Shopping Cart
Your Shopping Cart is empty
Visit Store
White House Diaries
September
05
1985
September 05, 1985
Thursday, September 5, 1985
Over to the E.O.B. for a brief talk to the meeting of about 100 Fed. Marshals from all over the country. Now I’m an Honorary Marshal. Then off to Raleigh N.C. to speak to students at N.C. St. U. What an experience? Our helicopter landed in a nearby athletic field where a crowd of 6000 young people were on hand just to see the landing. They were still there 2 hrs. later when I came back to lv. for Wash. In those couple of hours I went to the Wolfpack arena (NCAA Basketball Champs) and addressed about 15,000 students & friends. The place wasn’t air conditioned and it was a steam bath. But those young people made me feel 10 ft. tall with the warmth of their reception. I had standing ovations in the middle of my short speech—which was on tax reform. But it was the show of affection that put a lump in my throat—that & God Bless them—their patriotism.
But the same atmosphere prevailed at the following lunch with about 25 student leaders where I did a Q&A. It was a block busting day. Then back to Wash. & an N.S.P.G. meeting on S. Africa & the probable Sanction legislation I may face. The issue was sign or veto. I came down on the side of veto but with it an exec. order calling for all the good parts of the bill & explaining why some features made the veto necessary.
Home—and soon Nancy arrived. To top off the day Don R. called to tell me tomorrow the Aug. labor figures will be announced—323,000 people found jobs in Aug. & the unemp. rate was 6.9%—lowest since April 1980.
