The Clothes Have No Emperor: A Chronicle of the American '80s by Paul Slansky

Author:Paul Slansky
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Politics and government, United States, Humor, Form, 1981-1989, Presidents & Heads of State, Miscellanea, Horror, Reagan, General, Ronald, Biography & Autobiography, Fiction, Comic Strips & Cartoons, 20th century, History
ISBN: 9780671673390
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 1989-02-15T03:43:36.571621+00:00

NOVEMBER 1985

11/5/85

Larry Speakes dismisses President Reagan's incoherent rambling about SDI deployment as "presidential imprecision," explaining that he meant to use the word "sharing" instead of "deployment." Oh.

11/6/85

At a dinner honoring one of the Justice Department's most rigid right-wing ideologues, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) says, "It may be said of Brad Reynolds, and President Reagan, decades from today, that they did more to free the nation of policies of prejudice than any other policy-maker since Abraham Lincoln."

Adds Ed Meese, "Brad Reynolds has proved to be nothing less than the most powerful advocate of civil rights in our time." Then George Will's wife, Madeleine, fills in some details from Brad's past: "As a Cub Scout he blew up his Cub Scout leader's outhouse. His interest in incendiaries continued into adolescence, when he threw a bomb into a librarian's car in high school. So when his critics call him a 'bomb thrower,' they are more accurate than they know."

11/7/85

President Reagan has lunch with six Soviet specialists in preparation for his upcoming summit in Geneva. A participant reports that though the President was "very affable" and seemed to be listening very intently, he asked no questions.

11/9/85

Toasting Princess Diana on her first visit to the United States, President Reagan refers to her as "Princess David." Observes a BBC correspondent, "President Reagan greeted the Prince and Princess wearing a plaid jacket that was remarkably similar to the carpet at Balmoral Castle."

11/13/85

"He's just so programmed. We tried to tell him what was in the bill but he doesn't understand. Everyone, including Republicans, were just shaking their heads."

--Rep. Mary Rose Oskar (D-OH) on President Reagan's reaction to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget bill

11/15/85

Soviet spokesman Georgi Arbatov says that while President Reagan prepared for the summit by watching taped interviews, Mikhail Gorbachev has more traditional methods of study. "He doesn't need 10-minute video clips," Arbatov says. "He has a concentration span." He claims not to know if Gorbachev watched any of Reagan's old movies, adding, "They are B-rated anyway." Responds Reagan – keenly sensitive to underappreciation of his acting achievements – "Well, he's never seen Kings Row."

11/17/85

Donald Regan explains why the Geneva activities of Nancy Reagan and Raisa Gorbachev will be of special interest to female readers. "They're not ... going to understand throw-weights," he says, "or what is happening in Afghanistan, or what is happening in human rights. Some women will, but most ... would rather read the human interest stuff." The President, meanwhile, is reported to be upset by suggestions that Raisa is more attractive than his Nancy.

11/19/85

President Reagan – who has explained his failure to meet with previous Soviet leaders because "they kept dying on me" – demonstrates his youthfulness by lunging out without an overcoat to greet Mikhail Gorbachev at the start of their two-day summit. The two spend almost three hours alone with their interpreters, though a "news blackout" makes their alleged rapport difficult to confirm. The President reportedly urges the Soviet leader to "do one thing for me. Tell Arbatov they weren't all B-movies."

Meanwhile, Nancy Reagan and Raisa Gorbachev have tea.

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