White House Diaries

Monday, August 6, 1984

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Lv. for Calif. to open the Olympics then off to the ranch. Met Nancy—then addressed our Am. team at Olympic Village & on to the Coliseum. The opening ceremonies were magnificent. My 2 sentences to open the games I thought were written in reverse. The applause line—“hereby declare open etc.” was 1st followed by a second line about the 23rd Olympiad. I asked permission to change the order & did so. The press having a copy of the lines as written are gleefully tagging me with senility & inability to learn my lines. Had dinner on Marine 1 enroute to the ranch. Then from July 28 until late Sunday afternoon of Aug. 12 it was ranch time. I believe this is the longest uninterrupted time we’ve ever spent there. The weather was terrific except for one foggy day but even that day we had our regular morning ride & in the afternoon worked pruning the woods along the entrance road. There were of course the usual Presidential chores—things to sign, daily intelligence briefings, phone calls to the Nat. Gov’s. meeting, taping interviews, lunch with George Bush, then with Stu Spencer & Jim Baker. Phone call to Football Hall of Fame ceremony, another to young People working to decorate Convention Hall in Dallas. An interesting lunch with the Papal Ambas. to the U.S. and of course my Sat. radio tapings. On one of them I gave the press an opening to display their irresponsibility which they did. Doing a voice level with no thought that anyone other than the few people in the room would hear I ad libbed jokingly something about the Soviets. The networks had a line open & recorded it and of course made it public—hence an international incident. But to finish with ranch life—we (Barney & Dennis & I) built a patio, cleared a stretch of forest, cleared out the old barn & enjoyed every min. of it. We broke in our new Medic & Marine Mil. Aide & they loved the ranch too. The press is doing everything they can to suggest however I say it that I dont mean “no taxes.” They find every excuse to say I’m really hedging. Well d--n it there will be no tax increase on my watch & Mondale is stuck with his campaign promise to raise the income tax. On Aug. 12th we came down to the Century Plaza—dinner in the suite. On Mon. the 13th we met all the U.S. medal winners & were made honorary members of the team. Then I lunched with Bud & George S. and we looked at the Soviets from several directions. I approved asking Gromyko to the W.H. if he comes as he usually does to N.Y. for the U.N. Gen. Assembly opening. I have a feeling we’ll get nowhere with arms reductions while they are suspicious of our motives as we are of theirs. I believe we need a meeting to see if we cant make them understand we have no designs on them but think they have designs on us. If we could once clear the air maybe reducing arms wouldn’t look so impossible to them. Then out to Bel Aire Hotel—oops after lunch with F. Minister Andreotti of Italy. He brought me a book by Quadaffi & said that gentleman expressed a desire to have better relations with us. Now to the hotel for a wedding rehearsal. Tues. Aug. 14 was the wedding. It was a lovely ceremony & our daughter Patti is now Mrs. Paul Grilley.