Hot Under the Spotlight

By James Kelly

Sessions between White House spokesmen and reporters often include a sharp word or two, but the briefings by Larry Speakes on Ronald Reagan's health, which sometimes seemed more like sparring matches than news conferences, have highlighted some frailties of the President's press office and its tense relationship with the often abrasive White House press corps. The tone was set when Speakes distributed copies of the letter temporarily transferring presidential powers to Vice President George Bush but refused to read the missive on live television. The ensuing chaos embarrassed all involved: while TV reporters in the front row faced their cameras and read the letter, Speakes would not answer questions from other correspondents. After several noisy minutes that included a chorus of boos from the back rows, Speakes resumed answering questions.

In answer to persistent requests for Reagan's precise temperature, Speakes said, "It was below a hundred yesterday. It's below 'below a hundred' today." ABC News Correspondent Sam Donaldson kept asking why reporters could not interview Reagan's doctors after they gave their briefings to the press corps. "Go fly a kite," Speakes replied to the audience. Asked if he was wearying, Speakes said, "I'm not tired, I'm just tired of you people." U.P.I. Correspondent Helen Thomas shot back, "Why don't you send in a pinch hitter who can talk to us?"

The cranky exchanges stemmed partly from the White House decision to limit reporters' access to the President's doctors and not to release a full pathology report on his condition. In public, however, Reagan's doctors have so far been commendably open in discussing their patient's condition. As for the reporters, few would deny Reagan the right to a certain amount of privacy. Still, many of them feel that Speakes did a clumsy job of defining the boundary between the public's need to know about its leader's health and Reagan's rights as a patient.

A former editor at several Mississippi newspapers, Speakes worked as a press officer for both Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Since he took over the job of acting press secretary when James Brady was wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on the President, however, Speakes has not enjoyed as much freedom as some of his predecessors, notably Jody Powell in the Carter Administration. Some reporters, sensing that Speakes does not have complete access to Reagan's inner circle, take out their frustrations on him, thus contributing to the combative tone of the briefings.

During Reagan's first term, top White House Aides Michael Deaver and James Baker proved so adroit at polishing the President's image that any shortcomings within the press office were overlooked. Chief of Staff Donald Regan and Director of Communications Patrick Buchanan are more prone to bluntness. Though Speakes' access to senior presidential aides has improved over the past few months, he has not developed the public relations finesse of a Baker or Deaver. His fuse remains shorter than his good ole boy demeanor suggests. He also allows himself to be annoyed too easily by those correspondents who seem to specialize in baiting officials. With the Great Communicator still on the mend, the testiness that Speakes displays in suffering reporters, fools or otherwise, could crimp the ability of the White House to get its story across. --By James Kelly. Reported by Barrett Seaman/Washington

With reporting by Reported by Barrett Seaman/Washington