Word: watt
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First, it seemed inappropriate to send an official message to a foreign ambassador complaining about opposition from U.S. citizens in an essentially domestic dispute. Second, Watt's letter seemed to contain an implicit, cynical threat: if American dependence on Arab oil becomes too great, the U.S. might find it politically expedient to temper its support of Israel...
Reagan, however, inferred a broader, more innocuous meaning. Watt was merely saying, according to the President, that "if we should find ourselves without the energy needed to turn .. . the wheels in industry, we wouldn't be much of an ally to our friends, and that would certainly include Israel...
...Wednesday, in a meeting with officers of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, Watt finally backed off. Reported A.D.L. National Director Nathan Perlmutter: "He termed his own remarks an unfortunate mistake. He said that he was embarrassed." Said A.D.L. National Chairman Kenneth Bialkin: "I think he is a man without guile...
...times he is certainly a man without much political common sense. Arens did not publicize the letter; Watt himself proudly sent copies to Washington journalists. He seems to relish getting his name and righteous views in print, regardless of the controversies that ensue...
Still another overheated Watt letter, sent to 28 Congressmen two weeks ago, continued to make waves. This one was a direct defense of Watt's plan to permit oil companies to lease up to a billion acres of U.S. coastal waters for drilling. He contended that the specter of offshore oil rigs would be more palatable than explaining "to the mothers and fathers of this land why their sons are fighting on the sands of the Middle East, as might be required if the policies of our critics were pursued...