A Letter From the Publisher: Mar. 11, 1985

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In a lighter moment, Defense Secretary Weinberger began by noting that he would much prefer to have an uncontroversial job like director of the National Gallery of Art. But he went on to defend the Administration's military buildup as well as the controversial Star Wars plan. Later, Senators Joseph Biden, Gary Hart, William Cohen and Nancy Kassebaum gave a bipartisan critique of the Administration's defense and foreign policies, amid some jovial byplay between Hart and Biden on the approaching 1988 presidential campaign. After a vigorous exchange on policy, several of the visitors expressed surprise at how prominent an issue defense was in the U.S. Said Rowland C. Frazee, chairman of the Royal Bank of Canada: "I could go to a similar group in Canada and the subject would hardly be mentioned."

The Newstour participants, of course, have all had plenty of business and personal dealings in the U.S. Nevertheless, they were glad to have the chance to talk firsthand with so many U.S. policymakers. "Learning what makes a political system go, and what the concerns are, has to be of value," said Warren Chippindale, chairman of Coopers & Lybrand. "We saw a lot of people who have clout." John Stoik, president of Gulf Canada Ltd., seemed to speak for many of his colleagues when he said, "I never have had very much exposure to the Government in this country, and I have been very, very impressed with the quality of the people." And, in turn, the Americans were impressed by the sophisticated world view of their visitors.