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Show John harr ington A recent poll released by a national news weekly magazine reveals that the majority of those polled do not trust Ronald Reagan and say he should not run again. What don't these people trust about our president? All right, so he hasn't been too lucky in choosing a few of his cabinet members and key administration officials. Al Haig wanted to be president, can you blame ambition? Of course not. Ann Gorsuch Burford. What can be said about that deal? It can't be blamed on the president. Jim Watt told Reagan to hire Mrs. Burford. After all, Watt got to know her in Colorado when she was the leading anti-environmentalist in the Colorado Legislature. And, of course, Watt was in a position to know more about how the Burford's conduct their personal lives. Mrs. Burford has married the man who runs the Bureau of Land Management for Watt. No, just because the EPA can't explain how millions of dollars in toxic waste cleanup funds are spent, that doesn't mean we shouldn't trust the president. Of course, the Ray Donovan mobster story wasn't too good for the White House, but after all, the whole deal has been dropped and Donovan hasn't been hit yet, so the president can smile when he says that Donovan really is clean. Besides, in dealing with unions like the Teamsters, Donovan needs that special type of training that rubbing elbows with certain unsavory types can provide. So what is the sudden big deal about Thomas Reed, the president's national security consultant? Just because Reed, who has an ultra-top-secret security clearance, has admitted to improper financial dealings concerning a stock deal he made more than $400,000 dollars on, does that mean the president is untrustworthy because he hasn't fired him? "Well," you say, "it's worse than that. The president knew before he put the guy in the job that he was being investigated for trading on inside information." - You say the guy was told by his father, a board member of the AMAX corporation, to buy in because a merger was about to happen. You say it's fraud? So, what's the big deal? Personally, I can see why guys like Larry Speaks get upset when reporters ask direct questions about trivial matters like this. Who cares if a top national security official is an alleged crook? Politics is a dirty game. You never know when someone is laying low, waiting to strike. Everyone knows Washington is full of liberals who would do anything to discredit the current Administration. No matter what good things the president does, like having lunch with the Queen of England, or helping to sandbag weak dikes during floods in the Midwest, there is very little good printed about the Reagan Administration in the national press. Ronald Reagan is a nice guy, none of this is his fault, don't you believe me? It's just that, really now, politics is a dirty game and there's no getting around it. But, then again, the White House is beginning to look like a pretty filthy place. |