The Clothes Have No Emperor Part 13

The next day brings an avalanche of testimony from people who distinctly remember making him up during his Hollywood days, and people who distinctly remember seeing him in makeup at recent rallies.

10/11/84.

Citing overpreparation as the cause of President Reagan's dismal debate performance, Sen. Paul Laxalt (R-NV) explains, "He was brutalized by a briefing process that didn't make any sense. The man was absolutely smothered by extraneous material."

Asks Geraldine Ferraro, "Since when is it considered cruel and unusual punishment to expect the President to learn the facts he needs to govern."

10/11/84.

Geraldine Ferraro and Vice President Bush debate in Philadelphia, with Ferraro putting on a surprisingly low-key performance and Bush an alarmingly animated one. Since the culture values noise and movement over quiet reason, the instant media a.n.a.lysis gives him the victory, though it's hard to find anything he said to earn it. Highlights: *Bush denies telling journalist Robert Scheer that he thought nuclear war was winnable "I was quoted wrong, obviously, 'cause I never thought that" though Scheer has him on tape saying precisely that *Bush giddily attacks Mondale's negativity: "Almost every place you can point, contrary to Mr. Mondale's I gotta be careful here but contrary of how he goes around just saying everything bad. If somebody sees a silver lining, he finds a big black cloud out there. I mean, right on, whine on, harvest moon!"

*Bush condescendingly explains "the difference, Mrs. Ferraro, between Iran and the emba.s.sy in Lebanon ... We went to Lebanon to give peace a chance ... and we did. We saw the formation of a government of reconciliation and for somebody to suggest, as our two opponents have, that these men died in shame they better not tell the parents of those young marines."

*Ferraro shoots back, "Let me just say, first of all, that I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing att.i.tude that you have to teach me about foreign policy ... And let me say further that no one has ever said that those young men who were killed through the negligence of this administration and others ever died in shame."

*Bush boasts of President Reagan's alleged ability to engage a foreign leader in a discussion of a serious issue: "I wish everybody could have seen that one the President, giving the facts to Gromyko in all of these nuclear meetings. Excellent Excellent, right on top of that subject matter. And I'll bet you that Gromyko went back to the Soviet Union saying, 'Hey, listen, this President is calling the shots. We'd better move.'"

As columnist Murray Kempton has observed of Bush, "By will, energy, and the suppression of every impulse of shame, he has transformed himself into an Ivy League cheerleader, the perfect gentleman on his way to being the perfect idiot."

10/12/84.

"We tried to kick a little a.s.s last night. Whoops! Oh, G.o.d, he heard me! Turn that thing off!"

--Vice President Bush whispering his a.n.a.lysis of the debate to a New Jersey longsh.o.r.eman, then noticing that his remark has been picked up by a live mike 10/15/84.

"What am I supposed to order?"

--President Reagan to an aide at a McDonald's campaign stop in Tuscaloosa, Alabama 10/15/84.

The a.s.sociated Press reports the existence of a CIA- prepared manual advising Nicaraguan rebels how to blackmail unwilling citizens into supporting their cause, how to arrange the deaths of fellow rebels to create martyrs, and how to kidnap and kill (or, as the manual puts it, "neutralize") government officials.

10/16/84.

Vice President Bush pulls out a dictionary in his ludicrous effort to prove that the Democratic ticket maligned the murdered Marines. "'Humiliation: shame, disgrace and degradation,'" he crows. "Webster's equates humiliation with ... deep shame ... Accusing young men of dying without a purpose and for no reason is, in the lexicon of the American people, a shame ... I said our opponents suggested our Marines died in shame. That was and is an accurate statement of the case." Mondale suggests that Bush "doesn't have the manhood to apologize."

10/18/84.

Defending George Bush's a.s.sertion that Mondale and Ferraro had implied that the 241 Marines killed in Beirut had "died in shame," press secretary Peter Teeley says, "You can say anything you want during a debate, and 80 million people hear it." And what if the print media can prove that he lied? "So what? Maybe 200 people read it or 2,000 or 20,000."

10/18/84.

A senior Administration official says President Reagan did not know about the a.s.sa.s.sination manual until "after it appeared in the newspaper yesterday."

10/19/84.

"The idea that the public has come to feel that they have a vested interest in protecting him is fascinating to me."

--CBS' Lesley Stahl on negative reaction to news reports critical of President Reagan 10/19/84.

"Wouldn't it be much more honest if Mondale bluntly accused Reagan of being an addled, confused old coot? I'm sure he believes it, as do many Democrats. That's really their main campaign message. So why not just get it out in the open?"

--Columnist Mike Royko 10/19/84.

"Why aren't we talking about these hostages? ... Why is it allowed to stand when Ronald Reagan says America won't have hostages again? ... Are we bored with hostages now?"

--Lucille Levin, wife of one of the three Americans kidnapped by Lebanese terrorists in March, bemoaning the media's failure to remind the public of how tough the President talked when he took office 10/20/84.

"I don't know which possibility is worse a President who doesn't know what his government is doing or a President knowing of this illegal action and approving it."

--Walter Mondale on President Reagan's professed ignorance of the CIA manual 10/21/84.

At the second Reagan/Mondale debate in Kansas City, the President successfully delivers an obviously rehea.r.s.ed one-liner "I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience" and his ability to remember this zinger puts an end to fears about his recently displayed senility. So determined are voters to ignore his flaws that not even his observation that Armageddon could come "the day after tomorrow" (a comment that prompts Nancy to gasp, "Oh, no!") or his almost incoherent closing statement (something about a time capsule and a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway) can dissuade them.

10/23/84.

The Christic Inst.i.tute releases a statement from close to 100 religious leaders who find President Reagan's belief in the imminence of Armageddon "profoundly disturbing."

10/24/84.

"Everybody who has ever thought for more than two minutes about the nuclear dilemma knew that. If you didn't know that, you didn't know what the subject even was."

--The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, scoffing at President Reagan's debate claim that Soviet dependence on land-based missiles came as a surprise to many in his administration 10/25/84.

"Mondale don't know nothing, and not only that, but the woman running against you, I don't know her name and I don't want to know her name."

--A supporter of Vice President Bush greeting the candidate 10/25/84.

"I read every comic strip in the paper."

--President Reagan, who, you'll remember, had no time to read the five-and-a-half-page report on the latest Beirut bombing 10/28/84.

"Mr. Reagan's ignorance about the Soviet Union and his air-headed rhetoric on the issues of foreign policy and arms control have reached the limit of tolerance and have become an embarra.s.sment to the U.S. and a danger to world peace."

--The Chicago Tribune endorsing yes, endorsing yes, endorsing endorsing the President the President 10/29/84.

Doonesbury news reporter Roland Hedley Jr. announces that this is the day George Bush "will formally place his embattled manhood in a blind trust." news reporter Roland Hedley Jr. announces that this is the day George Bush "will formally place his embattled manhood in a blind trust."

NOVEMBER 1984.

11/1/84.

Campaigning in New York, Vice President Bush declares, "I'm for Mr. Reagan blindly." Says Walter Mondale, "He said he supports the President blindly. I think that's about the best way to do it."

Bush's repellent conduct throughout the campaign prompts The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post to editorialize, "He seems to reveal himself, as all viewers of to editorialize, "He seems to reveal himself, as all viewers of Dallas Dallas will long since have noted, as the Cliff Barnes of American politics bl.u.s.tering, opportunistic, craven and hopelessly ineffective all at once." will long since have noted, as the Cliff Barnes of American politics bl.u.s.tering, opportunistic, craven and hopelessly ineffective all at once."

11/2/84.

After a last meal of Cheez Doodles and Coca-Cola, 51-year- old Velma Barfield is executed in North Carolina for murdering her boyfriend by poisoning his beer. Nine minutes after she is declared dead, her body is brought to a waiting ambulance, where a donor-transplant team tries in vain to restart her heart in order to save her kidneys.

11/3/84.

President Reagan explains that the word "neutralize" in the CIA manual which he, of course, has not read merely meant "remove from office," not "a.s.sa.s.sinate." And how does one remove an unwanted official? "You just say to the fellow that is sitting there in the office, 'You're not in the office anymore.'"

11/5/84.

Nancy Reagan gets out of her Sacramento hotel bed to get a blanket and, not realizing the bed is on a raised platform, pitches forward and bashes her head on a chair, forming an egg-sized lump at her hairline. She remains wobbly for days.

11/6/84.

With a still woozy Nancy Reagan losing her balance at their California polling place, the First Couple cast their ballots. Asked who he's just voted for, the President smiles, bobs his head and says, "I can't remember his name." Though Reagan declines to predict it "I'm cautiously optimistic," he says Dan Rather announces his re-election at 8:01 p.m. EST. His 525 electoral votes are the most ever won, his 49 states (he loses DC and Minnesota) tie Nixon's 1972 landslide and he takes the popular vote by 59% (54,450,603) to Walter Mondale's 41% (37,573,671).

In Los Angeles, the President his gla.s.sy-eyed wife beside him declares victory. "America's best days lie ahead," he says, "and you know you'll forgive me I'm gonna do it just one more time: You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

11/10/84.

The White House announces that two Reagan-ordered investigations have concluded that there was "no violation" of the law when the CIA manual was written for the Nicaraguan rebels.

11/21/84.

Nancy Reagan tells columnist Betty Beale that the First Couple and adopted son Michael have been experiencing a three-year "estrangement," which explains why the pro-family President has never set eyes on his 19-month-old granddaughter Ashley. Responds Michael, "I never realized we were estranged. Maybe strange, but not estranged."

11/22/84.

Michael Reagan says that the family rift is "not an estrangement as much ... as a jealousy Nancy might have towards me and my family, you know, being the son of another marriage." The White House retaliates by citing a family friend's suggestion that Michael "needs some guidance," and rumors circulate that he might be, among other things, a kleptomaniac. Michael calls this "defamation of character," comparing himself to "one of the guys in the cabinet they're trying to ease out."

11/26/84.

John W. Hinckley Jr. writes to Newsweek Newsweek proposing that he as a "political prisoner" be exchanged for internally exiled Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov. "I would be much safer and happier in the U.S.S.R.," he says. "I think exchanging Hinckley for Sakharov is a fair trade." proposing that he as a "political prisoner" be exchanged for internally exiled Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov. "I would be much safer and happier in the U.S.S.R.," he says. "I think exchanging Hinckley for Sakharov is a fair trade."

11/27/84.

Appearing on Today Today after being interviewed by after being interviewed by The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, Michael Reagan says of his family's squabble, "Hopefully we can get this whole thing solved, but not in the press." Minutes later, on the CBS Morning News CBS Morning News, he says, "I just want to see this whole thing taken care of, really, in an above-board type of way, outside of the press."

11/29/84.

"Sam, I'm not gonna take any questions in this photo opportunity here. I'm just thinkin' of lookin' pretty for the cameras."

--President Reagan to Sam Donaldson, who had the temerity to ask a question during a picture-taking session DECEMBER 1984.

12/3/84.

A gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticides plant in Bhopal, India kills 2,000 people in one night, with an eventual death toll of 3,329.

12/4/84.

Rev. Jerry Falwell testifies at his $45 million libel trial against Larry Flynt that he "felt like weeping" when he saw a parody ad in Hustler Hustler quoting him as claiming that he "always got sloshed" before preaching, and that he'd lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse. Interrogating Flynt in a videotaped deposition, Falwell's lawyer, Norman Grutman, asks if he'd intended to harm his client's integrity. Replies Flynt, "To a.s.sa.s.sinate it." quoting him as claiming that he "always got sloshed" before preaching, and that he'd lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse. Interrogating Flynt in a videotaped deposition, Falwell's lawyer, Norman Grutman, asks if he'd intended to harm his client's integrity. Replies Flynt, "To a.s.sa.s.sinate it."

12/6/84.

The President meets with six-year-old Kristin Ellis, the March of Dimes poster child. He gives her a jar of jellybeans, and she gives him a black, 12-pound sheep dog puppy. The dog, named Lucky, becomes a regular feature on weekend newscasts as she drags Nancy Reagan across the White House lawn to and from the Camp David helicopter.

12/9/84.

Returning to the White House from a Camp David weekend, President Reagan is asked if there have been any new developments on the Kuwaiti jet hijacked in Iran. He hesitates. "Nothing new on Iran, no," mutters Nancy. "No," says the President.

12/17/84.

Madonna's "Like A Virgin" begins a six-week run as the nation's favorite song. The singer's calculated s.e.xual image underwear-as-outerwear topped off with crucifix accessories strikes a chord with rock fans put off by the as.e.xuality of Michael Jackson. Her next single, "Material Girl," proves her to be in sync with the national zeitgeist and, with legions of Madonna-Wanna-Bes adopting her look, she realizes her ambition to become the female star of the decade.

12/22/84.

Four black youths are joined in their New York subway car by a tall, skinny white man with thick gla.s.ses. As he later tells the story, one of them asks for five dollars, which scares him so much he pulls out his unlicensed gun and shoots all four firing an extra shot into the back of one, paralyzing him for life before escaping into the underground tunnels.

12/28/84.

At a fence-mending session with son Michael, the Reagans set eyes on their 20-month-old granddaughter Ashley for the first time. "It was a nice visit," says Nancy afterward. "There are no differences. All is resolved. Everybody loves each other and this is a wonderful way to start the new year."

12/31/84.

Claiming to have acted in self-defense though his victims were "armed" only with screwdrivers Bernhard Goetz, a 37-year-old Manhattan electronics specialist, confesses to being the "DEATH WISH SUBWAY GUNMAN" and surrenders to police in Concord, New Hamps.h.i.+re. "I wanted to kill those guys, I wanted to maim those guys, I wanted to make them suffer in every way I could," he says, practically foaming at the mouth. "If I had more bullets I would have shot 'em all, again and again ... I was gonna gouge one of the guys' eyes out with my keys afterwards. You can't understand this. I know you can't understand this. That's fine." He three times suggests to police that they "put a bullet in my head."

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JANUARY 1985.

1/4/85.

New York Times: DEAVER TO LEAVE WHITE HOUSE POST FOR PRIVATE LIFE / AIDE CLOSEST TO THE REAGANS CITES THE COST OF LIVING NO WORD ON SUCCESSOR 1/7/85.

Nancy Reagan tells Time Time she has deliberately altered "the gaze" she uses to stare raptly at her husband "because there was so much talk about it and it was kind of ridiculed." she has deliberately altered "the gaze" she uses to stare raptly at her husband "because there was so much talk about it and it was kind of ridiculed."

1/7/85.

Announcing, "I found you someone your own age to play with," Michael Deaver informs President Reagan that White House chief of staff James Baker and Treasury Secretary Donald Regan have decided to swap jobs. The President nods amiably.

1/8/85.

Richard M. Nixon is reported to be in "excruciating pain" suffering from "the worst case of s.h.i.+ngles" his doctor has ever seen.

1/9/85.

President Reagan concludes his 27th press conference his first in almost six months by urging reporters to "get together and find some way in which I don't have to leave so many hands in the air." No one dares suggest increasing the frequency of such events.

1/13/85.

President Reagan is reported to have recently spent part of a Sunday reading a 17-page briefing paper on arms control. And, as if that wasn't enough, he even "made a large number of marginal notations."