European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 1, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday february 1. 1986 William Safire hand ing of news showed Nasa of be in disarray am Mih .,.,.,., m in t i or incr of fire in in a it a in junk 1 a while mouse speech writers Uherc crafting phrases i res Ideal Nixon might use in congratulating the first men in Laius on the Moon. Veas sued a Sale Clurn. Bill were drawn up Short by a cull from Frank Horman. The astronaut assigned by Nasa to be while House Liaison. You want to be thinking of some Al Lern alive posture for the  said the astronaut in the event of mishaps on Apollo  when i did not immediately catch his Drift he said like what to do for the  when space disaster finally struck the Shock of uric engendered a National sense of Community we Reuline Only now whal heroes these seven Brave americans were when they were still alive. The Lask of finding out what Well wrong and fixing it belongs to scientists but it is no derogation of the value of Mannel Pace exploration for laymen i Ivrin a dry eyed assessment of  went wrong at Nasa in Limimg Puli the Public. We know the space Agency is in administrative disarray. Director James Boggs indicted for fraud is on leave. The Man who stepped in As acting director last month had been with Nasa for one week. The Public information chief a general dynamics associate of Reggs had just been moved aside to make room for Shir Lex Green formerly Deputy to the de parted press aide to vice president Bush. This was hardly a top Echelon prepared for emergencies. The Nasa Public affairs division s contingency plan for disaster dated March .10. I9k4. Reads in part in the event of an emergency involving Crew injury or fatality. The fact will be apparent to radio listen ers and to viewers. Status of the Crew will be the prime Public consideration. The facts once confirmed should be announced As promptly As  the space shuttle challenger blew up at 11 40 . More than an hour later Nasa announced it would hold a press conference at .1 . Then it 4 . Finally at 4 30, four hours and 50 minutes later after most schoolchildren at whom this Leachjr in space shuttle was aimed had left school Jesse Moore of Nasa appeared. Moore. Who has charge of the shuttle Anthony Lewis photos record the shuttle explosion thai killed All a ctn Crew Mcm hrs aboard. Program was the proper official to make a statement. However lie had Little to say other than to confirm what the nation had seen on television to announce the Auto Matic impoundment of data and launch of an investigation and to refuse to speculate on the causes of the explosion. He could have made his statement All but the fuel that a search showed no evidence of survivors Well within the contingency plan s 20 minutes. Nasa s representative then showed he was Unready for the Public Side of this Contin gency. A simple factual question How much liquid fuel was in the external tank deserved an answer or at least a Well get that to you right away but it was turned aside As if improper. A gentle ques Tion asking about the effect on youngsters watching on television cried out for some reassuring response made later by the presi Den but nobody at Nasa briefed Moore on How to Deal sensitively with the huge school audience assembled. He spoke outdoors in deep Shadow which made even necessary evasions seem sinister. Nasa explains that the crush of questioners required outdoor stands and the producer who would have had the sense to put a Light on the speaker and to Check the sound connection that proved faulty was in Houston splitting his satellites time with the voyager Story. Shirley Green holds that the Mission control commentator who spoke of a major malfunction and apparent explosion soon after the fireball appeared on screens fulfilled Nasa s reporting responsibilities. She tells me that it would have been irresponsible to make any statement before ships on the scene con firmed that there had been no survivors. That an excuse not a reason. A top Nasa official not some disembodied voice should have been on screen promptly qualifying his casualty judgment with news about the search for survivors. Soon after the tragedy was the moment for the Man in charge to step up to the cameras and Deal with the bad news. The astronauts did All that humans could engineers and scientists had their Contin gency plans Only the face that Nasa shows the world was shadowy and ill pre pared. Cd new York Tomti Newl service a Beffer understanding of the magic of personality in the hours after the explosion of the shuttle challenger people waited not for an answer because there could be none yet but for words of Consolation. They came with rare Grace from presi Dent Reagan. Today is a Day for mourning and re  in a few words simple and direct the president gave meaning to the deaths of the seven Crew members. He spoke to their families with consoling re Spect. He expressed our inchoate feelings. He was touching without being mawkish. He was dignified. Listening to Reagan i thought i understood better than Ever before the mys Tery of his enormous popularity As presi Dent. That is. How can the american people feel such respect for a president whose ideology and actual policies Many do not accept the latest new York times lbs news poll indicates the dimensions of the mystery. An astonishing 65 percent of those polled approved of the Way Reagan handles his Job. That is a higher rating than Franklin Roosevelt or Dwight Eisen Hower got a year into their second terms. Yet when it came to issues the i ssi americans interviewed in that poll showed that they had very different views from the president s. The environment for example 66 per cent said they believe environmental improvements arc necessary regardless of Cost up from 45 percent in 1981. That jump in concern must reflect the failings of the Reagan years such As the scandal in the environmental Protection Agency stalemate on renewal of the urgent toxic waste Law loot dragging on acid rain. Yet Many of those concerned citizens still approve of Ronald Reagan As president. On welfare too there was a fall ing away from the president s views. He campaigned against welfare cheats and the asserted failure of government poverty programs. Yet the percentage of people who think welfare recipients do not need it has fallen since 1980 from 51 to 40. And 66 percent think the government should spend More now on efforts like those of the 1960s to help the poor an idea that is anathema to Reagan. In foreign policy the president s Over arching claim in his 1984 re election Campaign was that the United states was once again standing tall in the world. Of those polled 25 percent said the United states is More respected now than when Reagan took office 37 percent said in is less respected. The poll showed remarkable concern about arms control. People put it along with the budget deficit at the top of a list of problems facing the country. And 41 percent were optimistic that an arms control agreement would be reached with the soviet Union. Yet key figures in the Rea Gan administration Are implacably opposed to arms control and agreement is not in sight on any major arms Issue. In All of this one senses a crucial aspect of the Reagan phenomenon much remarked upon. The Public or much of it simply docs not connect the Man with his government. People May worry about the deficit or War in Central America or whatever but they do not connect the the Public attitude May in part reflect Reagan s own turn of Mhd. He too does i of nne Lions he refuses to be Lieve that his increases in defense spend d sit h  to do . He sees a vision of space defense without at All acknowledging the dangers Edv of8fhrs Rhan under a by the rag cd of the challenger. He Sticks to visions to ideologies untainted by facts. The main reason for Public affection lies As always in Reagan s personality and his ability to communicate it. How Clear that was in the shuttle disaster. In cold print the next Day his words seemed Flat. But when he spoke there was Tan Gible emotion in them resonating with his listeners. It is not at All irrational for americans to want a president who symbolizes heir feelings their Pride who talks As if to them. But to divorce that Symbol from government policy and its consequences has not been the american system. It is rather what Walter Bagehot the 19th Century essayist saw As the Genius of the English Constitution. Bagehot saw the British government As divided into two parts the dignified which commands the reverence of the population and the efficient which works and  the monarchy leads the dignified part the prime minister the efficient. In president Reagan americans have a near perfect King. But there will be a heavy Price to pay in the end for confusing the magic or personality with the hard work and hard choices of government. C new Yorlli Tolmei Newl service