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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1981)
friday,april17, 1981 daily nebraskan page 5 Reagan personality . . . Continued from Page 4 The personality of Ronald Rc3gan has transcended political ideology. In 1976, it was still possible to Coldwatcrize Reagan by telling the untutored in New Hampshire that what he had in mind with Social Security was 'throwing old people out in the snow. Because New Hampshire did not know Ronald Reagan. But now the nation knows him. All America has seen through television his cheery, thumbs-up patriotism; Americans have heard him speaking of subjects they did not understand, in language they could understand. Laughing at his string of one liners, they worried along with Mrs. Re3gan through his days of recovery. So, it is no longer an available option as they say, for Reagan's opponents to paint him as a hard-hearted man who takes pleasure in cutting food stamps for the working poor. Not since Dwight Eisen hower has the credibility of the Oval Office been so high. If Reagan says budget cuts ai good for America, many of the Ameri cans wlio are having their budgets cut will believe him. (Even Tip O'Neill who agrees with this Republican President on almost nothing finds his company more congenial than that of the Democratic predecessor with whom he agreed on almost everything.) With his personality, Reagan has also captured something intangible that always seemed the property of the Democratic Party. That party used to be the party of dreams, while the GOP was the party of efficiency. Not so today. In the late campaign, it was Jimmy Carter, engineer, talking about an era of limits and National malaise while Ronald Reagan, misty eyed, was going to lead us all to a "shining city on a hill. There is another reason Reagan is in dispensable, and that is the social issues which the "moderate Republicans wish desperately would go away. The importance of these issues is not simply, or even primarily, in their political utility-i.e., they split the Democratic Party between its ideological liberals and social conservatives. Their importance lies in the fact that they reflect the Reaganite view of the Good Society-after we have inflation under control and full employ ment. Only through great leadership will society come again to reflect the values of the majority. Which leads to the con clusion that we can't win this one without The Gipper. (ct 1981 By PJB Enterprises. Inc. Distributed by Th Chicago Trtoun-HY. Ntws Syndicrtt, Inc. Credo compels Watts Denver-Ten years ago environmental ists were inspiring a nation to clean up the planet. Today, they're wondering what's happened to many of their followers. Most are laying low, for fear of incur ring the wrath of new Interior Secretary James G. Watt. Many Americans may now understand why he's called "the apostle of pillage'-cspecially after his recent decision to release over 1 million acres of environmentally-sensitive California coastal waters to oil and gas interests. m shearer There have been competing descriptions of Watt. Some say he's simply "a tool of development interests, while others sug gest he's a man who follows his own prin ciples. To many in this city, the former presi dent of the Mountain States Legal Found ation represents those development inter ests who have turned a once-quaint Denver into a polluted, skyscrapered metropolis. He is identified with the boom towns and the strip mines. But others who know Watt's private side talk not of bricks and oil, but of Bibles and prayer meetings. If there's any monument to Jim Watt, they say, it's the Aurora First Assembly of God, a Christian congregation in Denver's southern suburbs that believes in the lit eral interpretation of the Bible. When writing about Watt, the press has only fleetingly called him "deeply religious." Yet, reporters have overlooked Watt's belief that man was intended to subdue and profit from the earth in antic ipation of eternal salvation. This credo is the compelling force behind Watt's pro fessional performance and why he just doesn't understand environmentalists. In 1964, Watt and his wife Lani were living modest church-going lives in suburb an Maryland. Jim was writing legislation speeches for Wyoming Sen. Milward L. Simpson, who'd hired him out of law school to work on his 1962 campaign. Although the circumstances are un clear, Jim and Lani were "born again" that year. They became "charismatic" Christians, the kind who are known to speak in tongues and believe themselves to be agents of God. Sen. Simpson's fam ily also involved themselves in the Watt's ordeal. Undoubtedly Watt's charismatic devel opment had much to do with his profes sional behavior. He's been known to ask for silence at staff meetings, participate in local prayer groups and keep a Bible in his desk drawer. With this background, it's not surpris ing Watt practices what he believes the Bible says: keeping the "back 40" untilled is a tantamount to sloth. Of course, it's difficult to slight some one for his religious beliefs. But that doesn't get Watt off the hook. His new post gives him extensive discret ionary power over public lands and their resources. While the Bible may influence his decisions, so will the development interests who have sponsored his former employer, Mountain State Legal Found ation. One family friend says Watt will "bend over backwards" to accomadate environ mental interests. And some corporate lawyers hope Watt doesn't jeopardize the working relationship they've so pains takingly developed with environemtnal attorneys. But even if environmentalists ask Watt for moderation, can he compromise his religious beliefs? How well the likable Watts walks the line between heaven and earth will determ ine the kind of fight environmentalists have before them. (c) 1981 Field Enterprises, Inc. pinbeJI pv;s game room 476-9476 with ovef 20 video games and pinball machines also pool tables BRING THIS flD IN AND: Get any sandwich at 12 price Offer good through April 30. 1981 OPEN 24 HOURS ft DAY! OOPS I WJe Goofed. The Denver Paralegal Institute missed scheduling our normal spring visit. But if you're interested in a fine career in law as a paralegal, call collect at (303) 623-0237 for more information on our four month program with intern ship and placement assistance. Ask for Mr. Johnson at 1 DENVER PARALEGAL INSTITUTE American Bar Association Approved, Nationally Accredited. I L ' Pi I M .to I EARN $10-$20 PER WEEK IN JUST A FEW HOURS SPARE TIME! Become a plasma donor $10 paid per donation -And you can donate twice weekly! Help fill the critical shortage for plasma while you earn! 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