European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 9, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday March 9, 1991 the stars and Stripe Walter r. Mears Page 13 commentary Bush works to strengthen postwar hand it was was a night to celebrate a tune for cheers and flags and Victory salutes a but. President Bush wanted More than those rites of Triumph. Far More. So when the cheering finally stopped at a joint session of Congress wednesday night Bush Laid out peacetime challenges to rival those set and won in the War against Iraq. His main Aims All against Long Odds a a comprehensive peace settlement to end the chronic conflict Between the Arab states and Israel. W a enactment in 100 Days by a democratic Congress of Domestic proposals of the Republican administration. A an economic comeback from the recession now that a americans can move Forward to lend spend and invest without the fears and uncertainties stirred by the persian Gulf crisis. A an end to ingrained congressional ways of doing business on defense and foreign policy issues. Bush said there should be no More a Micro management of weapons of decisions on closing military bases or on foreign and defense Aid. In keeping with the Victory mood Congress applauded. But it is less Likely to give up its Sway Over the contracts and bases that Are political prizes Back Home. A we cannot Lead a new world abroad if at Home its politics As usual on american defense and diplomacy a Bush said. It was a new version of an old presidential lament about congressional intrusions in matters every administration wants to manage for itself. Bush a popularity ranks higher than any president before him and he seeks to translate that strength into action swiftly before time arid new problems can erode the Triumph of the persian Gulf War. A a we re coming Home now a proud. Confident. Heads High a Bush said. A it Hertz is much that we must do at Home and abroad. And we will do it. We Are there was no equal time rebuttal on this address to Congress and the nation and no democratic reservations on Dis Prav not even when Bush repeated much of his state of the Union Agenda for Domestic legislation and asked for its enact ment a if our forces could win the ground \ n a Pon Ltd to numerous requests my in re�6niton of his Pesket a i Evgenis j 660rse Bush s a Jose in Eow 1ue press my camouflage models Mike ramp ,., a least Unpi me Toucan on it Ceason Howei ekness health care. Energy Psi try Nelt Bush Ano other cwck6ns cowl Home to Roost. \ is Sig i Iligo War in 100 hours then surely the Congress can pass this legislation in 100 Days a Bush said to applause that will be Long forgotten when it comes time for congressional votes. For on that too the opposition will be Back soon. The democrats run Congress and they intend to make Domestic legislation their sales Point for the 1992 Campaign. On civil rights Highway legislation a crime Bill and other items on the Bush list push their own measures on their own terms. There a no guarantee that even a 9-to-1 approval rating in the polls can be translated into votes in Congress. But said sen. Phil Gramm a Texas chairman of the party a Senate Campaign committee it should help. A every time the president asks Congress to vote on the crime Bill or the transportation or the education Bill democrats Are having to East a vote As to whether they support it a oppose a popular president. And when the president is popular it always makes it harder to oppose him a Gramm said after a White House meeting tuesday. In the seven months that Iraq occupied Kuwait and the six weeks of War that sent them Home Bush had resisted Saddam Hussein a attempts to link the persian Gulf confrontation to a broader Middle East peace settlement. A but he also had said the administration would work for such a settlement at the proper time. He did no to delay recalling that head said when the War began that he hoped it would create new momentum for peace. A the time has come to put an end to Arab israeli conflict a Bush said. He did not mention the International peace conference advocated by the soviet Union. But he did say that peace would require Compromise on issues including the israeli occupied territories and would have to provide for a legitimate palestinian political a sen. George j. Mitchell a Maine the majority Leader praised Bush for staking the a enormous prestige of his persian Gulf Victory to seize the initiative toward a broader settlement in the Middle East. Ancient enmities there will not yield to Quick diplomatic strikes. The quest for a broader peace will take far longer than the six week War. V but even a beginning would add to an Irr posing and lengthening resume of political credits. Add a measure of Success at Home in Congress and in reviving the Economy and Bush will look even More formidable As he readies for his 1992 reelection Campaign. The associated pres James j. Kilpatric journalists need to review their procedures on Jan. 14, the supreme court heard arguments in a Case involving a writer for the new yorker Magazine. On March 27, the court will hear a Case involving reporters in the twin cities. I am minded to write about the two cases not because they Are of towering significance but for a different reason a one shortcoming of those of us in the writing business is painfully Clear we Seldom write anything about the writing business. We Are pretty Good at covering the Law business the politics business the financial business and every other business but the writing business. So today shop talk. The new yorker Case arose in 1982 when a free Lance writer Janet Malcolm began a series of interviews with or. Jeffrey m. Masson. In the Field of freudian psychiatry he is a renowned figure or at least a famous and controversial figure. Under Malcolm a informed questioning he talked freely of his turbulent tenure and his subsequent dismissal As projects director of the Sigmund Freud archives. The interviews id to a two part article for the new yorker in 1983. A Loftson was not pleased. He sued for libel charging that the quotations attributed to him made him appear a Sun scholarly irresponsible vain lacking in honesty and moral he said he never had said some of the things that were put in direct quotes. He said the quotations were As it transpired a a fabricated was too Strong a word. The writer was Able to establish that if Masson had not used exactly the words attributed to him in direct quotations he had said things that were substantively very close. Both a trial court and the 9th . Circuit ruled in favor of the Magazine. The writer had a rationally interpreted her subjects views. The question before the High court is important to All of us in the news business. It is important to the Public figures we interview and it goes directly to the credibility of our profession. When we put a statement in direct quotation Marks must it be exactly what was said my own answer is yes. On any Issue of critical substance we ought not to alter a single word some of my colleagues disagree. On to the second Case brought by Dan Cohen against the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer press the stoi7 goes Back to october 1982. Cohen a Well known political figure in the twin cities was a pub lie relations adviser to Wheelock Whitney Republican candidate for governor. It four Days before the election Cohen got in touch with reporters for the two papers. In return for their Promise to protect his Confidence he would Peak damaging documents about the democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. The reporters agreed not to identify Cohen As their source. They turned in their stories. Then their editors overruled the two reporters. Over the reporters anguished protests the stories ran the next Day with full attribution to Cohen. The Whitney Campaign. A a a a a a. \. A r. J immediately fired him. Cohen sued the newspapers for breach of contract. A jury awarded him $200,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages but on Appeal both awards were wiped out. It is difficult to understand Why the supreme court agreed to review the Case for it involves a set of facts not Likely to recur. Perhaps the High court intends to explore the whole delicate and troublesome relationship of re porters to their sources. In any event the Case involves a journalistic practice that is common and Well established. To Promise anonymity to a confidential source and then to a Tofate that Promise is dishonourable. As a practical matter reneging has serious consequences sources dry up. In our business such promises routinely Are Given and kept. It is All but unthinkable for editors not to stand behind their reporters in such transactions. But Cohen s leak was immediately before the election. There would not have been time for the democratic candidate to give her Side of the damaging revelations. Solely because of this time element i would have killed the Story altogether. Competition had used the Story without attribution i would then have identified Cohen As the source. I expect Many of my colleagues would have acted this is shop talk. These Are issues that concern us deeply. Among ourselves we talk about them All the time. We ought to talk about them More often with press Syndicate
