European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes columns George . Pays a stiff Price for Bush a thin beliefs u i Yud my of we amp a Nve and her Eric the us. Is not capitalizing  chafes n Simf a opt  Vascom or it Cus or defined goals my Gwidt says of should Stolzel firday and marshal the Africa a Ftp Fth 1ht0 an army a change. That s what liar Orait  you Gar two get / perhaps rep. Harold Rogers the Kentucky Republican was just joking in the robust tradition of americans Middle Border. Let us assume so for his Sake. Otherwise he becomes one More reason to doubt republicans seriousness. What he said was a every statesman in the world Over the last four decades from Churchill to Reagan has attempted a with millions of troops and trillions of dollars a to free up Eastern Europe. And to no Avail until the first year of the Baker administration at  that scrumptious specimen of the Post hoc Ergo proper hoc fallacy a the rooster crows and the Sun rises therefore the crowing caused the Sunrise a was contained in a los Angeles times report on How bullish Washington is about Secretary of state James a. Baker 111. The report contained another illuminating passage. The scene was a breakfast Tabic around which sat Baker and some congressmen two of whom both democrats asked if the cold War is Over Why docs the budget not reflect that fact particularly regarding increased Aid for the new democracies in Eastern Europe and poor third world countries according to the times a Baker s Hazel eyes narrowed. His honeyed voice went  and his do honeyed voice said a you want to go out and argue for higher taxes to pay for foreign Aid try that argument out in your District  such swaggering a realism Quot sends Shivers of admiration through some washingtonians. But the important Issue is not whether the congressman can afford politically to take that position regarding foreign Aid or whether the country can afford economically the Aid. Rather the crucial question is whether the country can afford to have a government that thinks so much the Way Baker docs. Baker reflects the president and policy by polls reflects thinness of beliefs. So docs the hitching of . Foreign policy to foreign personalities As in american dithering about Lithuania an unseemly policy of solicitous Ness for Gorbachev whose survival is the president s Only Clear foreign policy aim. More  recently Washington went into one of its periodic seizures of Loop Ness and this Lime the great question of the hour concerned the presidential epidermis who gets under George Bush a skin. No one does said himself through clenched Teeth when asked specifically about rep. Richard Gephardt the House majority Leader. But Gephardt clearly did by saying things like a Harry Truman lived by Sam Houston a Maxim a do right risk  the Maxim of the Bush administration seems to be a do polls risk  a Truman Gephardt notes launched Point four and the Marshall plan the seed of containment which preceded bakery a thrilling dissolution of communism when a Gallup poll showed Only 14 percent support for foreign Aid. Americans had Long deferred purchases of houses cars even clothes and had shed blood on the soil of nations then seeking Aid. And Truman was then More unpopular than Nixon was to be during watergate. But he would not be a president who a thinks he is too big to do the necessary  today a popularity hoarding president May yet learn that such political parsimony is false Economy. Speaking of which we Are in the midst of although perhaps not yet even Halfway through the costliest debacle in the history of american governance. The savings and loan scandal is another Black Hole swallowing a share of our children a Standard of living. New losses Are much larger than even recently predicted. The eventual Cost is unknown estimates Range from $300 billion to $500 billion but three things Are known. We know that in this decade alone the bailout will Cost More than will be spent on highways or on the War on drugs or on preschool education. We know that this diversion of capital from More productive uses will like the Reagan Bush deliberate deficits lower the Standard of living economic and cultural of coming generations. And we know that one reason so Many billions Are Haemorrhaging away is that the Bush administration is saving a few million by crimping on Fri agents and Justice department investigators and prosecutors. The savings and loan crisis is complicated silent and slow motion. It is the sort of murky mess about which there is no focused Public opinion. So no polls Tell the Bush administration to behave properly. So it does no to. C Washington Post writers group David s. Bro Derbush has Long Range thinker in does Watkins something unexpected and important is happening inside the Bush administration. Some people Are giving serious thought to a few of the Long Range challenges facing this country. Its not happening much at the National Security Council or the slate department where foreign policy is viewed largely As managing affairs Day by Day. Crucially it is not happening at the office of management and budget where director Richard Darman appears to have Given up serious efforts to Deal with the structural deficit. He is letting his exceptional capacity for strategic thinking be squandered in the game of second guessing Domestic policy decisions others in the Cabinet should make. But in realms of government where one rarely discovers leadership that looks beyond the next budget or election Cycle president Bush has appointed some people of genuine vision. I wrote recently about the work of transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner. And last week i came across an even More striking example in Energy Secretary James d. Watkins. Because i rarely get into military or medical stories i had not met Admiral Watkins when he was chief of naval operations or the head of president Reagan a commission on aids. But he Drew High Marks in those assignments and when i kept hearing both republicans and democrats on Capitol Hill Praise his Candor and capability in the Cabinet Post he a held for the past 15 months i decided it was Lime to seek an interview. When i saw him Watkins was putting the final touches on a report to be released monday summarizing the views some 375 witnesses offered at 15 regional hearings he and his Deputy Henson Moore conducted this past year As the first step toward a National Energy strategy. The final report is due on the presidents desk in december. Our dependence on imported Oil is greater now than at the time of the open embargo. The debates continue on nuclear Power Coal Gas and renewable Energy sources and the environmental and economic problems each entails. So nothing could be of greater consequence to the nation than developing an Energy strategy. Oddly however that is not what Watkins spoke of first. He launched on the topic of education. He spoke passionately of his push to use the 23,000 professionals in Doe labs As a catalyst for improving the credentials and effectiveness of the science and math teachers in the nations elementary and secondary schools. \ he had just returned from Chicago where he met with the governor and the Deputy mayor for education. He was bubbling with enthusiasm and full of de tailed information about the programs already under Way at the Argonne and Fermi labs and the plans for a science Academy in the Chicago area. A with a minimum of Money and a lot of Volunteer Effort a he said a i believe we can reach 10 percent of the teachers in the areas where we have labs each year and help them gain a new level of competence and credibility so they can motivate the kids. There will be a lot of focus on minorities and Young women who have been rejected from this Field and told basically this Isnit your bag. An absolutely preposterous  before the interview 1 had read profiles delving into the forces that produced Watkins personality. Important among them Are a deeply Felt roman Catholic religious Faith and the Strong influence of a feminist Republican Mother who ran for senator from California in 1938. But i was not prepared for the sheer mental Energy and Force of character communicated by the 62-year-old Veteran of the nuclear Navy. In a Laid Back administration and a City which often seems to be going in circles this is a Man with Many missions who clearly intends to push ahead until ordered to Stop. Nor had anything i read quite prepared me for his non bureaucratic Candor his most Unmil itary belief that press and Public scrutiny is healthy Medicine. Like Jack Kemp at housing and Urban development who shares his Energy level if not his mental discipline Watkins inherited a huge cleanup Job in a largely discredited Agency. The managerial and environmental mess left by those who had run the does nuclear weapons manufacturing and storage facilities has consumed huge amounts of his time. A this department has had no credibility a he said. A there has been an arrogance Here a fiefdom mentality a Complete separation of Headquarters and Field operations. Hence a totally do fused sense of accountability. Leadership had been sapped by the threat of demise a stemming though Watkins didst say it from president Reagan s no c9n Side red Campaign Promise to a Oisin Doe. A but we a solve most of the waste cleanup mess this year. Well get Rocky Flats off the front Page. Well Start up to reactors at Savannah River again Ana a it safely with everyone looking Over o shoulder. And the dividend i �?T0111 will be that the american people will of less critical of our ability to maia80 enology. And perhaps Well be Able the move into issues like nuclear waste s age a the whole Yucca Mountain controversy a much More gracefully we can do  Ift not Only did i believe Watkins i Len the interview wishing we could clone c Washington Posl writers group \