Larry Speakes: In Memoriam

Former White House Press Secretary Larry Speakes passed away Friday in Mississippi after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.  Larry suddenly became President Ronald Reagan's acting press secretary when the president and then Press Secretary Jim Brady were shot in an assassination attempt in Washington.  

Larry ran an excellent press operation and populated it with many amazing people.  Although there could be tension between the press and the White House, relationships were professional, and generally friendly and cordial.  

Larry had a wicked sense of humor.  He was particularly funny when sharing stories about President Reagan with those closest to him.  He once recounted to me an incident that took place during an important cabinet meeting at the White House.  As Larry sat at the back of the room behind the president, he suddenly heard a beeping noise.  He then noticed that several people reacted to the beep by checking their pagers.  He then scanned the room for the source of the beeping, and soon came upon the answer.  He leaned over and tapped President Reagan on his shoulder and whispered in his good ear, "Mr. President, your hearing aide battery is dead."

Reagan spent weeks every summer at his ranch, Rancho del Cielo, in the hills above Santa Barbara.  The press operation and media worked out of the Sheraton Santa Barbara, about 30 miles from Reagan's ranch.  Given the time difference between New York and California, most of the news briefings took place by early afternoon so deadlines would be kept.

One day Larry asked me to join him, CBS News reporter Gary Schuster, and Deputy Press Secretary Rusty Brashear, for a trip to a Dodger game in Los Angeles as guests of manager Tommy Lasorda.  We arrived at Dodger Stadium late in the afternoon, just before batting practice and were escorted to the Dodgers' locker room.   Larry said, "Get ready for a full Lasorda."  I would soon know what he meant.  

We were led to Lasorda's office where we found him sitting at a plain office desk in his boxer shorts, a Dodger tee shirt and hat. "How you f...ing guys doing!" Tommy said as he jumped out of his chair.  "It's great to see you f...king guys!  You f...king guys want lunch?  Hey someone order these f...king guys some Chinese food!"  In the background I heard, "Okay skip."  Rick Monday, a former Cub and Dodger great, popped his head in to touch base with Lasorda before he headed up to the radio booth to do color commentary.

Then a rookie stuck his head in and asked if he could make a call.  We noticed there was an old rotary dial phone on Lasorda's desk, and he claimed it was the only phone in the locker room (there certainly were no smart phones in those days).   Tommy yelled at the kid to come back a little later.

He then told us about the time the kid had used the phone without asking, against clubhouse rules.  He told one of the coaches to send the kid into the men's room, where Lasorda was in a stall on the toilet.  "The kid comes in and meekly says, 'You want to see me coach?'"  Lasorda yells, "When I say I want to see you, I want to see you!  Open the door and get in here!"  The kid walks into the stall and looks terrified as his manager chews him out while sitting on the toilet.  After the punch line Lasorda said, "What a stupid f...king kid!"

After a big laugh, Lasorda put his pants on and took us for a tour.  Behind the home dugout and under the stands, there was a practice-batting cage surrounded by mesh nets.  As we approached we could hear someone hitting the ball.  Steve Sax was a pretty good player whose mediocre hitting kept him from being a super star.  

Lasorda loudly introduced us and asked, "Hey Saxie, did you ever find out who put that pig's head in your bed in Philly?"  "No, skip," Sax answered.  As we walked away from the batting cage, Tommy said, "That kid is really stupid.  When were in Philadelphia, I had my brother, who owns a restaurant there, arrange to place a pig's head on Sax's pillow with a note that read, 'You better start hitting or your dead'!"  It was a scene out of the Godfather, yet Tommy loved that Sax couldn't figure out who did it.

We walked onto the field, where Tommy verbally harassed one of his players, "You hit like shit!"  The infield was in terrific shape, and the view from home plate to the outfield was breathtaking.  We then returned to the dugout, where Tommy got into his uniform, more food arrived for us--Italian.  Larry was smiling as he led our group to our terrific seats.  The game was close to the end, but the Dodgers lost by a run.  

We didn't know what to expect when we joined Tommy, his wife and a few of their friends at the stadium club.  His spirits quickly picked up as he stared telling baseball stories.  I collected a book he had written and asked him to sign it.  He inscribed, "Hey Joe, you and the Dodgers are great.  Go Dodger blue.  Tommy Lasorda."  It seemed a totally genuine, even when I later realized  that everyone got the exact same personalized inscription.  Larry, thanks for the full Lasorda!

In June, 1982, I was the CBS News producer on President Reagan's trip to the Economic Summit in Versailles, France.  Larry Speakes and his team, including top assistant Mark Weinberg,  oversaw the American press corps.   CBS News had established a temporary editing operation run by a special events producer, Peter Sturtevant, who was in charge of all CBS News coverage from the Summit.

During the middle of the Summit, Israel invaded Lebanon in retaliation for ongoing terrorist attacks.  Their operation was being spearheaded by General Ariel Sharon.   The invasion was a surprise, and CBS News urgently needed to send producers to Lebanon.  The foreign desk called me and said since I was in France, I could get to Lebanon more quickly. 

I was surprised, and expressed concern because I had planned and already paid for a romantic French vacation with Susan Zirinsky that was schedule to begin in three days.  "No problem, we'll get you back in time," the editor responded confidently.  I said, "You can't get me from Versailles to a war zone in Beirut and back in three days."  "Don't worry about that," said the editor, "you need to go."  

I expressed my frustration to Mark Weinberg, who mentioned it to Larry.  But Larry knew exactly what to do.  He had Mark call Sturtevant and say that it would be a mistake to send me to Beirut.  If I were to go, CBS News might not get the latest information from the White House.    The next thing I knew, Sturtevant called me and said I did not have to go to Beirut.  Larry and I laughed when I went to thank him.

Coda: Susan joined me three days later in Paris, and we then traveled to the south of France, where we spent a glorious week.  On the last night I was awakened at 4 am by a phone call.  I vaguely said "Hello" and, in response, two CBS News executives said, "Guess who's going to Beirut?  Your plane for Tel Aviv leaves from Nice at 10am."  I spent a month in Beirut covering the ongoing war.

Larry respected the boundaries between the White House and the press.  For sure, the relationship could get very intense at times.  But I found that he was personally very open to those with whom he felt most comfortable.  More importantly, he was fiercely loyal to the president, and worked tirelessly in service of his country.  Larry was a true professional, and also a wonderful friend.  

NOTE:  Mark Weinberg advises the following:

The family has designated two charities for donations in Larry's  memory:

Sunny Seniors

107 South Victoria Avenue

Cleveland, Mississippi 38732

Alzheimer's Association of America

322 Eighth Avenue  7th floor

New York NY 10001

Racism in America

The 2012 presidential election campaign has been disappointing.   Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this election is that were President Barack Obama white it is likely he would be on his way to a landslide victory.  

President Obama inherited a disastrous mess. When he entered office the economy was shrinking at 9 percent annually due to the Bush Recession.  About 800 thousand Americans were losing jobs each month.  The banking system was on the verge of collapse, the housing market was a disaster, and the American car industry was dying.  The country was engaged in two difficult and costly wars, both in lives and resources, with no end in sight.  Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, and mastermind of the worst attack on U.S. soil, continued to plot against America and its allies. 

In his inaugural speech, at the U.S. Capitol before nearly 2 million people, the president said, "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."  But, inside the Capitol, Republicans met and formulated a plan to obstruct, deny and delay the president's agenda.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would later publicly state that making President Obama a one-term president, not the economy, was the number one priority of his party. 

The new president, facing fierce partisan opposition, signed into law the Recovery Act, a.k.a. the stimulus package.  Although it was smaller than he originally proposed, most economists credit it with righting the stalling economy.  Even Representative Paul Ryan requested stimulus money to help businesses in his district.  The president also signed tough banking reform legislation to assure a similar crisis would not occur. He enacted the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that assures fair pay for women.  He bailed out the American auto companies over the objections of many Republicans, including Governor Mitt Romney, who wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece that they should be allowed to go bankrupt.  The auto bailout saved one million jobs, and now the industry is vibrant again.  

The president's signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) will make health care more affordable and accessible to all Americans, and protect consumers from abuses by insurance companies.  For instance, no longer can insurance companies deny people health care benefits because they have a pre-existing condition.  More importantly, 40 million uninsured Americans will be covered and the government will realize $1 trillion in health care savings over the next decade, according to its sponsors. . 

But Republicans have used Obamacare (sounds like Romneycare) as a major rallying cry against the president, falsely charging it is a government take over of health care, that it would restrict an individual's choices, and that it would set up death panels.  While they offered no credible alternatives, they demonize the president as a socialist.   

The president had promised to end the war in Iraq, and he did.  But Republicans were vociferous in their criticism, saying he withdrew too early.  The president promised a military build up in Afghanistan, where the war was nearly in its tenth year, and he did.  The president also set a deadline of June 2014 for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from that country.  But Republicans criticized the president for announcing a deadline.  And just last week candidate Mitt Romney announced at the third debate that he agreed with the president's deadline after all. 

The president made getting Osama bin Laden a top priority early on in his administration.   Bin Laden had eluded capture for nearly a decade, and was a low priority for both President George Bush and candidate Romney.  But in May 2011, U.S. forces killed the world's most heinous terrorist leader in Pakistan.  The president took a huge political risk by ordering the killing, but now Republicans claim that anyone would have done the same thing.  

The president has had some missteps during his first term.  The U.S. economy is still sluggish and too many people remain unemployed.  But the world is a different place today than it was in the early 1980's, when President Ronald Reagan revived a bad U.S. economy.  Economic growth in China and India has slowed; much of Europe is still in a recession.  Nonetheless, under President Obama the U.S. economy has enjoyed 31 straight months of jobs growth and unemployment is at its lowest point, 7.8 percent, since he took office.  

At the Democratic Convention, President Bill Clinton said, "No president, not me, not any of my predecessors, could have repaired all of the damage he found in just four years."  When one considers the animus and vitriol that has roiled the American political scene, stirred by Republicans and Tea Party loyalists, it is a wonder that the man who called for "unity of purpose" has succeeded at all.

Mr. Obama has been labeled "the food stamp president" and an "anti-colonialist" by leading Republicans.  He has repeatedly been treated with unprecedented disrespect, including on the floor of the House of Representatives.  His place of birth has been constantly questioned, as have his academic records.  About a third of all Republicans think the president is a Muslim and not a Christian.  Most recently, when General Colin Powell, a leading Republican, war hero and African American, announced his thoughtful endorsement for the president's reelection, right wing critics sniped.  Former Vermont Governor John Sununu, and chief Romney surrogate, said, "Well, I think when you have somebody of your own race that you're proud of being president of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him."

On Saturday, the Associated Press released a poll that found, "51 percent of Americans now express explicit anti-black attitudes, compared with 48 percent in a similar 2008 survey."  According to AP, "Overall, the survey found that by virtue of racial prejudice, President Obama could lose 5 percentage points off his share of the popular vote in his Nov. 6 contest against Republican challenger Mitt Romney."  Racial prejudice actually increased in America over the past four years with an African American in the White House, a president who has rarely raised the issue of race.

Americans should vote for the candidate who they believe will be the best president.    But to use race as a factor would only reward those who have divided the nation by using fear and hatred to achieve their political agenda.

Republican Slugfest

With the Iowa Caucuses little more than two weeks away the two Republican frontrunners are now in a slugfest. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged into the lead in several state polls, including Iowa, Florida and South Carolina, leaving Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney rattled.

Now Romney is sounding more desperate and flustered. In Saturday night's Republican debate Romney inexplicably offered to bet Texas Governor Rick Perry $10,000 that he was misrepresenting Romney's position on individual mandates, which are part of Romneycare. While that is a substantial amount of money for most Iowans, it is not for multimillionaire Mitt Romney. And it didn't play well in Des Moines.

On Monday Romney decided to come out swinging, but it sounded more like the pot calling the kettle black. Romney attacked Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac, the government sponsored mortgage company that has been lambasted by conservatives. Romney called on Gingrich to return the millions he made working for Freddie Mac after he left office. Romney told Fox News, "One of the things that I think that people recognize in Washington is that people go there to serve the people and then they stay there to serve themselves."

But Gingrich later responded to Romney harshly. "I love the way he and his consultants do these things," Gingrich said. "I would just say that if Gov. Romney would like to give back all the money he's earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain, then I would be glad to listen to him and I'll bet you $10 dollars -- not $10,000 -- that he won't take the offer." Romney founded Bain Capital in 1984, an investment and consulting company. Romney is now worth more than $200 million.

Gingrich and Romney have many things in common. They are both very wealthy. In fact, Gingrich has bragged he regularly gets $60,000 to make a speech; the median family annual income in the United States is about $50,000. They have both supported health care mandates. Both supported the Wall Street bailouts, government subsidies for ethanol and agree that humans play a role in climate change. And, most noteworthy, both are serial flip-floppers on several issues.

But in Saturday's debate, Governor Romney pointed to his lengthy career in the private sector as the reason he is the best qualified to turn the American economy around. Gingrich wasn't buying it, "The only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994. It's a bit much. You'd have been a 17-year career politician by now if you'd won."

No doubt Gingrich was not amused by an earlier Romney political ad in which he claimed to be a man of "steadiness and constancy." In his narration Romney said, "I've been married to the same woman for 25 -- excuse me, I'll get in trouble -- for 42 years. I've been in the same church my entire life. I worked at one company, Bain, for 25 years. And I left that to go off and help save the Olympics." This was clearly attack on Gingrich's personal life.

This is Romney's second attempt at the Republican presidential nomination; he first ran in 2008. Since he declared his candidacy last April he has devoted all of his energies to getting nominated. While has always been among the frontrunners, Romney has never been able to get more than 25% in Republican polls. The reason is simple: they just don't trust him.

Gingrich was written off a few weeks ago by most observers. He is intelligent and energetic, yet he is equally unpredictable and mercurial. And, despite all his flaws, he has now emerged as the darling of the right because they are willing to forgive his past transgressions. His debate performances have lifted him to the top and his supporters believe he is best able to take on President Barack Obama in a debate.

Two weeks is a long time in politics, especially given the intensity of this race. But an almost certain victory in the Iowa Caucuses and a strong showing in the New Hampshire Primary against frontrunner Romney will likely propel Gingrich to victories in the South Carolina and Florida primaries. But Romney will fight on.

The ultimate winner of the Republican nomination will have to unite a battered party in order to defeat President Barack Obama. And the will have to keep Congressman Ron Paul from declaring as a third party candidate, which is a real possibility.

Ronald Reagan must be rolling over in his grave.

Colonel Qadhafi

Thirty years ago tensions between the United States and Libya were near the boiling point. In December, 1981, President Ronald Reagan ordered the approximately 1,500 American citizens living in Libya to leave or face legal action. That's when CBS News decided to dispatch me to Tripoli along with a reporter and a camera crew.

I was assigned to temporary duty in the London bureau of CBS News at the time. It's not bad work if you can get it. Shortly following the White House announcement I was off to Gatwick airport, about 25 miles south of London, where a charter Lear jet was on standby. Thankfully I had enough time to run next door to the Hyde Park Hotel and pack.

We loaded up the charter with camera gear and luggage and awaited clearance to take off on a snowy cold night. But we had one major problem--we were not cleared to land in Libya! And we didn't have the required visas either. After much consternation and consultation the CBS News foreign desk told us to fly on to Nice, France, where we could refuel.

Even at midnight Nice was very nice. Temperatures were in the mid 60's and the breeze off the Mediterranean Sea, which ran along the south side of the airport, was very refreshing. As our plane refueled, I continued to await word from New York that we had been cleared to land in Tripoli. Following a two hour wait the foreign desk decided that we should take off for Libya while they continued their efforts to get permission for us to land.

Into the darkness we headed for the 800-mile flight to Tripoli. I remember the nervous laughter in the cabin as we flew beneath the stars and a bright moon over the pitch-black sea. Periodically our pilots updated us on our landing status--still no clearance. Nearly half way on our journey we decided to attempt a landing even though we did not have permission. Believe me, there were plenty of jokes about returning to the French Riviera.

There it was in the distance, Tripoli. I could see the mass of lights straddling the North African coastline. Tripoli is Libya's capitol and most populous city and it appeared to be floating surrounded by nothing on either side. Through my porthole sized window I immediately scanned the nighttime horizon for signs of Libyan fighters. There were none. I asked the pilots whether they had heard any radio traffic. At first they could not raise the airport tower. But after a few minutes we were cleared to land. Whew.

When our plane touched down in the predawn hours, we were directed to a parking area quite some distance from the terminal. After we had been parked for a half hour, we decided to disembark. Standing on the runway I could feel the warm moist air but no signs of life. The airport was quiet.

A small transport bus arrived nearly an hour after we arrived and security shuttled us on board for a ride to the terminal. As we got to the terminal our passports were taken from us and we were assigned to a holding area. There our gracious hosts served us pear juice and crackers.

We were then taken by bus to a hotel on the coast. I believe the name of the hotel was The Beach, but it sure wasn't the Four Seasons! We entered the darkened lobby and found the front desk unmanned. Men were sleeping in the chairs that filled the lobby area. It took several minutes for security to find someone to check us in.

Remarkably, the hotel was pretty full. I was assigned a room in the basement. Although it was musty, the room appeared clean and I had a small cellar window from which I could see out toward the sea. I watched daylight slowly creep in that morning before falling asleep.

Over the next few days we waited to be summoned to meet with Libya's leader, Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi. It seems that he wanted to make a statement to the world's press, who were arriving by the droves.

Everyday, at about noon, anti-American and pro-Qadhafi demonstrators gathered outside our hotel bearing placards, written in Arabic and English, and making a whole lot of noise. We assumed they were government workers. They praised their leader and life in Libya.

One evening we visited the home of some Americans who had been ordered out of the country by their president. We ate lamb and drank vintage wine. While liquor was technically illegal in Libya it could be found in most private homes.

On our third day it was announced that the world's press would be taken to the People's Jamahiriya, the people's palace, for a press event. We assumed that Colonel Qadhafi was ready to speak to us. As we entered the building all of our equipment was confiscated. We were all left in a room with no clue what would happen next.

About thirty minutes later I heard the sound of a motorcade screeching to a halt outside. Several minutes passed before a man entered and slowly walked through the crowd of journalists. He then retraced his route and walked out the door. A couple minutes later several men, I assume security, came through the door followed by Colonel Qadhafi. He walked be me, nodded as he passed, and proceeded through a door on the other side of the room. A quiet sense of excitement filled our room as we awaited further instructions.

A few minutes later a man emerged with an announcement in broken English. "There will be no press conference, you go home." With that brief statement the man walked out. "What?" "No press conference?" We were confused, but security got the message. They gave us back our equipment and drove us back to our hotels. We later received clarification; we were to leave the country. That was it!

It turns out that as we awaited our press conference General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland. That was December 13, 1981. Word reached us that Colonel Qadhafi, wanted to address the negative press coverage he had been receiving on the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Coverage of martial law in Poland would now dominate the front pages and the Libyan leader would be buried deep inside the newspaper.

At first the CBS News foreign desk did not want to pull us out. We waited a couple of days to see what would happen. After all, this was the man President Reagan called, "The mad dog of the Middle East."

But our hosts were growing increasingly impatient. We were among the last to leave. As we boarded our charter for a return trip to London, I wondered what life was really like for Libyans who lived under the absolute and whimsical control of an all-powerful dictator. And how long would they allow this tyrannical autocrat to lead their country.

President Reagan's Humor

This coming February 6 President Ronald Reagan would have been 100 years old. He was born in Tampico, Illinois, a small town about 130 miles directly west of Chicago, my birthplace. Whatever your views of his presidency, President Reagan was the source of some very funny stories.

I first heard his name as a young boy, when he hosted the "General Electric Theater” and then later "Death Valley Days." My family and I used to watch him on our black and white television, a remarkable technological breakthrough back then.

Growing up, some of my earliest memories centered on baseball and the Chicago Cubs. Years before I was born, Reagan had already made a national name for himself recreating Cub games by reading the play by play off a teletype while broadcasting from his radio studio in Des Moines, Iowa.

Later, Reagan frequently told the story of the time the teletype froze during the last inning of a game between the Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. He decided to take a chance and improvised. He tells it this way; "I had Jurges hit another foul. Then I had him foul one that only missed being a homerun by a foot. I had him foul one back in the stands and took up some time describing the two lads that got in a fight over the ball. I kept on having him foul balls until I was setting a record for a ballplayer hitting successive foul balls and I was getting more than a little scared. Just then my operator started typing. When he passed me the paper I started to giggle - it said: ‘Jurges popped out on the first ball pitched.’”

I first met President Reagan in 1981 near his Santa Barbara ranch. The White House held a picnic for the traveling press corps; I was the CBS News White House producer. I introduced myself and said, "I am responsible for that camera stationed on the next mountain with the big lens." We used the camera to capture video of President Reagan when he cleared brush or rode a horse on his ranch grounds.

Without missing a beat, President Reagan responded, "Well Joe, I told the secret service that one morning I am going to walk out on the porch," he then twisted to the left and ran his right finger under his nose before continuing on, "and then I am going to do this!" The president suddenly pulled his hands to his chest and pretended to stumble, as if he was having a heart attack.

I was stunned, but when he laughed I felt at ease. "Well Joe," he said, "the secret service did not like that, and neither did Nancy." I smiled and said, "I wouldn't have liked that either!" He then turned and introduced me to the First Lady.

Early on in his administration I found myself serving as the network pool producer for a presidential address from the Oval Office. After the speech was over, I walked up and stood beside the president’s desk. I congratulated the great communicator on his speech. I then complimented him on his desk.

"Well Joe," the president said and then began to tell me about the desk. I scanned the room and noticed that the staff was already becoming impatient; this was obviously not the first time they had all heard the story.

President Reagan used the famous Resolute desk, which was created from the timbers of a once sunken British ship of the same name. In the late 1800's, "sister" desks were made and Queen Victoria gave one to President Rutherford B. Hayes. There is an iconic photo of President John Kennedy working at the desk as his son crawled through the little door below.

As I stood listening to the president, he explained that he was taller than the last president to use the desk. He then pushed his chair back and pointed to the legs under the desk. "You see, I'm six foot one, so I had them extend the legs so I can sit at the desk." The president then laughed. A sigh of relief swept the room as he completed his story. "Thank you Joe," called out a staff member from the back of the room. I said goodbye and left with a smile on my face.

During his presidency I heard many funny stories about the president from members of his staff. There was the time a beeping sound could be heard during a cabinet meeting. As President Reagan sat calmly during a presentation, the White House Press Secretary realized where the beep was coming from. He tapped the president on the shoulder and mouthed the words, "Your hearing aid battery has died, Mr. President."

A former cabinet member told me about a famous incident that occurred during an important G-7 Summit in Williamsburg, Virginia. The night before the meeting a member of the president's staff pointed to a large Summit briefing book that they had left for him on the coffee table. The president thanked his team for their work as they retired. The next morning the staff members noted the briefing book had not been touched. President Reagan explained that he and Nancy had watched "The Sound of Music" instead.

President Reagan’s historical legacy will forever be defined by his strong stands against big government and the Soviet Union. Huge federal deficits, reductions in social programs, “Trickle Down Economics” and the “Strategic Defense Initiative” (derided as Star Wars) are among the many controversies that surround his two terms in office.

But on this, his 100th birthday, I will also remember his wonderful sense of humor.

American Originals

Fess Parker will always be Davy Crockett to me. The American pioneer, trailblazer and hero-of the Alamo as played by one of early televisions stars.

Fess Parker's death stirs memories of "Ozzie and Harriet", "I Love Lucy", "Father Knows Best", "Kukla, Fran and Ollie", and "The GE Theater" with Ronald Reagan. In the early fifties television was not in every home, especially those in rural communities. The average television set was large, half the size of a refrigerator, the screen was small, the picture was black and white and the reception was spotty in some areas. Yet television soon became the centerpiece of every American living room.

Television producers and executives were finding their way with this new medium when, in 1954, Walt Disney launched the series "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier." Crockett was a daring frontiersman, marksman, a real American legend. Disney studios cast the 6' 6" Fess Parker to play Davy Crockett, and dressed him in a coonskin cap, leather pants and a coat with fringe on the sleeves. He wore leather moccasins and he was armed with a musket. By the end of 1955, Disney had successfully launched a whole product line of clothing and toys in the Davy Crockett theme. I owned a coonskin cap, as did many of my friends.

My sister and I watched Davy Crockett every week. My friends and I could sing the words to the theme song, "Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier." The words seemed silly but fun, "He was born on a mountain top in Tennessee" and "Kilt him a b'ar when he was only 3." The last episode of Davy Crockett was broadcast in early 1955, but the clothing style remained popular for some time afterward.

During Ronald Reagan's presidency in the early eighties I traveled to Santa Barbara, California, while working at CBS News as part of the White House press corps. President Reagan vacationed nearby on his ranch.

Each summer the Reagans had a party for the White House press corps. The first was in the summer of 1981 at the Biltmore Hotel along the Pacific Coast on the southern edge of Santa Barbara. I introduced myself to President Reagan as the CBS News producer who had installed a camera with a huge lens on a nearby hill overlooking his ranch. The media tried to photograph Reagan's every public movement and it had become a real network battle of the lenses. So practically every night, while Reagan was at the ranch, Americans would see blurry pictures of the president clearing brush and riding his horse on that night's evening newscasts.

"Well, you know Joe," President Reagan began with a devilish twinkle in his eye, "I once suggested to the secret service, well, that one morning I would walk out on the porch." The president then cocked his head and twisted his body slightly as he continued, "Then I would, well, do this." The president then slapped both his hands over his heart and feigned a stumble. President Reagan then tilted his head with a smile and said, "The secret service said, 'We don't think that would be a good idea Mr. President.'" Reagan then laughed and shook his head from side to side.

As I smiled I said "Mr. President, I don't think that would be a good idea either!" He laughed, gave me a wink, and then introduced me to First Lady Nancy Reagan.

One year the press party was held at Fess Parker's ranch, which is near the Reagan ranch. By then Parker was a successful businessman and rancher, and he later opened a winery. So I was thrilled to find myself in the company of two American legends and actors, President Ronald Reagan and Fess Parker. Two men who had played important starring roles in the early days of television and in my life. Even then, nearly thirty years later, they were tall and impressive looking men with an easy going demeanor, dressed in western jeans and a cowboy hat.

There will probably never again be anyone like these two American originals.

A Footnote to History

Polls are a snapshot of sentiments taken over a short period of time. Given the general anti-incumbent feelings roiling through the nation and directed at Washington it is no surprise that the latest CNN poll indicates that Americans want to throw the bums out; all of them!

With unemployment at 10 percent, huge annual federal and state deficits, a massive and growing national debt, a broken health care system, Wall Street bailouts from U.S. taxpayers begetting huge profits for banks, insufficient financial regulation, two costly wars and growing terrorist threats, it is no wonder Americans are frustrated. Yet, in response to this crisis, Washington has been locked in highly partisan bickering and maneuvering to no apparent end.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, released Tuesday, shows only 34 percent of those surveyed feel that current federal lawmakers deserve re-election, while 63 percent say they don't. Just 51 percent feel their own member of Congress deserves to be re-elected, while 44 percent say their representative doesn't deserve another term.

An equal number, about 56 percent of those polled, believe that most Democrat and Republican members should not be re-elected. These poll numbers should be a wake up call on Capitol Hill, especially for Democrats who have more incumbents. The Democrats currently hold a 255-178 majority in the House heading into November's mid term elections, but Republicans are poised to make major gains. And control of the Senate may be up for grabs too.

President Barack Obama is not eligible for re-election until 2012. Yet 52 percent of the registered voters surveyed in the CNN poll currently believe he should not be re-elected, with 44 percent saying they would vote for him. 49 percent approve of the president's job performance and about half disapprove.

Certainly a lot can change in three years, and the Republicans will, at some point, have to come forward with a winning agenda for the nation and a candidate who can beat President Obama. Just saying no will not win them the nation's highest elected office.

For sure voter anger will be a factor in how ballots are cast. Senator Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts was a sure sign that voters want things to change. And, while President Obama was handed a deep recession and a myriad of other significant problems when he took office, he was elected on a promise of change. Yes, Republicans have obstructed, have flip-flopped and have fabricated untruths, but Democrats have been divided and divisive too.

President Obama, while personally popular, has failed to herd his flock and get his message through to Americans. As an example, it might have helped if The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or the stimulus bill, had been called the "Jobs Bill" and the money directly doled out to projects by the federal government instead of through the states, where some Republican Congressmen took credit for what they voted against.

Or it might have helped if the laudable attempt to pass health care legislation had been more tightly managed. The lengthy process opened up opportunities for health care lobbyists and opponents to use scare tactics to undermine the cause. Americans were even more confused by the debate than members of Congress. Main Street is hurting. Americans want results, and who can blame them.

In 1982, Democrats won control of the House of Representatives when they gained 26 seats. The country was struggling through a recession and President Ronald Reagan's popularity was at an all time low, a 35 percent approval rating, which was compounded by his budget cuts. Some even questioned whether he could be re-elected to office because he was insensitive to the needs of average citizens.

If the Democratic members of Congress don't get behind their leader they will suffer big losses in the fall. If President Obama is unable to overcome the political machinations of Washington, if he is unable to get America on a course to more jobs and a brighter future, if he is unable to bring change, he may very well become a footnote to history.