The Bubble is Burst

Commentary is a regula feature of the Crimson editorial page that provides a forum for opinion from members of the Harvard community. Those interested in contributing pieces should contact the editorial chairman.

I've taken down my "Reagan '84" poster. There's no longer an 8x10 glossy of the President and Mrs. Reagan on my wall. After six years, this "veteran" of the Reagan Revolution is calling it quits.

Not that my ideology has changed: I still believe this country needs a strong national defense. I still oppose those who would raise government spending or taxes. And when Mr. Reagan talks about patriotism, democracy and freedom, I am still stirred. Viva la revolucion--it's the General that bothers me.

It's difficult for me to criticize the President, because I've been praising him since 1976. I went door-to-door registering voters. I worked at the county fair, passing out brochures and jelly beans. Somewhere in my closet I have a Reagan t-shirt, plus 20 or 30 bumpers stickers.

When my high school took a straw vote in November of 1984, I campaigned fervently for the President--Mondale received just 6 percent of the vote. The President never campaigned in Hermiston, Oregon, my hometown. So I travelled 1000 miles to two different rallies to show my support. I even skipped the first day of classes at Harvard, so I could see him lecture on tax reform in New Hampshire.

In spite of all that, I'm afraid I can no longer back Mr. Reagan. I could forgive him for his quip about Martin Luther King and his joke about bombing the Russians. I could forget that this is the man who promised to balance our budget. I could still rally behind him, even though he tried to cut my college aid, broke Salt II and fell asleep during cabinet meetings.

I didn't forsake the President when the economy was collapsing or even after the disinformation campaign against Libya came to light. The President is a good man, an honorable man, and he's so much more interesting than Fritz Mondale, I told myself. I vowed I would support Mr. Reagan regardless of his standings in the public opinion polls.

IN NOVEMBER, HOWEVER, I was forced to reevaluate the President. The government conceded that, yes, it had lied to the American people about the Libyan Crisis. Then, the nation learned that American arms had been sent to Iran. Mr. Reagan went on television, delaying The Cosby Show, to tell voters he'd sent a few spare parts to a couple of "moderate" ayatollahs. Less than a plane load, he said. Later, we were told that perhaps $1 billion in "spare parts" had been shipped to the volatile Middle East nation.

Mr. Reagan assured us that no other countries were involved in the arms deal, a statement quickly retracted by the White House.

Then the White House announced that profits from the arms sale had been sent to rebels in Nicaragua. We were assured that the President knew nothing of the extra-legal deal. I don't know whether the White House is telling the truth about that; even if they are, it's no great comfort to learn that covert multi-million dollar arms deals are approved routinely, without the knowledge or consent of the Commander-in-Chief.

The President has given us several different versions of what happened at the Reykjavik "summit." The President insists that when this country exchanged American journalist Nicholas Daniloff for an alleged Soviet spy, we weren't "swapping."

I still like the President, and would like to think that his memory, not his morals, are faulty. Nevertheless, I'm appalled that our country is being run in this fashion. I'm afraid that the Constitution and the laws of this nation are being circumvented or ignored.

The same folks who called us "The Great Satan" are now calling us liars. Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Speaker of Iran's parliament, has accused the U.S. government of lying and making up "new lies to whitewash the scandal facing them." And, sadly enough, I think he is probably right.

Frank E. Lockwood '89 is an American History concentrator. He served as a GOP precinct committeeman and was a Reagan/Bush volunteer in 1984.