Word: speech
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...FROM HIS SPEECH...
...President's speech was the launching pad for an energetic public relations offensive that Robert Dole, the Republican Senator from Kansas, dubbed Comeback Week. Reagan's first important move was to accept the withdrawal of Robert Gates' nomination to become director of Central Intelligence. As the CIA's deputy director and a close ally of his disabled former boss, William Casey, Gates had come under fire for his involvement in Iranscam, and his chances for Senate confirmation were looking dim. In Gates' place Reagan nominated FBI Director William Webster, a former judge who is widely respected for his integrity...
...appointments of a new White House chief of staff and CIA director to go along with his new National Security Adviser, gave a boost to an Administration that had been foundering. Though it failed to address several of the more troubling aspects of Iranscam, the meticulously crafted twelve-minute speech showed that Reagan recognized the severity of the crisis and had determined to take steps to remedy the situation...
...like the false spring temperatures that warmed the nation's capital last week, the uptick in the President's fortunes could be merely transitory. Artful as it was, Reagan's speech did not resolve the most serious question raised by Iranscam: Is the President at 76 sufficiently alert and involved to lead the country? To regain political advantage for the final two years of his Administration, Reagan must still overcome formidable obstacles, particularly the ongoing investigations of the scandal and his passive work habits...
Reagan's address was not enough to convince his critics that he has learned the lessons of the past few months. "The President gave an excellent speech," said New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, "but no mere speech can dispel the doubts raised by the Iran-contra affair. Only time will tell whether the President has asserted control over the foreign policy of our nation." Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Barney Frank was even blunter. "The Tower commission," said Frank, "did not find Reagan a lousy orator; they found him a lousy President...