Word: reaganized
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Venice afforded most allied leaders their first close-up look at Reagan since the Iran-contra scandal broke, and they were distressed by what they saw. The 76-year-old President appeared visibly older and slower, physically and mentally. He dismayed several heads of government by reading from index cards during informal gatherings, something he had not done at previous summits. Compared with his performance at the Tokyo summit last year, said a French diplomat, the President "seemed much less at ease, much more hesitant...
...sure, Reagan was not the only weakened leader in Venice. Wits went too far in talking about a "lame-duck summit." West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was re-elected in January, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was on the verge of winning a third term, and French President Francois Mitterrand has recouped his popularity. But Prime Ministers Amintore Fanfani of Italy and Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan are due to step down soon, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is in severe political trouble at home. No wonder that their deliberations in a 17th century monastery on the island...
...Reagan professed to consider the summit a success, but he had little to back up his claim. On the subject of the Persian Gulf, for example, the seven issued a general statement championing "freedom of navigation." There was not a word of specific support for the U.S. plan to register Kuwaiti tankers under the American flag and have U.S. warships escort them through the gulf. The Americans made much afterward of the warships that Britain and France for some time have maintained in the gulf, but the U.S. got nothing new from its allies. In a joint statement...
...agreement that the seven would keep close watch on a set of economic indicators in each country and consult when growth in any of the seven appeared to be veering far off target. Although Reagan hailed this as a victory, the agreement contained no commitment for anybody to do anything...
...Reagan was more optimistic at his Venice press conference, indicating that "there is an increased opportunity for a summit" and giving Gorbachev credit for wanting a missile pact. Said Reagan: "He is faced with an economic problem in his country that has been aggravated by the military buildup . . . and I believe that he has some pretty practical reasons for why he would like to see a successful outcome...