European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes wednesday May 7,1986 columns coir ments pres shamed by the Fodiny Fri had by Andy Rodney it s embarrassing for people in the news business when some idiot asks the presided a dumb question at it Tele Vised while House pros conference. Sometimes there someone on the loony fringe who actually gels in and asks question. The questions asked of president Reagan at a mid april press conference were better than usual. They were sharper and More to the Point than his answer but that sound to happen. The reporter has usually written and studied the question he or she wants to ask and the presi Dent while he May have done some Homework on the general subject but does t know exactly Bow the ques Tion s going to come at him. The practice of allowing a reporter a follow up questions a Good idea but it has t worked out very Welt. It should allow a reporter to pursue he president on a question he has t answered satisfactorily. Half the time though the reporter s follow up question has nothing to do with the question but he or she Hai already decided to ask. It before hear Trig the president s answer. The first question May be about the problem of american Farmers and the second question about terrorism in the Middle East. Thamisn t n follow up question. White House reporters say the president can usually answer the first question a reporter asks because he s prep cd for it. If the reporter gets to probe More deeply with a follow up question the president often gels in Rou ble. The most difficult press conferences for any president arc t Hose where All he questions Are on one f to Becl. If the reporters Bounce from one subject to another and never pursue one in depth then the president does t get in Over his head. You can Tell when the president in t comfortable try ing to answer a Bard question. He starts with Well As i say usually when he says As i a he has t said Ita Lall. Helen Thomas got the press conference off to a goo Start with a question that was important direct and Brief. Do you have any solid evidence that khad Afy is responsible for recent acts of terrorism the embarrassing episode for the legitimate reporters did t come until the end when a woman with press credentials named Gertrude Engel marched to the front and tried to give president Reagan an award from some inter Valiona body builders association. The president was briefly confused by her approach As any polite person would Hare been. Gertrude Engel is listed at representing Liberty new service there is no such thing that i can locate except  Encl s mind. I called the while House to ask How she got in and they shuffled me from office to office. No one knew or would say How Gertrude eng i got press credentials. -1. ,. I called Gertrude Engel and she said she wrote for a Magazine called pathways to living in new Jersey and another called let s live in California pathways to living is not in any of the Standar reference books that list hundreds of thousand of publications. ,. A Call loan address in Hackensack n.j., that mis Sengel gave me revealed that pathways to living is not a. Magazine but a four Page pamphlet. In California the editor of let s live gave a curl no to the question of whether Gertrude Engel write Tor that publication. Apparently she had some time in the past. Asking if she d be writing for them in the future i got he second Curt "no.," the while House was had when it gave Gertrude Engel press credentials that admit her to any while House press conference. Either thai or they deliberately let people like her in to make the rest of the press look ridiculous. She is not a legitimate news representative. She s a gadfly who prys her Way into hundreds of Washington events every year representing herself As a report s. I d appreciate i if the White House credentials people were More careful of our president in the future. He has enough trouble with real reporters. Ice try Unm los Rita i you mean it s All my fault again by Art Buchwald when the Price of Oil was s33 a barrel a tribunal of Energy experts told me it was my fault. They called me on the carpet and said shame on  Are consuming too much gasoline and making us hostage 10 the open nations. If you continue Down this Slothful path you will dry up the world Oil reserves by be year  do you want me Tod 1 asked them. The members of the tribunal looked Down ser qty and said buy a smaller car use it Only for essential trips. Slop Joy Riding. Keep the heat in the the House at 60 degrees. Replace011 Heaters with Coal. Cut out air conditioning. Use must transportation As often As you can. Drive is Miles per hour and have your engine cleaned by or.  if do All that will the Price of Oil go Down no. The Price of Oil will never go Down in your lifetime or ours. All we want you Todo is keep it from rising Iris  Why will it continue to soar i asked one of the Wisemen. ,. Because the open nations will make sure Petroleum is always in Short Supply so they can drive up the  can anyone break this stranglehold not in your time Boychick he old. Expect to pay$50 a barrel and be grateful they will sell it to you. Now get out of Here and conserve every cup of ail you  i did u i was instructed. 1 sold the big car and bought foreign midget. I insulated the House. Instead of Gas or Oil i burned Wood in my stoves. The kids without any prodding from me sold their snowmobiles and began Riding the bus. Then for no reason the Price of Oil dropped first by afew pennies then by Nickels and dimes and finally by big Petra bucu., the tribunal of Oil Wise men called me in. I though they were going to congratulate me for my conserve Tiaa. But they were angry. You be made fools of us. We predicted the Price of Oil would go up but it has gone  i had nothing to do with  hah your conservation methods have caused an Oil glut. More Oil is being produced than is being sold and Here is anarchy in the  one person can t cause an Oil  you alone but everyone like you who Cut Back on consumption. Because of lot of cheap people Oil May hits a  you told me open would never i thai  " they double crossed each other by drilling More Oil than they had agreed to. This forced everyone to open up their spigots and Start a Price War. The consumer is now incharge.". Anything wrong with that the first Rule of any business is to never let the con Sumer be in  so Tell me Wise ones How do i make the Oil nation swell. Double Yoiiro consumption of lighter fluid. Buy a . Give each one of your kids a porsche. Use Healing Oil to Barbecue your steaks. Replace your electric lights with Gas ones. Take an Exxon executive to lunch. Can you do it i guess so. But i son of enjoy paying 70 cents to gasoline. It task t shaken me up As much As i thought it  think of yourself. Think of All the Banks that have made Loans to the Petroleum Industry. Remember every Lime the Price of Oil drops so cents a barrel a ban executive gets tick to his stomach today s crossword by Eugene she feb across1 weaken 4 choose 7 goads cupid j missile10 kind of smrt11accuses 19 Nursery rhyme lad16 mimic 17 greek contests 18-Wmanmaterial 19 let it stand 20 moistens11 fall lower 83 group of 20 25 plunder26 Flatfish 27 skill28 biblical name30 " Stop 33 bins Crosby film 36 roofer 37 hauled38 Gladden 39 poems Stum Merln sounds biblical name down1111 will s mom s sister solution time 22 Man. Lowing12 retinue 14 German River 15 printers units 19 filth place Zos Orro 8 monastery 21 Moldin Ghead Ridge 9 surging 22 colonize23 tolerable 24 Jen Mother in Lassie 25 chum 26 British sword 28 Bride s destination 29encoun-ters Ftp Jii 3� Canlon Retreat 31 employs 32 criterion Abr. 34 story35 Mineral Deposit a esterday s answer b-7 Hubert Taftt Utoff in a stats