I
OPINION
Page4 Thursday, January 13, 1983 The Michigan Daily
Question for
1984:
Will
Ronnie run?
By Michael Caro witz
Although the thought of electing a,-president
in 1984 may be the farthest thing from most
American minds, it is a leading topic of conver-
sation in Washington. The hopes and prospects
of many potential candidates hinge on a single
question: Will President Reagan run seek re-
election?
President Reagan's personal popularity
among the electorate has remained unusually
high despite the fact that his administration's
policies have sparked debate and controversy.
There is no evidence to suggest that the
president would be easy, to beat, should he
decide to seek re-election.
Unemployment is undoubtedly the major
problem facing President Reagan at the
present time. This problem, in fact, ultimately
may determine the success or failure of the
Reagan administration. Continuing double-
digit unemployment could prove fatal to the
president's re-election chances.
White House strategists tested the waters
last fall with a pitch that eventually could
become the adminsitration's last ditch effort to
win votes in 1984. Voters were reminded that
even though high unemployment existed, the
president had succeeded in easing inflation and
lowering interest rates. In short, two out of
three was not bad.
The midterm elections also highlighted some
:other political realities that President Reagan
will have to address in the months ahead. The
most important of these is the growing "gender
gap" in support for the administration. Women
were much more likely to vote against
Republican congressional candidates than the
corresponding men of their age group. The
president's recent appointment of Elizabeth
Dole to head he Department of Transportation
is only the first step necessary to close this gap.
On a brighter election note, conservative
Lewis Lehrman came within an eyelash of up-
setting Democrat Mario Cuomo for the New
York governor's chair. Lehrman had often
stressed his belief that Reaganomics did not go
far enough.
It is unlikely that President Reagan will face
a challenge for the Republican nomination if he
announces his intention to run again. Never-
theless, several aspirants are carefully wat-
ching for hints that he may sit out this election
and retire early to his California ranch.
Possible contenders include Vice President
George Bush, Rep. Jack Kemp (R-New York),
Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kansas) and Sen. Howard
Baker (R-Tenn.). With their hands tied until
the president makes his plans known, these
aspirants will find it in their best interests to
remain loyal to the White House.
Perhaps the strongest signal that President
Reagan will seek a second term is the appoin-
tment of Sen. Paul Laxalt (R-Nevada) to head
the Republican National Committee. A per-
sonal friend of the president, Laxalt has
publicly stated his certainty that President
Reagan will run again.
In addition, against official objections by the
White House, conservative activist Lyn Nof-
ziger has already convened meetings to discuss
re-election strategy. Nofziger is lobbying the
president to make his intentions clear by the
summer months.
President Reagan's decision, however, may
not be evident until later in the year. On one
hand, an early announcement of his candidacy
would leave him open to charges of playing
partisan politics, and would also weaken his
hand with the new and more Democratic
Congress. On the other hand, an early decision
to retire after only one term would im-
mediately make him a lame-duck president
and limit his overall effectiveness.
Until the first GOP presidential straw ballots
approach later this year, it is safer for
President Reagan to remain silent about his
decision while continuing to send out signals of
interest in a second term.
If President Reagan does decide to seek re-
election, he will undoubtedly benefit from the
electorate's desire to see a president succeed.
Strong opposition to the president's policies
certainly exists in some areas, yet much of
mainstream America is still retaining its
patience and hope in the president.
All things considered, President Reagan
" remains the GOP's best bet to hold onto the
White House. His personal popularity and
political mastery also insure that a Democratic
landslide in 1984 is unlikely.
AP Photo
Reagan: Testing the waters?
Carowitz is an LSA junior.
---- - ----------
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Wasserman
A
Vol. XCIII, No. 84
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Birth contr
T HE ADMINISTRATION that used
to pride. itself on keeping gover-
nment out of American lives is now at-
tempting to climb into the bedrooms
and back seats with American
teenagers.
Outgoing Health and Human Ser-
vices Secretary Richard Schweiker
has proposed new regulations that
would force agencies that dispense
contraceptives to teenagers to notify
the recipients' parents.
Schweiker, who recently resigned
his post, said the new regulations are
all being proposed to promote the
health and safety of teenagers and to
improve family relations. In fact, the
proposal inhibits the achievement of
any of those goals.
Most teenagers will have sex even if
they do not obtain birth control. In
these days of rapidly rising teenage
pregnancies, awareness and
availability of suitable and effective
birth control methods is essential.
Ignorance and locked up diaphragms
and birth control pills are no way to
combat the growing number of
pregnant teenagers, yet that is what
the administration is proposing.
Teenagers who are inclined to keep
their parents closely informed about
their lives, will probably be able to talk
to their parents about sex. But, by the
same token, teenagers who are not so
inclined won't necessarily abstain
ol blunder
from sex.
If the new proposals go into effect,
the teenagers who do not have a good
rapport with their parents will suffer
- not from a lack of sex, but rather
from higher pregnancy rates. Those
teenagers will merely use less effec-
tive contraceptives which can be
bought over the counter in anonymous
drug stores or use nothing at all.
Growing teenage pregnancy rates
are much more risky to teenage health
and safety than the imperfect but ef-
fective birth control devices available
in family planning clinics. Surely con-
fidentiality in family planning clinics
is far less dangerous to the public than
the spectre of an increase in backroom
abortions.
What the new HHS proposals offer
teenagers is not better rapport with
their parents or fewer health risks.
What it does offer is a greater role for
government in private matters - a
better chance for the government to
impose its version of the proper family
on everyone.
Teenagers old enough to seek birth
control do not need an additional bur-
den for preventing unwanted pregnan-
cy. It is now up to the Office of
Management and Budget - or the
courts - to strike the silly proposal
down so that the young will not have to
suffer from the illogic of the Reagan
administration.
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LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
4
Daily goofed on CARD
article
1r
' ;r
:i
ti
fh
. _ ,:;
To the Daily:
Regarding the article on CARD
and the Gray Panthers Meeting
(Daily, Jan. 9), I would like to
make some corrections regar-
ding quotes attributed to me.
I actually said that enlistment
propaganda, not "registration
procedures," creates a kind of
"poverty draft," a term which
means that some people have so
few options in society that they
are shunted into the military
even without a draft. The
military pays ad agencies big
bucks to sell people the idea that
the military will give back to
them everything that society has
taken away from them. My point
was that the draft and high-
pressure tactics for enlistment
are two sides of the same coin.
Both exploit the poor.
I said that noncompliance rates
for draft registration are high,
not compliance rates, compared
to the Vietnam era percentages.
No draft counselor is in the ad-
vising business, and it is bad
getting some straight facts out to
the people.
Selective Service is mailing out
thousands of letters to non-
registrants in an attempt to raise
the registration compliance
rates. These names were ob-
tained from computer matches
with driver's licenses, Social
Security and IRS lists. Receipt of
one of these letters does not mean
that an individual has been
"found." It is not logistically
possible for the government to
prosecute over half a million
nonregistrants. Only 13 men have
been indicted in two and a half
years, all open resisters.
Assistant Attorney General D.
Lowell Jensen wrote SSS recently
that "the chances that a quiet
non-registrant will be prosecuted
are probably about the same as
the chances that he will be struck
by lightning."
-Mary Roth
January 11
4
'U'fans unfair to Pelekoudas
ti
W1
/
To the Daily:
As a loyal University basket-
ball fan who attends most of the
home and some of the away
games, I am disgusted with the
behavior of some so-called
"fans" who seem to get pleasure
from reacting negatively
whenever Dan Pelekoudas (No.
32) enters a game. They must not
know the meaning of the word
class-a trait which Pelekoudas
tributions that Pelekoudas made
last season. Based on Frieder's
quotes, one would think there was
only one guard, Eric Turner, on
the team. Pelekoudas was rarely,
if ever, given credit for any of
last year's late season success.
Even after the Ohio State game
which was won by his shot at the
buzzer, most of the quotes dealt
with the quality of Turner's per-
formance.
Perhaps those fans who find it
coaches were too busy building
up their superstars to be aware of
these facts.
As a former athlete, I realize
the importance of being relaxed
and loose during competition.
Any athlete would find it difficult
to play his game smoothly if he
were pulled out of the game every
time he made a mistake or tur-
nover. This apparently is what is
happening this season to
Pelekoudas. How could you per-
ORNFAMBRAMM WM