European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes wednesday november 5,1963 Jody Powell press ignores Reagan goofs in Gorbachev talks our presidents Abi Uty to make dithering dodos of the pros continues to amaze. For the Pas weeks he has been what May be his All time Best which Means that the fourth estate has been at an abysmal Low. Touring the nation on his last Campaign Rea Gan has played Reykjavik and strategic policy in the most shamelessly partisan fashion. No political fraud has been beneath his dignity including the implication that democrats Are palsies for Moscow unconcerned about the nation s Security. Networks and newspapers bul particularly the former have faithfully featured the president i rhetoric prominently and for the most part uncritically. Largely ignored it the mounting persuasive Evi Dence that the president committed a Colossa Blunder at Reykjavik and thai the administration has lied repeatedly in an Effort to cover it up. The president charges that some democrats might be willing to Trade away ski. The record shows that hallowed or. Gorbachev to snooker him Inlo an agreement to Trade away our entire strategic deter rent my b-52, minuteman by Poseidon Tri Dent the works by 1996, the Issue is not whether such an agreement would have Ever been implemented. It would have been renounced by the joint chiefs denounced your allies and overwhelmingly rejected by the sen ate. The real question is Reagan s competence an credibility on the most Basic issues of strategic policy. Here Are the facts on sunday afternoon immediately following the end of the Summit Secretary of stale George Shutlz Lold reporters As the agreement. Said during this 10-year period in effect All strategic ants and ballistic missiles wow be  that evening White House chief of staff Dona Dregan went even further we said to the soviets we will do away with ail nuclear weapons nuclear bombs nuclear shells for artillery everything was on the  in his address to the nation on monday night the president claimed to have offered Only the Elimina Tion of ballistic missiles a highly questionable idea in itself but far less dangerous than the dismantling of our entire strategic deterrent. By the next morning however Reagan was Back to his original version. In a briefing of congressional Leaden he claimed with obvious Pride that he hid agreed to eliminate All strategic nuclear Force with in 10 years. Later in the briefing Shultz confirmed the president s state men. Saying that we had agreed to eliminate All strategic nuclear  senators or both parties recall thai both Reagan and Shutlz failed to modify that astounding statement when offered a Chance to do 10. Shutlz even attempted to defend the idea. On Friday following the Summit sen. Sam Putin d-oa., took note of these startling statement in speech on the Senate floor. The agreement Wai con fined to ballistic Miu Iles. No explanation a offered Aslo How the president and the Secretary of state could so grossly minute what Why hid Agre Edlo not once but twice. In fact there was Little pressure for an explanation since the press largely ignored Nunn s speech. Speaking of lie and cover ups Nunn also said that senior military Leaden had told him flatly that not even the elimination of bal Listic missiles much less the entire nuclear deter rent had been presented to them for analysis. Three Days earlier National Security adviser John poin Deiter had claimed that the idea was thoroughly studied by the Pentagon in june last week the plot thickened when Gorbachev claimed that Reagan had indeed agreed to Trad away our nuclear deterrent and released quotations from the president to support his  the same Lime the president speaking to Campaign rally in Oklahoma offered yet a third version of the agreement. This time he claimed to have reached an agreement to abolish All nuclear Mil All this forced administration spokesmen in ditch the Flat denials and admit thai trading away our nuclear deterrent had been discussed Bdl not agreed  this change of posture was accompanied by denunciations of Moscow for releasing the quotes. However contrary to is Tell for Tat policy another issues the administration declined to Correct the record by releasing the  taken by our  explanations Are possible either the Attesi Dent agreed to a proposal he did not understand1 Andis now forced to deny it. Or he 1s Stilt not sure about exactly what be agreed to. The hard part is deciding which is the most  on certainly is that anyone who raises this Issue and thus appears to be agreeing with mos cow s account will be damned by he usual plaque for blaming  not quite. The Blunder a Reykjavik and the fumbling denials that followed Are not America s fault. The blame and the Buck belong in the Oval office clo. Ahfl.1 Tlam Byno Cili William Safire the graft Case that took 3 presidents to cover microphone. We made a Good fuss about that and Ike said of his aide. I need Sherman Adams died last week at 87, and 1 am at last ready to writ about the great three president cover up. Flinty and austere were the adjectives most commonly applied to presi Dent Eisenhower s chief of staff and abominable no Man " but to those of in  who Rode in his motorcade at to Mph peeled along the icy roads of new Hampshire in nil 1 Early i9s2 including Fred Waring and his chorus the Oklahoma Star Ann Crowley and the rally organizer Arthur Gray or. Cov. Adams was a warm and likable politician willing to grab a wheel or Type a schedule 10 win the primary for the absent Ike. Accordingly six years later when sensation seeking columnists and commentators tried to turn his favors for the industrialist Bernard Gold me into som kind of scandal my Boss Tex Mccrary and 1 pitched in to defend Adams. What was the big Deal about the gift of � Vicuna coat and a persian Rug. And a simple Call from the White House to learn the Salut of a contract v 1 was in the Goldfine hotel suite when Drew Pearson s assistant Jack Ander son was caught trying to slip in with a junk Tojiu Jihu a Marr him but it was a losing fight the democrats wanted the Scalp of that Republican Symbol of rectitude and Sherman Adams resigned. Disillusionment hit us later. Old Shenn was More venal than we sus cited. His Landlady turned him in to the internal Revenue service after Eisenhower left office. Adams had paid her for Yean in cashier s checks and she recorded the Check numbers and the Banks around the country where the checks were Pur chased for Cash. Irs investigators found Over $300,000in unreported income and turned this evidence Over to the Kennedy Justice department but after a talk with the Senate minority Leader Everett Dirksen presidential aide Kenneth o Donnell took the matter up with president Ken Nedy who sent him to see former presi Dent Eisenhower in Gettysburg a. Eisenhower thought that i former aide had suffered enough. Both John and Robert Kennedy saw a Good Way to get the former president and the minority Leader indebted to them and As Kenny o Donnell later confirmed to me the Justice department informed irs that the Case was too weak to prosecute. According to a 1973 Anderson column Adams wrote a kind of confession of i Cash collections for the Justice file the columnist Joseph Aesop later added that president Kennedy had mentioned to him that the figure for the Adams take was around $300,000. Die hands at the irs i m told by one who remember sought to collect the unpaid taxes on that graft. After the Kennedy assassination. President John son called his iks chief to say that Eisen Hower had complained about harassment of his former aide which included slap Ping a Lien on his ski resort in new Hampshire. Johnson too wanted Ike in his political debt Aad hoped that the col Lection of the Taxe due could be done properly but not aggressively. Prosecution of Coune was out the irs wanted the Money in full plus interest but agreed to an install ment plan. I m told mat Ike prevailed on his friends Gen. Lucius Clay and Barry Leithead to collect a fund that legally paid the taxes on the Adam graft. Why dredge ail this dirt up now a dozen ago when everyone a senseless first by Spiro anew1ztttttabsskga Justice i drafted a Savage essay about the Adams precedent it would the ultimate everybody did if involving a White House chief 0.� the take and three presidents i wer up Bui i truck the tirade in a. 4rw for. With if Rit Tseou Ness " Jyh cd Irron Duns a Ltd Tiff Trch  presid Enli kept laying he Law Days of tearing around big where of where but in after leaving Public til ski retort operator did of vide a Newt Peg on which dark  but the eat proc Tion of Kennan Adan ii demo How far we have come vhf Ufa Tion from the a bitty of f shield their men and the i of venality. And in the news