European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 10, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes thursday dec Nohrr 10. 19r7 columns Flora Lewis an extravagant reception for soviet Leader warnings from the right cautious urging from the left pro list marches and posters a tingling sense of extraordinary occasion red flags Complete with Hammer and sickle arc flying in front of Ronald Rea Gan s while House. Demonstrators with Sharp slavic cheekbones and clusters of Black balloons stand quietly in Lafayette Park watched by mounted police who do not interfere or harass them As she police did demonstrators in Moscow a few Dayi ago. There is something extravagant in Washington s reception of Mikhail Gorbachev As though he were a unique per forming Panda or a Martian not another Leader paying a state visit yet in its fears and excitement Washington is right to feel that something very special something of historic importance May be approaching. The treaty to eliminate medium Range nuclear missiles is not in itself of such great significance. Even a future treaty to Cut Long Range nuclear arsenals by half which will be the Centrepiece of the Rea Gan Gorbachev talks would not change the face of the Earth though it should diminish the risk thai it might be ravaged by atomic holocaust. Attention is focused on secondary is sues on what kind of tests should be made for Star wars How Long the rus sians Wil take to gel out of Afghanistan How much support they will continue to provide for Nicaragua s sandinista How Many citizens they will allow out of their vast country what political advantages each Leader can extract from an Accord but behind it All informing and illuminating both the Hopes and recriminations lies Ilic question of whether a watershed is coming whether or no the Century is going to end As it began wit preparation for another and this Lime final world War. There is the question whether ideology opposite visions of the Best possible human condition will re main the source of violent conflict or Wither away As the Christian wars of Reli Gion withered away. Much concern is expressed these Days among Washington s elite about the american penchant for bursts of overwhelming anger and overwhelming euphoria the Citi Zens ability to remain so optically Pru Andrew j. Glass Dent or judiciously reserved in the face of Gorbachev s to charms is put in doubt. That it Odd when you think of the very nature of the democratic system with All i s built in restraints on use of Power. It docs reflect almost unwittingly a sense that a great change May be evolving in world affairs and that it needs to be carefully managed so they do not run amok in illusions. So far the russians have been More articulate in expressing the possibility of a different less dangerous kind of relations. American leaders sound More defensive More worried about where changes in the familiar cold War land scape could Lead. All of a sudden the Kun zians Are talk ing about environment explaining their haste to get agreements with Reagan in terms of a sick Earth which will be beyond ecological repair in 12 to 1 years if resources Are not diverted from military to natural Security they say this comes Strangl from Moscow spokesmen who were insisting Only a few years ago that ecology was strictly a capitalist problem. Now they arc saying that Gorbachev is determined to do Ido logic science though not politics mind you and to be there Are still threats about what mos cow can and would do to make the world More terrifying if America won t Cooper ate and make it an equal partner in reversing the race to the Brink. But there Are also new suggestions about How to seek Mutual nobody knows what they mean probably not even Gorbachev because Moscow has not yet gone very far in thinking through How the new slogans could be put to work in practical International affairs or the exact consequences. Bui fear of provoking self intoxication is a silly reason for not pulling Concrete questions about the implications. Gorba Chev jays soviet policy no longer gives Primacy to class struggle until now the justification for bolshevik ambitions to remake the world. He says development of society and National interest must come first. We can ask him what that Means about the doctrine of irreversible revolution about East West Competition for influence in the third world about big Power behaviour in regional conflicts like the Middle East. He has offered nato Warsaw Pac Staft talks on military doctrine. We can ask what in soviet doctrine supports he deployment of so Many tanks so much artillery facing Western Europe. This is How to find out what the red flags Are signalling in Washington not by arguing among ourselves. We have Noth ing to lose but our nightmares. To viewers did t see second Politico debate two distinct political debates took place Here last week on the stage of the Eisenhower theater in the Kennedy Center. The meaningful distinction was t Between he Republican and democratic presidential candidates who by appeared in Sepa rate groups. It was rather Between the show aired nationally by Abc news and the one that began after the cameras slopped rolling. That second debate featured the spin artists aides and acolytes of the while House contenders who sought to put the Best possible spin on How their Man had just done against the Field. It smacked of feeding Lime in a Barracuda tank. A quest for instant analysis and a Reliance on Politi Cal experts have Lor teen legitimate aspects of the journalistic scene. But today s calculated efforts at spin control have carried the process to a new Pla teau. There s no shame attached these Days to actively seeking to manipulate coverage of the current presidential race and of superpower summits As Well. This overt bid to exploit the Media Rocs hand in hand with the changing nature of the political Dia Logue. Back in the 1950s, when Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson vied for the presidency there weren t any nationally televised debates. Both men delivered a series of carefully drawn and often Well articulated speeches mostly before real people. Politi Cal reporters went into the Hall with them heard1 what they had to say and wrote in up for a wider audience. Afterwards columnists grappled with what in All meant. Today for the most part presidential candidates Don t give those kinds of speeches. They know the television networks would t air them and that mos newspapers would t print them. Although he to networks set he Pace with heir constant need for fresh material and 2f second sound bites they still often look to political reporters the hard working grunts in the trenches to Monitor what s afoot. And so that s where the spin artists try 10 do to their Ihung. Studies show that at his stage of the game Only about 15 percent of the potential l�88 electorate cares deeply about the ins and outs of presidential politics. Predictably Abc Anchorman Tom Brokaw was Able to attract Only is percent of the people watch ing television to witness the first joint appearance of All the candidates even though one of them presumably will be the next president of the United states. Al this Early stage of the struggle with no votes having been cast off the Wall yams about who won and who lost his or thai debate Are regularly fed to the press. Stranger still those yarns appear to influence even the politically aware after witnessing an event Many people look for cues from Media opinion Lead ers before forming their own opinions about what they Sun. Good Media play yields Good polls. And Good polls help raise political funds. And a Large bankroll increases a candidate s credibility which in turn helps gel Good Media play the process works precisely the same Way in reverse in this game it s us easy 10 Fash Ion a vicious Circle As a virtuous one no wonder then that the spin artists Are out there doing their stuff. In looking for winners and losers reporters often urn to free spin artists people Nerc lived As being in Scholik n to any particular candidate. Inter viewing democrats about republicans and the other Way around is another common tactic. After the dozen sided debate at the Kennedy Center 1 sought Oul one such free spinner. Michael Herman. Who managed Walter Mondale s losing 1984 Campaign. What do you think 1 asked him. It s a he replied. Not to worry Mike. It la get far worse before i s finally Over. Cox Newt 5or�ic
