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Best, Bill [Correspondence] (1)
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Best, Bill [Correspondence] (1)
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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Digital Library Collections This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections. Collection: Deaver, Michael Folder Title: Best Bill [Correspondence] (1) Box: 34 To see more digitized collections visit: https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit: https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected] Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/ ] July 31, 1984 Dear mike - you orignt to telk with Aus Constantine (805) 687-5005 about fidel Costro orot (805) evening. Buie Base PS 1 He isthe guy the Ontellignee Community Staff checked out 1 € said he was worth talking to (Where is my color photo?) BusinessWeek/Harris Poll THE PRESIDENT FAILS A CRITICAL TEST R onald Reagan took office in 1981 non. While it may not prove to be an sians, I worry that he might get us determined to rebuild U.S. mili- issue in the Presidential campaign, into another war." The President's tary might while pursuing an time has done nothing to diminish the "trigger-happy" image is especially aggressive foreign policy designed to public's perception that U.S. policy prevalent among women, of whom 54% thwart expansionary moves by the So- there-particularly the Marines' mis- expressed fears that Reagan's policies viet Union. Almost four years later, he sion in Beirut-was a failure of major could lead to war, compared with 40% can point to his massive arms buildup proportions. Two-thirds of the public of the men. and to the fact that no new territory believe Reagan mishandled the situa- The collapse of the strategic arms has come under Soviet sway as proof tion in Lebanon, and 57% think that the control talks with the Soviet Union ap- that his policies were successful. loss of U.S. military personnel and the pears to have helped fuel public con- Yet, by another measure, the Presi- ensuing retreat from Beirut "resulted cern. Only 37% of Americans give Rea- dent may have failed a critical test of in a major loss of credibility for the gan a positive vote on his handling of leadership. He has been unable to rally nuclear arms control, while 58% ex- a majority of the American people be- TROUBLE FOR REAGAN press disapproval. Even 44% of those hind both his goals and the means that ON FOREIGN POLICY classifying themselves as conserva- he has chosen to achieve them. In- tives share that view. stead, by a 2-to-1 margin, the public CYNICAL INTERPRETATION. Frustration believes that the world is no safer and Q. Do you agree or disagree that the over the lack of progress on arms con- that the risk of war remains as great world is a safer place and the danger of war diminished as a result of trol has also made the public suspi- as ever as a result of Reagan's policies President Reagan's policies? cious of the President's motives. With (chart). an eye toward the November elections, That is the principal finding of a new A. the Reagan Administration has national opinion poll of 1,252 adults launched a "peace offensive" designed surveyed from July 7 to July 12. The Agree 33% to assuage voters' fears about the poll was commissioned by BUSINESS President's handling of foreign affairs. WEEK and conducted by Louis Harris & Disagree 61% But thus far, at least, it does not ap- Associates Inc. Not sure 6% pear to be having the desired effect. GLOBAL CONCERNS. Reagan's overall Forty-four percent of those surveyed rating on his handling of foreign policy charged that "when President Reagan has, in fact, improved in recent says he really wants to reach agree- months. Only slightly more than half Q. Do you agree or disagree that if Reagan is reelected he will return ment with the Russians on arms con- the public now considers his perfor- to the hardline policy of trol, he is doing that mainly for politi- mance to have been fair or poor, down threatening to use military cal reasons." Only 52% of the public from two-thirds in a survey taken one power around the world? disputed that cynical interpretation of year ago. Yet on specific issues, the A. Reagan's actions. Similarly, 50% to negatives rise sharply. 45%, Americans said they worry that if The public is unhappy with the Presi- Agree 49% Reagan is reelected, "he will go back dent's foreign policy in many parts of to his hardline foreign policy of threat- the world. By a margin of 63% to 33%, Disagree 46% ening to use American military power Americans fear that the U.S. is risking around the world." The public, Harris another Vietnam by its interventionist Not sure 5% says, "doesn't trust all this peace talk" policies in Central America. And while from the Administration. U.S. troops have not been involved in DATA LOUIS HARRIS & ASSOCIATES INC. FOR BUSINESS WEEK The uneasiness of many Americans the fighting in Nicaragua, the public is with the President's foreign policy has no happier with the covert support the spilled over into concern about his Central Intelligence Agency has pro- U.S. in the Middle East." Lebanon, ar- record-setting defense buildup. More vided to the rebels. Fifty-five percent gues Lou Harris, "is a real cross for than half those surveyed agreed that of those polled agreed that "it is wrong Reagan to bear." "under President Reagan, defense for the CIA to help finance the anti- For any U.S. President, however, spending has gotten out of hand." And Sandinista forces in Nicaragua," while both Central America and the Middle the bad grade Reagan gets on defense only 38% disagreed. And despite re- East are something of a sideshow com- knows no demographic bounds. Ameri- peated Administration efforts to build pared with the central issue of U.S. cans of every age group, income level, support for its position, Americans relations with the Soviet Union. And occupation, and geographical region have been giving the President bad here Reagan's sometimes bellicose think the President has done only a marks for his handling of the situation rhetoric has clearly served to unnerve fair or poor job of handling defense in Central America since Harris first a substantial number of Americans. Al- spending. That suggests that even if asked the question early in 1983. most half those polled told Harris that he is reelected, President Reagan will Americans are equally unhappy with "while it's good to have someone as face mounting pressure to restrain the the Administration's policies in Leba- President who is firm with the Rus- Pentagon. Bo The Resquat club PM AZ 850 31 JUL A 1984 - Olympics 84 Scathsdale, AZ USA 20c Peesonal The White House Hon Michael Ц. Deare Woshington, D.C. 20500 Affix Postage Here Americans For The President Box 1984 Georgetown Station Washington, D.C. 20007 Mike - I I om young to send you the first 30 second spot this weeks 1 We world like Noney do on "endersement" Sain Affix Postage Here Americans For The President Box 1984 Georgetown Station Washington, D.C. 20007 file INDUSTRIAL POLICY vs. CREATIVE MANAGEMENT: THE SEARCH FOR ECONOMIC DIRECTION by Robert Lawrence Kuhn November 1983 new york Co-Chaismon of Omerican for the President Wonld like to help with the platform etc. Written for Texas Business Monthly "Industrial Policy," the new buzz among Democratic hopefuls, tickles our ears this election year; it is, we are told, the national economic panacea for international competitive sickness. "IP," to those on the in, would direct and control from Washington the thrust and focus of American industry. IPers believe that the free market system is no longer sufficient and that the government must intervene to support business and prop up jobs. Coined by intellectuals and caught by politicians, IP is a symptom of 1984 presidential fever. One cannot deny the appeal to industries suffering decline and workers without work. Nor can one negate the fact that in a tightly wired world foreign governments can shift the commercial balance of power by giving home-grown companies unfair advantage. Thus IP sparks the hope that federal funds might aid out-priced and outmoded companies regain former glory. But numerous industries will vie for the golden tap. Which to promote and which to protect? Which to ignore and which to forget? When the government picks "winners," it must, by that same decision, also pick "losers." To sustain one, we must shun another. An increase of jobs here must result in a decrease of jobs there. If automobiles are chosen, why should textiles be condemned? Who is to decide that employment in the Northcentral should go up while employment in the Southeast should go down? One conjures up tortuous visions of procedural miasma, politicking and lobbying of unprecedented magnitude. Resources, we have come to learn, are not unlimited; available subsidy is only finite. (What, by the way, happens to IP when favorite industries do not make the Federal Hit Parade?) Socialism, it is said, is a wonderful concept; the dream of economic equality and financial fairness is utopian. The only problem, of course, is that it just doesn't work. Theoretical idealism breaks up quickly against the rocks of pragmatic realism. Human beings function best when they are controlled least, when they prosper in proportion to personal initiative and self-driven intensity. Amercian business is still burdened by archaic regulations codified two generations ago. There were right and rigorous reasons then. We were fast becoming, in those heady days, the world's premier industrial power; our growth was unimpeded, domestic markets were burgeoning and foreign markets beckoning. Industries and industrialists became intoxicated with their new-found powers, and consumers and workers, at the mercy of these mammoths, needed protection. Yet times shift and paths twist. What worked then won't work now. Is passivity the answer? Is public policy perfect? Should national debate go quiescent? The status quo be bronzed? By no means. What American industry needs is simple: Not more control by government but more confidence in management. Not centralized planning by bureaucrats but aggressive leadership from businessmen. Not Industrial Policy but Creative Management. More micro and less macro. American industry must be freed from constraints, not encumbered with more. American business must be invigorated, not suffocated. The mold for forging the future? Independent management, not centralized command. (For every rule, there is an exception. In certain areas of the economy, especially in high risk advanced technology, individual companies cannot afford to invest and America cannot afford to abdicate. Supercomputers, for one, have huge development costs and uncertain commercial revenues. Yet the United States must not lose world leadership, certainly not by default. Here is fertile substrate for an Industrial Policy.) The ends of Industrial Policy are desirable, its the means that are questionable. It is not sufficient to deny IP for American business. To critique is always easier than to construct. Industrial Policy will not work. What will? It is one thing to describe the illness, quite another to prescribe the remedy. Alternatives proffered usually stress macroeconomic manipulation, like looser money, tighter budgets and the like. Yet something is missing. We've heard all this before. One might believe by reading erudite arguments and counter-arguments that industrial revival in America is linked to some "new 3 economic policy," whether monetarist and supply side on the one hand or increased taxes and government spending on the other. A cardinal mistake here -- and it permeates contemporary thought -- is the notion that economic solutions to industrial problems will yield business success and competitive advantage. Macroeconomics surely has its place, but not the whole place. Macroeconomics is vital in defining and modulating the pace and proportions of the economy, but it is deficient in securing and prospering individual firms. It's like trying to coach a basketball team by determining the theoretically proper mix of heights and weights and talents of players without ever teaching any of them to shoot. Economists dominate economic thinking. Logical, at least at first. But economists, when one thinks about them, don't run companies. They don't manage budgets and don't direct staffs. They never formulate corporate strategies and have no experience with corporate structures. "P&L," "personnel," "product positioning" are terms they do not use. Meeting payrolls is something they do not do. Making enterprises work is responsibility they do not have. Yet enterprises -- for-profit businesses and not-for-profit institutions -- are the components of the economy. Like cells in a body, they are the economy; and to treat the economy only by macroeconomics is to treat an epidemic only by epidemiology. Building businesses in the former, like curing people in the latter, must be addressed. To leave the economy solely in the hands of economists is to leave the sick solely in the hands of statisticians. We must listen to the Gross National Product. We must hear the rhythms of small businessmen, middle managers, corporate executives. We must feel the beat of individual needs, wants, desires. The world works because some have vision and brilliance, with the tenacity and temerity to produce and provide. Business, to me, is the economic synthesis of human knowledge, the molding of value and substance out of concept and form. It is the modern human analogue of the original Genesis creation when the heavens and earth were formed out of chaos and void. Creative and innovative management is what America needs, and government policy should be directed toward building it. But this is not a topic of macroeconomics; one does not study it in doctoral programs; there is little research, no Nobel Prizes, and minor media. It is local not global, micro not macro. Yet the stakes are big not small: Creative and innovative management is the economic pulse of American health. It is the life blood for sustaining the strength of the economy, for improving the quality of management, for securing the robustness of business. It is the fulcrum for the final fifth of the twentieth century. If America is to build a muscular national economy, benefitting all citizens and leading the world, the mechanism must include creative and innovative management. Though words flow easy, precise definition is necessary. Creativity is the process by which novelty is generated, and innovation is the process by which novelty is transformed into practicality. Creativity forms something from nothing, and innovation shapes that something into products and services. To nurture and develop creative and innovative management is to engender America with the power to prosper. It concerns both collective policy and individual business. If creative and innovative management can build industrial abundance in America, it will do so on two pillars: the macroeconomic environment and the micro business structure -- macro and micro. But such flourishing will not happen by accident. It is a way of thinking new and hard. No one risks for little reward. Only within a proper environment will American management make the right moves and take the right risks. This environment has two elements: 1) An economic climate responsive to creativity and innovation; and 2) a corporate culture conducive to such novel management. Building the Economic Environment 1) Encourage Risk by Strengthening Reward Proprietary ownership is a powerful human motivator; it is capitalism's great advantage over communism and we must pound it without pause. We should strengthen our patent laws, now to include new forms of invention in the 5 information and knowledge-based sciences. Government contracts should be structured to encourage recipients to reach and to risk -- whether defense contractors, university science departments, or government laboratories. Both institutions and individuals must benefit from their toil. Federal R&D funds, perhaps our nation's chief asset in building comprehensive national security, should embed economic as well as military forces, deriving maximally efficient value from each. Government contracts, for example, might be awarded to firms that generate original ideas or products, or firms adept at commercializing defense-related technology, whether the firms be large or small. The current differentiation by size may be missing the mark. 2) Facilitate Information Transfer Creativity and innovation are resources that increase with use: The more you use it, to quote Dr. George Kozmetsky, the more you have it. To enhance applications, we must publicize and promote. Although creativity and innovation are private processes, they can be fostered by information sharing and situation setting. Centers for Innovation and Invention should be established, funded by state and federal government and administered by colleges and universities. National data banks can enable active researchers and potential entrepreneurs to access ideas and information. 3) Focus Government Fiscal and Tax Policy Many words are spoken in Washington; millions every year are written into record and law. None are heard more clearly, none are read more carefully, than those dealing with taxes. By tax law the Federal Government directs public policy. A clear message for developing creative and innovative management will be given only when tax policy is the medium. We should reward creative and innovative companies through lower taxes, rather than penalize their profits with higher taxes. Tax credits for incremental R&D is a first, albeit halting step in the right direction. We might consider, say, tax credits for new patents, for new products, for R&D expenditures above industry norms. Capital gains, as another example, might be dropped further, perhaps to zero, but only if, in my opinion, the holding period is increased. (The recent push to reduce the holding period to six months flies off in the 6 wrong direction, encouraging financial manipulations not productive development.) 4) Understand the Creative Process Public policy should support research and education in creative and innovative management. Studying the process should become a national goal -- not a curiousity, a necessity. America's finest researchers should be funded and interdisciplinary work encouraged -- from organizational psychology and the decision sciences to artificial intelligence and the neurosciences. The arts, too, offer much and should not be neglected. In concert with research, we must stimulate creative and innovative management in our schools. Principles of creativity and innovation can be taught at every age, in parallel with enhanced math and science, from early education through high school and college. Schools of business should take the lead, instilling motivation to shift and change rather than drilling techniques to trend and continue. One danger of making business more rational, more analytical and computer-based, is the subtle pressure to stifle the new and inhibit the fresh. Businessmen must be prepared to make non-rational (not irrational) decisions, gambling on instinct and perception. Though business should become more of a science, it must never cease being an art. 5) Promote Interaction Among Sectors Creative and innovative management is not sector specific. It occupies a unique place at the union of industry, government and academe. Each sector must make its contribution, and critical mass can be generated nationally only when all focus their force on the interface. Intersector interaction is not just a current fad, it is the white-hot focus -- and government policy should catalyze the reaction. The Department of Defense policy of rewarding companies with university ties higher scores for Independent R&D funds is an excellent prototype. State government, too, must participate; they may, for example, offer matching incentives for state-based R&D, increasing operational leverage and financial appeal. 7 Developing the Corporate Culture 1) Encourage Risk by Strengthening Reward Most companies give mixed signals about risk. They praise new ventures with lofty words and reward failure with career wipeout. One such derailment incinerates the whole house of corporate cards. We must shift this risk-return tradeoff by decreasing the risk and increasing the reward. Incentives for originality and invention must be internalized and believed by the company underground. The organizational structure must be support it; the informal networks must promote it; the grapevines must confirm it. Participating in new ventures -- not just making them successful -- must be the pinnacle of corporate achievement. "Have the Guts to Fail" is the motto of one innovative company. Creativity and innovation has expression, one should note, in all areas of corporate life -- not just high technology and new products. Managers who look beyond the traditional, who see the unusual, who dare to be different -- upon these does posterity rely. 2) Facilitate Creative Types Egalitarianism, the belief that all are equal, is a fundamental American value. While wholly appropriate in politics and society, it is counterproductive in economics and business. People differ in every respect, with the capacity for creativity at the top of the list. A company must respect its creative types. They are a breed apart, absorbed in their quest, dedicated to intensity, oblivious to others. Creatives are often difficult to control. They work strange hours in strange places. They don't want supervision and demand personal satisfaction for personal achievement. Proprietary participation -- especially financial reward -- is an essential motivation. How to find them? A word of caution. Creative and innovative people may not be the smartest or brightest; they may not be aggressive or assertive or even realize their own gift. The best firms will treasure them. 3) Focus Corporate Fiscal Policy Companies that talk innovation and invest elsewhere dig credibility gaps. Promoting creativity is no mean task. A firm must evidence its commitment, putting cash on the line. Nothing energizes more than the movement of money. You can't talk creativity and fund tradition. The resource allocation process must encourage creativity and innovation; new procedures must skew dollars to more risky ventures. Most critical, results cannot be expected quickly. Corporate executives must see beyond the horizon, beyond the quarterly reports, beyond the Street called Wall. 4) Understand the Creative Process Creativity and innovation happens by itself, but not all the time. Since innovators are often not the brightest or most aggressive, the firm must find them, or, more accurately, help them find themselves. One cannot train people to be inventive, but one can develop educational programs to facilitate the process. Creativity appears with infinite variety. In a high tech firm, for example, a person with a new method for inventory control may not think herself creative -- yet the benefit to the company may exceed most scientific study. One good idea covers a lot of ground. 5) Promote Interaction Among Divisions and Departments Scientific advance depends on constant communication among diverse disciplines. Likewise for the best businesses. When problems are attacked by divergent approaches and disparate facts a wider range of solutions emerge. Task forces composed of different departments are not unusual in corporate life, but these are often established for coordinating current programs rather than creating new ones. Interdepartmental cooperation in companies, like interdisciplinary work in academics, is fraught with suspicion and worry about territoriality and dominance (the sociobiology of ant hills and wolf packs do not encourage creativity). A firm's new products division doesn't want manufacturing sticking its nose in; manufacturing says it's ridiculous to develop products that can't be made. Mechanisms must be found to break these barriers. The catalyst is often the person to whom the departments report; the boss must become actively and aggressively involved. If he or she "recommends" the interaction without personal participation it will surely fail. 9 The opportunity is here, the time is now. What we have is nothing less than the restructuring and recrudescence of American industry. Economists and executives must work together in building both a macro/economic foundation and a micro/corporate structure. In the new realities approaching the year 2000, to achieve domestic vitality and world leadership, the American trick is creative and innovative management. * * * Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a scientist, strategist, scholar and author at home in business, academics and government. He is Senior Research Fellow in Creative and Innovative Management at the Institute for Constructive Capitalism at the University of Texas at Austin. His latest book is Commercializing Defense-Related Technology (published by Praeger). 10 sile October 24, 1983 5031 West hand Crick #202 Retherda, M.D. 85021 Dear mike: Pardon the enformality of this letter. l called your office on Friday about an opportunity to mobe Q major change in the balance.of- power as it relates to the Caribbeen. l did so only after one of the top people on The Intelligence Community Stoff had talked to the people in volved and indicated that the President oright to he Owore of the situation. cl also suggested theman call Peter Homfored and inform him and seek his advise This may be a great opportunity oit may truth he a great froud and cl do not Dnow the We should talk about it- THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON HITE HOUSE October 11, 1983 SHINGTON ber 7, 1983 TO: MICHAEL K. DEAVER FROM: CRAIG L. FULLER FYI your August 23 letter to Lt. Comment In light of the fact that I al connection with your company, Action ved in any way with the projects believe it is inappropriate for file ent of copies of this corre- pondence that I am receiving a impression to the addressee that ved or directly concerned with w, this is not so. In order to ns, I request that you not copy Additionally, I would like you f your prior correspondence who I have any involvement with cason systems, that such an impression is false. Your acknowledgment of this request, with evidence of compliance with it, at your earliest convenience, will be most appreciated. Sincerely, his Craig L. Fuller Assistant to the President for Cabinet Affairs Mr. William H. Best Jason Systems Inc. Suite 200 2000 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 CC: Fred F. Fielding Counsel to the President THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON October 7, 1983 Bill Dear Mr. Best: I have received a copy of your August 23 letter to Lt. General Lincoln D. Faurer. In light of the fact that I have no official or personal connection with your company, and certainly am not involved in any way with the projects discussed in the letter, I believe it is inappropriate for me to be noted as a recipient of copies of this corre- spondence. The notation on the correspondence that I am receiving a copy may convey the false impression to the addressee that I am in some fashion involved or directly concerned with Jason Systems. As you know, this is not so. In order to avoid such false impressions, I request that you not copy me on your correspondence. Additionally, I would like you to advise any recipients of your prior correspondence who may have reason to believe I have any involvement with Jason Systems, that such an impression is false. Your acknowledgment of this request, with evidence of compliance with it, at your earliest convenience, will be most appreciated. Sincerely, Fair Craig L. Fuller Assistant to the President for Cabinet Affairs Mr. William H. Best Jason Systems Inc. Suite 200 2000 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 CC: Fred F. Fielding Counsel to the President FI Executive Offices Suite 200 JASON SYSTEMS INC. 2000 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 (202) 833-1977 August 29, 1983 The Honorable Michael K. Deaver The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mike: It occurs to me that Mary Cunningham might be very helpful if she were to call a press conference and indicate that she agrees with the President about men still being in caves, or whatever it was, and carrying clubs if it weren't for women. If you would like to pursue this, she can be reached on Cape Cod at: Oyster Harbor Osterville, Massachusetts 02655 (617) 428-1333 Sincerely, William H. Best Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer from: Bill Best in recd. 8/26/83 TEXAS BUSINESS CHALLENGE COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL SECURITY: THE POWER OF AMERICAN SCIENCE Science separates present from past. It is the critical difference between savages living like animals and humans living like people. Science is more than a subject in school; it is the foundation of our world, the progenitor of present-day society, the source of contemporary civilization -- in short, science is axial to our way of life. Science is both process and content, the mechanism of discovery as well as the thing discovered. The scientific method is the core paradigm of modern man; it is the shortest distance and surest route to factual truth, the line of thinking most logical and reproducible. The scientific method is perhaps mankind's finest conceptual tool: Unbiased data collection; creative hypothesis generation (induction); rigorous analytical reasoning (deduction); comprehensive hypothesis testing; and independent repetition and confirmation -- all are necessary irrespective of content area, whether "science" in the traditional sense or any other facet of human awareness. Science is not a field of knowledge; it is knowledge. The advancement of science is the enrichment of mankind. What we call "human progress" is quite literally the historical sum of innumerable scientific additions. Derived from the Latin scientia meaning knowledge, science, in its broadest sense, conceives most concepts and sculpts most objects. Science, today, is wonderous, and scientists, in a sense, are worshipped. There is one area, however, where science is controversial, where inquiry is questioned and advancement criticized. Science in the service of national defense triggers hot debate. Some would say that scientists have the moral right to control the potential use of their personal creativity, and the moral imperative to prevent their innovative output from producing weapons of -1- war. This lofty position bespeaks high tone and laudable ideals, yet is flawed fatally by inconsistency and illogic. The simple syllogism, framed for- America, is thus: 1) Such lofty positions can be espoused only in a free society; 2) A free society will remain free only by military strength; 3) Military strength will be guaranteed only by state-of-the-art science. This is the real world. (Examples of free societies flourishing devoid of military strength? They only prove the point: All rely, at last resort, on the United States.) National defense demands technological superiority. Parity in military science, for a nation without expansionist designs, is not good enough; equality just will not do -- it's too close, a slight error and you're behind. And being behind is no place to be, not in this game, not with all the chips in the pot. In an electronic fairyland of blinking black boxes, where battlefield microprocessors command, control and communicate, "leapfrogging" is the ever-present danger. In past wars we could survive a slower tank or smaller sub, but in future encounters missing a scientific breakthrough in missle-defense or sub-location technology could be disastrous. Our country is committed upfront: We will not be the aggressor. When the other side picks time and place, we had better field superior weapons and surer systems. When we concede quantity and number, we had better stress quality and expertise. The issue, of course, is more deterence than triumph. We must prevent the next war, not win it. Yet the world moves on. Subtle shifts redefine the nature of power. Today, well into the final fifth of the twentieth century, American security stakes out broader boundaries than ever before. More is encompassed within our vital needs as a nation. The economic thrust of Japan, for example, is a threat every bit as real as the military menace of the Soviets. Not the same, of course, but every bit as real. Computers and communications are also extending security boundaries. The profusion of information amplified by the ease of transmission lowers entry barriers for those with disruptive intent. The battles of the future will be fought on vastly more complex terrain, contested more with ideas and products than with armies and navies. Confrontation among nations attacks, provocations, insults will assume new forms and and novel shapes. Troop movement across Europe is virtually an anachronism -- superpower nuclear standoff has seen to that. We must secure the standoff with military strength through technological supremacy, but that is not enough. An irrefutable defense capability, in the words of the logician, is "necessary but not sufficient" for national security. This, then, is the new vision of national security, a broad concept embedding economic, social, education, cultural and intellectual components as well as military ones -- a concept increasingly being called "Comprehensive National Security." Scientific superiority must maintain America's Comprehensive National Security just as it must assure the subset of preeminent military might. The first nation, for example, to mass produce future generations of integrated circuits 256k, 512k, 1024k -- will capture high ground and strong position. The country that pioneers genetically enhanced food production will wield commanding influence in world politics, well in excess of Arab oil's peak power. Comprehensive National Security must become our redeployed concept of self-protection. Mechanisms of competition, not machines of warfare, is now the critical concern. We must construct a comprehensively secure country, and American science is our primary building block. Following is the domain of Comprehensive National Security, with each area evincing the central role of science. Military: Maintaining technical superiority in weapons and delivery systems is the sine qua non of national security. Responsiveness, reliability and redundancy are also cardinal characteristics. American science should be proud to participate in sustaining freedom. Economic: Strengthening the industrial base of the United States is a quintessential component of Comprehensive National Security. In past centuries countries could make up with military aggressiveness what they lacked in economic resourcefulness. This is no longer possible. Countries will survive and prosper or suffer and fall in direct relation to their productive capacity and commercial acumen. The premier growth industries of the next decade -- telecommunications, personal computing, biotechnology and health care -- are all science based. Scientists are not only involved in creating novel high tech ventures but also in developing fresh approaches to traditional businesses. Both are prescribed for American economic health. Social/Political: Structuring society for the benefit of all people is our contemporary mega-problem, labyrinthian in complexity, long-term in solution. We must be able to meet our oft-stated goals of equality, opportunity, care and concern for citizens of every age, sex, race, creed, religious belief, etc. A populace well-pleased is an intrinsic part of Comprehensive National Security. Though human systems are fiendishly more intricate than material systems, social scientists are as clever and inventive as their physical science counterparts. The use of sophisticated techniques in sociology, political science, and the like provide a core of hard data, certainly superior to the self-serving rhetoric of political palaver. Educational: The minds of the young are the blueprints of the future. What we teach, and how they learn, will plot America's course -- with the trajectory now being set in our schools. Science, here, contributes more than tools, though the personal computer will revolutionize both teaching and thinking. (Free enterprise has given the United States a jump of at least half a generation over the Soviet Union in acclimating children to personal computers.) Science teaches logic, how to use it, when to overrule it. It catalyzes enthusiasm for investigation and analysis; it teaches respect for proper rationale and confirmed proof; it offers the thrill of exploring unchartered areas, of using insight, of making discovery, of finding truth. Science replaces rote by rigor and memorization by reasoning. Science is no longer the exclusive domain of the elite; it is the language of all. Cultural: The identity of a nation affects its cohesiveness; self-image determines self-confidence. Building American culture buttresses American security. Science, the complement of culture, supports its promulgation and propagation. Culture thrives on wide accessibility, and science provides the nutrients of transmission -- television, radio, cable, satellite, video dics/cassettes, motion pictures, computer networks, interactive video. Science also has ^ fashioned marvelous techniques for enhancing effect, making culture more pleasurable and more veritable, conveying emotion and making impact. Intellectual: In the 21st century information will be the new medium of exchange. (Money, that archaic commodity, will be bytes in computer memories and numbers on computer screens.) International leadership will be framed in terms of cerebral skill not military prowess. A nation's prestige will be built by its intellectual endowment, not the number and size of its bombs and rockets. Scientists from all disciplines will contribute, from philosophy and astronomy to mathematics and music; new information will be prized, even from fields without direct economic benefit -- human values will have changed and human worth redefined. A word, here, for pure science. Basic research is the foundation of science, the platform for progress, the precursor of revolution. One cannot know in advance where seminal breakthroughs will come and what application technologies may be. Instinct and intuition, not program and project, are the requisite sources of energy. Basic research is a stimulant for creativity; it is, in all fields, an absolute necessity. Sensitivity to scientists as well as appreciation of science is vital for optimizing national output. Scientists, by personality, are not easily coerced, not easily directed. Indeed, such is their strength. Scientists must be free to wander and explore, to confront blind alleys and to shatter tradition. Society must establish incentive systems to encourage scientists, giving them maximum motivation to imagine and construct. We must nurture and develop America's premier natural resource. Written by Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn COPY, JASON SYSTEMS INC. SHINGT 3 PMII PM % 200 MASHINGTON AUG 25'83 POSTAGEOS FBI 7 25 AUG' ANNIVERS 2.0 19831 1908 1921ER E DC 1-8201467 The Honorable Michael K. Deaver The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Executive Offices Suite 200 2000 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Mike - and osked white House I Rus could write get the l said the lities the if cl a" " hard clant line but him took a sax copy of litter had on a no of sendus . " Jopn his recd. 8/24/ Plymouth Rock Foundation 6 McKinley Circle, P.O. 425, Marlborough, 03455 603/876-4685 August 15, 1983 fill John G. Talcott, Jr. My dear Bill: President Rus Walton Executive Director The lion will lie down with the lamb after Christ returns (actually, The Scripture is "the wolf and the lamb COUNCIL OF ADVISORS JACK AMIS, MD shall graze together" - Isa 65:25). Hopkinsville, KY IVAN R. BIERLY Woodside, CA Then, the nations will beat their swords DR. CHARLES BRITT into plowshares and their spears into Memphis, TN Dr. HAROLD O.J. BROWN pruning hooks. And never again will they train Deerfield, IL for war and each man will sit under his own RALPH BULLARD vine and fig tree and none shall make him Oklahoma City, OK Rev. MARSHALL FOSTER afraid. Woodland Hills, CA Miss VERNA M. HALL San Francisco, CA Until then, we are not to fee the lambs Dr. WALTER HANDFORD to the lions (or the wolves). And, indeed, Greenville, SC Dr. AL JANNEY we are not to have communion (do business) Washington, DC with God's enemies. Dr. GLEN JASPER Marshalltown, IA PAUL JEHLE The enclosed FAC-Sheets set it forth fairly Cedarville, MA well. Prof. DELL JOHNSON Owatonna, MN Dr. HOWARD KERSHNER I would hope Mike might be impressed with a Cedar Hill, TX ROBERT M. METCALF, Jr. reference to the Scriptures (since he once Memphis, TN trained to be an Episcopal priest). However, Mrs. JAMES MOEHRLE Washington, DC from a strictly pragmatic, survival, perspec- Rev. JOSEPH MORECRAFT, III tive, it is suicide to feed those who are sworn Atlanta, GA to destroy you. Rev. LEON MOODY Dublin, NH Dr. ED NELSON The US-Japan venture has merit. I am not sure Denver, Co Rev. NED RUTLAND I would place it in the shadow of the Olympics Opelousas, LA -- better make it a promo of its own so that it Dr. JAMES SINGLETON Temple, AZ gets more ink, and TV time, etc. Miss ROSALIE SLATER San Francisco, CA Best to the Bests Mrs. RUTH SMITH Marshalltown, IA ROBERT L. THOBURN Fairfax, VA Chaplin LATHROP UTLEY, USA Columbia, SC P.S. Christ tells us to love our enemies, true; Dr. WAYNE VAN GELDEREN Downers Grove, IL He also warns us to hate God's enemies. Did you FRED VREELAND know that is in the Bible? hate them with a Parsippany, NJ perfect (i.e. total) hatred) " Rev. LEVI WHISNER Bradford, OH JOHN W. WHITEHEAD, Esq. Manassas, VA " advance the binadome of the Lord Jesus Christ" FAC-SHEET #10. FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS BACKGROUND In farewell address (9/17/1796), George Washington warned against impru BRIEFING dent foreign entanglements that could jeopardize the safety and well- being of the republic. Pres. Washington did not imagine that the day would come when US foreign policy would be dictated more by corporate/banking interests than by public officials representing the electorate. Today, giant multinational corporations (MNCs) and financial institutions have larg overpowered the federal govt. as controllers of US economic and foreign affairs. Interna al MNC agreements now often determine and/or subvert US foreign and military policies and trade regulations. How powerful is influence of MNCs and international banks? 1,000 MNC control 50% of world trade; US MNCs produce 41% of US GNP; majority of MNCs are controlle by some 30-40 international banking institutions. In addition, most MNCs have interlocki arrangements (nine largest oil companies have some 20,000 "common links"). Consider role of US MNCs in dealings with atheistic USSR (and satellites). It is g erally conceded USSR missed "techtronic" revolution and is 25 yrs behind West (20 yrs beh in industrial technology, 15 yrs in chemicals, 10 yrs in data processing, etc.). Experts estimate benefits sold by MNCs have enabled Soviets to narrow that gap -- and achieve mil tary superiority in some areas. Meanwhile USSR persecutes Christians and threatens West. Type of items, skills and commodities included in expanding (even now) US-USSR com- merce: joint-venture (Ford) with USSR to build world's largest truck plant; export of highly sophisticated computers ostensibly for meteorology (but which US defense officials warn can be used for missile guidance); export of micro-ball bearing technology (missile guidance); export of jet engine technology (military as well as commercial aviation); ex- port of high technology oil exploration and drilling equipment; development of phosphate industry (munitions as well as fertilizers). US defensemen say sale of latest-type compu ter enabled USSR to develop satellite killers (laser beam application). To achieve and sustain such trade with USSR, US MNCs developed intricate form of ba ter/co-production/joint-venture/leasing system that circumvents normal currency barriers import/export restrictions. MNCs supply technology and skills (often complete "turn key" installations) that enable USSR to employ vast raw materials and huge pools of slave labo to bolster sagging economy, modernize military, and compete in world mkts. In return, MN received guaranteed payments thru buy-back and counter-purchase agreements (and credits i European banks then used to capitalize European operations). MNCs also import some goods to US via USSR satellite nations (Poland, Romania, Hungary, etc.) thus pitting slave-labo products against US working men and women (shoes, clothing apparel, glass, etc.). And, M continue to push for most favored nation status for USSR to make deals more profitable. Estimated there is now a $50-100 billion debt "overhang" due MNCs from USSR. Some tion whether this will be paid (North Korea defaulted on its debt). Some believe fear of jeopardizing "overhang" pay-off had major role in US surrendering South Viet Nam to enem (Say fighting had reached point of diminishing returns and was endangering continued bona za of East-West trade.) Vital to all of this: approval of export of high-technology equipment to USSR by US Office of Export Administration. Since 1972, more than 700 such applications have bee processed and approved. Former head of the office, Lawrence Brady (who resigned) tried t warn Congress that requests for such exports to USSR and communist-bloc nations were bein approved, pro-forma. Brady was shunted off to an empty office and his duties taken over by others. (Recommended reading for further data and documentation: "VODKA-COLA," Charl Levinson, Gordon & Cremonesi, 1979.) OUNRATION Box 125 rbh FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS/page 2 FAC-Sheet #10 CONSIDER THE Christians know that we are to love our enemies and do good to BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES those who hate us (Mt 5:43-44). We are to succor those who would persecute us (Ps 25:21). Thus do we witness for our Lord and thus does the love of Christ Jesus go forth through us to draw souls to Him (Mt 5:16) However, we must not confuse love for our personal enemies with love for the enemies of God. That we are to show His love to others in a winsome way must not be distorted to mean that we are to aid, abet or make alliance with the enemies of God. Against them we are to stand firm, keep ourselves separate, and make no deal, no alliance or compromise. "Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate The Lord? Therefore is wrath upon thee from before The Lord" (II Chron 19:2). God's people are warned against trusting the means of wicked men; we are to seek only God; in His strength and omniscience will we find the victory. (II Chron 25:20). Con- sider Asa, king of Judah. Asa made a deal with the king of Syria, an idolator who loved not The Lord. Because of this foolishness, Asa and his people were condemned to a time of wars (II Chron 16:3-9). Is there not, in this, a lesson for these days? Think, too, on Hezekiah! Here was a man who had walked with The Lord and had been blessed by God. Yet, in his victories and his vanities, he entertained God's enemies, and showed them all that he possessed -- including his treasury and his armory. What was Hezekiah's penalty? God tells us in II Kings 20:12-17: "Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and all that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be car- ried into Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith The Lord." In I Kings 11:2, God warns His people against those nations that are against Him: "Go ye not unto them, nor let them come into you, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods." In the marginal comments on this, the Geneva Bible observes: "How it is a thing that greatly offendeth God that such as fear Him and profess His religion, should join in amity with the wicked." Psalm 125:3 tells us that the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous. How, then, can we who strive to be right- eous in His sight dare to supply the makings of the rod of the unrighteous? Do we not thus become a party to the wickedness? Our God is a mighty God; He is the Living God. None is as mighty as He, "by Him all things consist" (Col 1:17). He maketh the sun and maketh it to stand still; He formeth the rain and maketh it drop, or hold. Is not The God of all equal to these times? And, if we are His and on His side, shall He not deliver us? What, then? Shall we have inter- course with those who mock Him? Shall we do business with those who persecute His own? Are we not to live by the word of God (Deut 8:3) ? How shall we, who are His, "declare His glory among the nations and His wonderul works among all people" if we enter into league with those who deny Him, who disdain His word, and oppress His own? What, then, shall we do? (1) Strive always to walk in His ways; seek to obey Him in all things, knowing that His boundless grace is sufficient to justify our shortfalls. (2) Be separate from the world and one with Him and His, for those who would be friends with this world are enemies to God (James 4:4). (3) Refuse to aid or abet or join with those (individuals, groups, or nations) that are enemies of God -- we cannot be traitors to our King!, and (4) call upon The Lord God; He will deliver us and we shall glorify His name (Ps 50:15). "But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries." (Ex 23:20-22) FAC-SHEET #21. MAKING COVENANTS WITH GOD'S ENEMIES BACKGROUND Dec. 25-29, 1979 - Soviets invade Afghanistan. Heavy fighting insues. BRIEFING USSR controls Kabul but freedom fighters hold on to about 2/3 of country. Soviets pour in more troops. Jan. 4, 1980 -- President Carter embargoes grain sales to USSR except for 8 million metric tons already contracted for by the Soviets for 1980. (In 1975, US & USSR signed 5-yr grain sales agreement to run from 10/1/76 to 9/ 30/81. US agreed to sell Soviets a basic range of some 6 to 8 million tons of grain a year with "a window" for even more. For 1980, USSR had contracted for about 21 million tons of wheat, corn, soybeans and soybean meal about 13 million tons over the basic maximum.) To cushion shock on grain markets, US bought up grain contracts for about 16 million to at cost of about $5 billion (via Commodity Credit Corp). By Jan. 19, 1980, corn prices had returned to pre-embargo levels, soybeans were higher, and wheat prices were rising rapidly. April 30, 1981 President Reagan lifts grain embargo. Allies that had joined in ban also lift theirs. USSR moves quickly to buy on opened markets. President's action brings both applause and criticism. Some Midwest congressmen cheer but critics label it "a serious foreign policy blunder,' "an act of domestic political expediency" because it came on eve of key House vote on 1982 federal budget. Both SecState Alexander Haig and White House securit advisor, Richard Allen, had opposed ending embargo. NATO SecGeneral Joseph Luns charged "Th decision on the embargo has weakened the position of the US ... (it) plays the game as Mosco wants it." Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki, irked because his country had not been consulted warned Japan would re-examine its economic sanctions VS USSR. Some critics charged Mr. Reag had exacted no USSR "quid" for US "quo", thus had wasted a strategic economic weapon. President Reagan insisted that he had made clear his hard-line policies concerning USS that lifting embargo could not be seen as "soft," and that during 1980 campaign he had prom- ised to end embargo if elected. Opponents to lifting embargo retorted that embargoing one sector of economy may have been unfair but solution should have been to extend embargo to a: trade with USSR rather than lifting it. Further, critics said, US govt. had cushioned impa of grain embargo by buying up USSR contracts, and emphasized that US grain exports had in facts increased during embargo due to expanded sales to other nations 1980 US grain exports we up 16 million metric tons over 1979. Reagan administration asserts embargo did not hurt USSR. Critics disagree. Heritage Foundation reported embargo reduced Soviet meat and milk supplies, forced higher prices, an agitated consumer unrest in both USSR and satellite nations (food shortages and prices were one cause of rebellion in Poland). Washington Post's Moscow correspondent cabled that Sovi had been "hard hit" by embargo; that it came on top of 2-yr drought and winterkill that had already caused severe grain shortage. Senator William Proxmire (D-WI) stated that US intel gence reports indicated embargo had forced USSR to spend $1 billion in gold on open markets to make up for loss of US grains. Said Proxmire, embargo was hitting Soviets "where it hur -- in the breadbasket." Most importantly, say critics, embargo was levied because Soviets invaded Afghanistan. And, some 85,000 Soviet troops are still there! So, lifting embargo makes the message clea US does not hahg tough, business eventually comes before security. Further, USSR now mount stepped-up Spring offensive in 20 of Afghanistan's 29 provinces; seeks to wipe out freedom fighters. And, USSR continues to threaten Poles, backs Syria in its explosive confrontatio with Israel, and continues to export subversion and terrorism in Africa, Central and South America. It is insanity, they insist, to do business with USSR and Warsaw Pact nations whi spending hundreds of billions of dollars to defend US and free world from USSR/communism. It is not, they conclude, a matter of being aggressive, it is a matter of common sense. Published by the PLYMOUTH ROCK FOUNDATION, P.O. Box 425, Marlborough, NH 03455 Single copies, no charge (please send self-addressed and stamped contact Plymouth Rock for prices. There is no restriction on envelope.): 10 copies, $1.00; 25 copies, $2.00; 50 copies, $3.50, reproduction provided excerpts are not taken out of context. and 100 copies for $6.00. For quantities in excess of 100, please COVENANTS WITH GOD'S ENEMIES FAC-Sheet #21 CONSIDER THE We, who are His, are in this world and thus must be aware of and seek to BIBLICAL influence economic and (geo)political programs and policies. But, because PRINCIPLES we are His and because we are not of this world but of His kingdom, we must give pre-eminence to Him, to His word, and to His Biblical principles of self and civil government (including both domestic and foreign affairs). What, then, does God demand of His people in regard to nations that are His enemies? "Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate The Lord? Therefore is wrath upon thee from before The Lord" (II Chron 19:2). God's people are not to be yoked in any way with God's enemies (Ex 23:32; Deut 7:2; II Cor 6:14). To do so is to make "a covenant with death and with hell" to be in agreement (Isa 28:15). Consider Ahab (I Kings 20-21). Benhadad, king of Syria, a strong and mighty nation, threatened Ahab, king of Israel. He intimidated Ahab, demanded tribute. The elders and the people of Israel urged Ahab not to give in to Benhadad because he had mocked The Lord God. Ahab resisted and, despite the superior size and power of the Syrian forces and those of the 32 kings who sided with Benhadad, God gave Ahab and the tiny forces of Israel a mighty victory so that all might know "that I am The Lord." Yet, following the battle, Ahab made a covenant with Benhadad; he set him free and allowed him to return to his own land (rather than destroy- ing him as The Lord had commanded - I Kings 20:42). For his disobedience, Ahab subsequently died in battle and the Israelites were taken into captivity. Who, now, is numbered among God's enemies? What nation persecutes God's people? Surely the USSR must be counted among the enemies of God! Hear the words of Stalin: "We have depo- sed the Czars of Earth; we shall now dethrone the Lord of Heaven.' Thus, the USSR takes the official position that there is no God. The Soviets have made communism their god. Communism is the enemy of The Lord God. It is the most virulent, most militant anti- Christian system in the world today. It denies God. It persecutes His people. It bans The Bible, forbids parents to teach children about Christ, imprisons Christian fathers, forces Christian mothers into slave labor groups, abducts Christian children and rears them in un- godly State institutions. In the eyes of the Soviets, Christians are enemies of the State. If the Soviets are the enemies of God's children, are they not also the enemies of God? And, therefore are they not our enemies as well? How can we -- a nation that calls itself Christian, that boasts that "In God We Trust" -- continue to make covenant with God's avowed enemy? In so doing, have we not "made lies our refuge, and under falsehood" hid ourselves? "Shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Thus sayeth The Lord. Are we blind to the lesson of Ahab? Small wonder we know trouble at home and trials abroad! Consider, also, God's word concerning the USSR: "And the word of The Lord came unto me, saying, Son of Man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Me- shech and Tubal, and prophecy against him, And say, Thus saith The Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" (Ezek 38:1-3). Bible scholars believe Gog and Magog are direct references to the USSR. Gog was the ancient leader of the nation of Magog and the prince of the people of Rosh, Tubal and Me- shech (lands to the north of Israel). From the Hebrew name, Meshech, comes the Greek name, Moschi, the root name for Moscow. Rosh, the root word for Russia, was the name of a people living north of the Taurus mountains, in the vicinity of the Volga River. Tubal was the son of Rapheth, leader of the Tibereni who lived on the shores of the Black Sea. "I am against thee, O Gog." Thus spake The Lord God. Can His people speak otherwise? "Surely Thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against Thee wickedly, and Thine enemies take Thy name in vain. Do I not hate them, 0 Lord, that hate Thee? And am I not grieved with those that rise up against Thee? I hate them with a perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies" (Ps 139:19-22). PRESERVATION COPY JASON SYSTEMS INC. 23 PM, AUG ON. of 25 USA 20c 2000 1958-1983 1983 The Honorable Michael K. Deaver The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Executive Offices Suite 200 2000 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Executive Offices Suite 200 JASON SYSTEMS INC. 2000 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 sill (202) 833-1977 August 8, 1983 here The Honorable Michael K. Deaver The White House Washington, D.C. 20505 Dear Michael: We were so pleased to hear that the State Department had put out a press release relative to bi-national sports between the United States and Japan, which must mean that the Secretary of State liked the idea. I would be most interested in a report on how that whole situation might be developing. On another subject, I might suggest that you would consider someone at Treasury or Justice or wherever look into the whole question and issue of abusive tax shelters. The cost to the Treasury is rather significant and, with the revenue gap you are facing, every little bit might help. Put a few lawyers in jail and I suspect it would certainly have quite an impact on this specific arena. Again, I was very pleased that things seemed to shape up nicely on the Japanese situation. I hope if you might have had a chance to read THE JASON PROJECT proposal or at least the Executive Summary and liked it, it certainly wouldn't hurt any- thing if the President told General Faurer out at the National Security Agency that it seemed a meritorious idea and worthy of consideration in the national interest. As ever, Mic William H. Best WILLIAM H. BEST 2000 L STREET, N. W., SUITE 200 WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 20036 July 5, 1983 file The Honorable Michael K. Deaver The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mike: I note that the front page of The New York Times of Sunday, July 3rd, carries a story which says: "Public's approval of Reagan in poll rising but limited." It goes on to say that for the first time in fifteen months, more Americans approve of Ronald Reagan's handling of the presidency than disapprove of it, according to The New York Times/ CBS News Poll. It could be regarded as highly simplistic in this incredibly complex, Byzantine and arcane world, but it would be my judgment, for what it is worth, that if the prime rate stays under ten percent between now and November of 1984, Ronald Reagan will be reelected President of the United States. You are to be commended again for the even hand that has guided things so smoothly. As ever,