned to W.H.]

  Monday, May 16

  His R.H. Prince Hassan of Jordan arrived. He believes the Arab states will pressure Syria into withdrawing from Lebanon after some face saving exchange.

  [Addressed home-builders convention, criticized Congress on budget progress; economic briefing regarding foreign debt; rehearsal for press conference; speech to business leaders on MX; swearing-in ceremony for new ambassador to Austria.]

  Tuesday, May 17

  Started day with Cong. Repub. leadership meeting. Main item was budget. I told them I wanted to stick with our budget. They want to try for a budget resolution which means a compromise with the Dems. I think it would be a disaster. We’ll probably wind up with a year of me vetoing appropriations.

  We had an N.S.C. briefing then right into another meeting with a group of Dem. & Repub. House members on MX. I think we did some good. Later in the day the House Appropriations Committee approved the MX 30 to 26 (11 Dems. with us). It will be a close battle on the floor.

  [Luncheon for the Council on the Arts and Humanities; rehearsal for press conference and then the conference; noted that Israel and Lebanon signed agreement.]

  Wednesday, May 18

  Signed a joint resolution before guests in the Rose Garden. The resolution declared May 21st Andrei Sakharov day. Among the guests was his daughter & her husband. I’m kind of sorry about the whole thing. We’ve been working behind the scenes to get him released—quiet diplomacy. This kind of public demand puts the Soviet politics in a corner where they lose face if they give in.

  Cabinet meeting—Dave Stockman reported on budget deficits. He paints a dismal picture which I can’t help but suspect was designed to convince me we’d have to have tax increases. Frankly, I didn’t understand his figures & since George Shultz didn’t either, I’m still a hold out on taxes.

  [Lunch with leaders from 1980 campaign.]N.S.C. meeting on how to push the Soviets on the conventional arms reductions talks. We’re going to see if they will talk verification—on right inspection etc. If they won’t, there’s not much point in continuing the negotiations.

  Swearing in of Don Rumsfeld as head of E.P.A. He graciously stated that when E.P.A. started 13 yrs. ago with him as head then We in Calif. were out in front of the nation on environmental protection.

  Taped an interview with Jess Marlowe on El Salvador. Tonight 9 P.M. dropped by the W.H. photographers dinner. A few minutes of quips & home.

  Thursday, May 19

  Met with Cong. leadership. Tip a no show. Maybe because on the Today Show he kicked my brains out. I’m a liar, cruel etc., etc.

  Jim Wright in the meeting criticizes me for being partisan. I told him I’d seen (TV) his speech on the Floor about me & I thought I had a couple of licks coming.

  Lew Lehrman & Jack Hume came by. They have a great plan for getting our supporters organized at the Cong. District level. Lunched with George B. Did an interview with Helen Thomas. A Cabinet Council meeting. Don Regan joined me in the office about Ron & his paranoia about S.S. protection. I think he’s being ridiculous & d--n unfair to the guys who are trying to protect his hide. That is settled—we let him sign off permanently—no protection.

  A wonderful family (Filipino) came to the office. Their teenage son has won the nat. science award. He has invented a foil for airplane wings that can result in a 22% savings on fuel.

  [Friday, May 20: flew to Miami to address Cuban American group; returned to Washington; USO special in celebration of Bob Hope’s eightieth birthday.]

  Saturday, May 21

  Off early to Seton Hall U. in N.J. to speak at commencement. We left Wash. in a downpour. Fortunately in N.J. it was just a grey foggy day. The ceremony was out on the Athletic field—1900 graduates & many thousands more in attendance. I was on edge because I didn’t think my prepared remarks were very impressive. I’ve never been able to or wanted to use a graduation ceremony as a forum to get off some speech I wanted to make on an issue important to me. I think the graduates should have a speech directed toward their accomplishment & their day. Well, with the help of some ad-libbing, it turned out fine. Mr. Nardina (A.B.C.), Pearl Bailey & I all received honorary degrees.

  Flew back to Andrews A.F. Base—Nancy met me & we took Marine 1 to Camp David. A downpour but it was good to sit in front of a fire & get some homework done.

  [Sunday, May 22: returned to W.H.; desk work. Monday, May 23: met with Shultz regarding relationship with the Soviets; commented, “I thought we’ve come to a point where we should include Bill Casey & Cap W. in some of our deci
sions”; dropped in on meeting with local representives; lunch at Vice President Bush’s house with top high school students; gave awards to businesses promoting exports; met with eight physically or mentally handicapped Girl Scouts; photo sessions; met with school chess champions and with local officials from North Carolina who built their City Hall with private help, longtime supporter Representative William Lipinski (D-IL); dinner in support of MX for sixty congressmen.]

  Tuesday, May 24

  Our newest appointees came to the W.H. I met with them at 9:45 A.M. Met with Sen. Gordon Humphrey re the MX. He’s stubborn & I don’t think I moved him. He’s stuck on the idea it is vulnerable & won’t listen to any arguments. Met then with 4 Sens.—Jackson, Tower, Nunn & Warner on the “Confidence Building Measures” with the Soviet U. to lessen chances of accidental war or crisis.

  Went to the East Rm. & participated in giving 12 science awards.

  Lunched with Henry K. & Bill C. Henry gave me some food for thought re the Soviets. We’ve been trying to loosen them with some little deeds. We’ve told them we need deeds not words to see if they really want a good relationship. He thinks we should put down a marker on something big—like blockading Nicaragua.

  Had briefing on summit—I’ll be in charge & frankly I’m a little edgy. Made some calls on MX—the vote comes this afternoon. Cabinet meeting on women’s affairs & things we can do to eliminate or reduce discrimination.

  [Met New York Islanders hockey team, then with Japanese philanthropist; noted that MX bill passed in the House.]

  Wednesday, May 25

  Early meeting with George S. & staff plus N.S.C. Reps. George declared need for a better set up to deal with Central Am. He says there is no set or proper organization to centralize command. He’s right. I OK’d a plan. We are bringing Motley—Ambas. to Brazil back to be in charge. We’ll offer Tom Enders Amb. to Spain.

  Spent virtually entire day in Cabinet meeting doing dry runs on the Summit meetings. Various people played the parts of the other heads of State. The young fellow who played P.M. of England—Margaret Thatcher was a stranger to me. When I called on him I told him his gown was lovely.