Newswatch Thomas Griffith: Coming to Grips with Reagan

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Reagan gets poorer marks from commentators and columnists than from the public. The liberal Anthony Lewis calls him "a rigid, ignorant, irresponsible President." Reagan's Tory friend George F. Will thinks Reagan's budget proposals "patently cynical," sarcastically refers to the Marines "retreating tall," and compares Lebanon to the Bay of Pigs. The New York Times's James Reston, dean of Washington journalists (he is about a year older than Reagan), believes Reagan's record "the most vulnerable target the Democrats have had since Herbert Hoover" but sees a wide gap between those who follow events closely and those who do not. As Joseph Kraft has written, "It is very hard to challenge pleasant fictions without seeming harsh to a public that likes Reagan."

Election year gives the press a chance to prove that it can scrutinize Democrats as severely as it does Reagan. In succession, Glenn, Mondale, Jackson and Hart have been sharply examined. But it is not up to reporters to cut down either the President or his opponents, though some seem eager to try. As the campaign warms up, it becomes easier for the press evenhandedly to let Republican and Democratic candidates savage one another.