White House Diaries

Tuesday, October 4, 1988

View the President's Schedule

Nancy off to a luncheon in N.Y.—Anti-drugs again. My 1st meeting—at 9 A.M. Learned Sen. had put the death penalty we want in the drug bill. Polls in Canada look good for P.M. Mulroney in coming election. He was way down but apparently has recovered.

I’m faced with a cliff hanger—the votes to sustain or override my veto of Textile bill is going on in the House.

N.S.C.—Discussion about Nicaragua & the Contras—doesn’t look like we have the votes to get military aid for them.

In Iran Fadlallah says more hostages not coming out. Then the 9:30 meeting with Repub. Leadership. It was a good meeting & ended up with almost every one of them paying a great tribute to me for what they called my leadership to the world. I was touched.

Then a visitor from afar. A meeting with Pres. Joao Vieira of Guinea Bissau. His first visit to Wash. He is instituting ec. reforms & we are trying to be helpful. Some desk time then over to E.O.B. to present plaques to 3 winners in the “Minority Enterprise Development Week” ceremony. Back to lunch with 114 R.N.C. supporters—each one has contributed $100,000 to a fund for Repub. campaign.

After some desk time I had a succession of meetings with guests such as Miss America, Miss’s Teen Age Americas etc.—all supposed to be guests of particular Congressmen. The Congressmen didn’t come—they are on the floor for the Textile vote. One—McEwen did show up later for a family photo—his wife & 4 adopted children. A meeting with Bill Armstrong (Senator) re an obscenity & pornographic executive order he wants me to issue regarding the sale of such material on Fed. property including mil. bases. I’m in favor but must check out some constitutional problems.

Then over for my sneeze shot & upstairs to shower & exercise before I have to go to Marriott Hotel to drop by “Governors Club Dinner” & make a speech.

Nancy came home just about time I had to leave. I did a receiving line & photos with about 100 people—then into a before dinner speech to several hundred people. They gave me a new chainsaw. Before I went to the dinner I made several phone calls to Cong.men & women asking them to support my veto of the textile bill. Just before I did my speech got word my veto was sustained, 272 to 152.