Reagan’s political clout in question—again

Press, 15 July 1987, Page 38

Reagan’s political clout in question—again

By

GENE GIBBONS

NZPA-Reuter Washington

Conjecture is again rife that President Reagan’s clout is ebbing. But Reagan, who has frequently risen after premature declarations of his demise, scoffs at the spate of political obituaries that have appeared in the last few weeks.

"All those who talk about lame ducks and the post-Reagan era are dead wrong,” he told supporters recently. Reagan’s standing in the polls has sagged because of the Iran-contra scandal, and Congress has rebuffed him on key issues, including a proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia.

“He’s become a kindly old relative that you don't have to pay much attention to. He’s just run his course," said Senator James Sasser, a Demo-

crat. That blunt assessment of Reagan, who at 76 is the oldest president in United States history, was echoed by a front-page report recently in the “New York Times.” "The growing consensus of a wide cross-section of officials is that the prospects are dim for a resurgence of the (Reagan) presidency without an arms control agreement with the Soviet Union or some other major achievement,” it said. Such reports stem from disclosures at congressional hearings on the Iran-contra scandal that have chagrined even Reagan’s most ardent Republican defenders; from his sometimes stumbling performance at the Venice economic summit early this month; and from such events as a rambling speech to

students who visited the White House recently. Reagan, who put aside his prepared text to address the students off-the-cuff about America’s ethnic diversity, said, “It’s all right to have an affinity for what was the mother country for all of us, because if a man takes unto himself a wife, he doesn’t stop loving his mother because of that. But at the same time, we’re all Americans.”

But a group that met Reagan privately in the Oval Office 24 hours later came away surprised by his depth of knowledge about an obscure issue and his ability to discuss it cogently. Indeed, Reagan has made a habit of surprising people throughout his political career. Early in 1976, for example, he was written off politically after his chal-

lenge to incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford failed to impress enough voters to win key Republican primary elections. But Reagan turned things round by scoring a stunning upset midway through the primary season and went on to force major political concessions from Ford before giving up that fight. In 1980 a prominent television commentator said Reagan’s dreams of the White House were shattered for good when he lost another early test of political strength — the lowa precinct caucuses — to George Bush. Reagan went on to win the Republican nomination and, with Bush as his running-mate, ousted Jimmy Carter from the White House 10 months later.

Reagan rose from the political ashes again in

1984, winning re-election by a landslide after losing his first televised debate against his Democratic 'rival, Walter Mondale.

Reflecting on the “Now he’s up, now he’s down” assessments that have been a recurring theme of Reagan’s presidency, a “Washington Post” columnist, Meg Greenfield, wrote recently, "I don’t believe that Reagan has gone to pieces any more than I will believe that he is king of the world when he has his next upswing in our public mood.

“There’s no way his last couple of years will be a picnic — the running down of energies and the running out of the political clock see to that. But he could recapture some of that lost political force and make those years a lot better than they bid to be right now.”