Prime-Time Terrorism

(6 of 9)

At the White House, Reagan's handlers carefully tried to show that the President was deeply concerned about and engaged in the hostage crisis, but not succumbing to the siege mentality that increasingly gripped the Carter White House during the Iranian embassy takeover. Early in the week, a dispute erupted between Reagan's political aides, who wanted him to take a hard line, mostly for domestic political consumption, and his national security advisers, who feared that tough talk would limit his options or even provoke further bloodshed. White House Advisers Pat Buchanan and Ed Rollins urged that Reagan go to Andrews Air Force Base to meet the returning casket of Stethem. McFarlane, however, warned that if the terrorists thought they had monopolized the President's attention by "killing one sailor," they would "send him five more dead ones." Reagan was said to be angry, but for the moment more worried about freeing the hostages than punishing their abductors. He agreed to "punched up" language in his opening statement, but he balked at the politicos' rash suggestion that he set a deadline for the hostages release -- "or else."

The President tried to carry on his normal schedule, but the crisis dogged him. In a speech on tax reform to the Jaycees in Indianapolis, Reagan interjected a note of defiance to the terrorists: "We cannot reward their grisly deeds. We will not cave in." The line brought chants of "U.S.A. ! U.S.A.!" After the speech, the President was confronted by the family of Hostage James Hoskins Jr. "Oh, good Lord, what can I tell that woman?" he wondered aloud as he stepped to greet a tearful Deanna Hoskins. He reassured her that gaining the freedom of her son was his "paramount" objective.

Congress was mostly supportive, or at least quiescent. "Our job is to keep our mouths shut," said Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole. Opinion polls generally backed Reagan's handling of the crisis, especially after his press conference. But a narrow majority favored negotiating a prisoner swap with the hijackers, a sign that public sentiment could sour if the crisis persists. Warned one adviser: "The question is how long before the frustration and anger now focused on the terrorists shift to the White House." The President's men were clearly spooked by what happened to Reagan's predecessor, and newspaper editorialists were eager to make comparisons. "Jimmy Reagan," the Wall Street Journal mocked. From Plains, Ga., Carter called on Americans to "give President Reagan our full support and encouragement."

On Main Street, Americans vented their frustration. "It makes me sick. It seems that the whole doggone world has gone crazy," sighed Robert Langley, a gas-station mechanic in Atlanta. "But what are you going to do? What can you do?" Said Harriet Simpkins, a sixtyish housewife in Los Angeles: "The more they get away with, the more they think they can get away with. If I could do it, I'd drop a bomb right in the middle of those Shi'ites."