Turning Vision into Reality

By Hugh Sidey

The Presidency

The first question is one of commitment: whether Ronald Reagan understands what it takes to nudge a doubting, cash-short nation into serious consideration of his star wars defense concept. One thing is certain: it will take more than a few speeches.

John Kennedy had a bit of the same problem when he decided it was time to send Americans to the moon. Not everyone was eager to spend $40 billion on a ten-year dream, especially with so many poor and hungry people needing help on earth. There was even fear within Kennedy's White House (as in Reagan's) that J.F.K. was acting before thinking. Critics noted then that the Soviets had a head start.

Kennedy never yielded. Growing weary with the naysayers, he scolded his space experts: "If somebody can just tell me how to catch up. . . I don't care if it's the janitor over there, if he knows how." Kennedy prodded, pleaded and threatened, and managed to launch the Apollo program.

The next question for Reagan is where to turn for the kind of dedicated and selfless work that Franklin Roosevelt won from Government agencies, the military, university scientists and private business to develop the atomic bomb. Reagan does not have the same emergency authority, nor is there the urgency of wartime. The President's proposal appeals to the heart: he is calling for a defense system that renders strategic missiles ineffective. It also appeals to common sense: his plan seems to open up pleasing vistas for arms reduction. But layman's logic often conflicts with the accepted wisdom of experts, whose chorus we now hear. In developing nuclear weapons, Roosevelt moved in secret, sidestepping doubters. (His own naval aide, Admiral William Leahy, said F.D.R.'s project was "the biggest fool thing we've ever done. The atomic bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert on explosions.") Reagan must confront arms control experts and political opponents in public.

Another question for Reagan is whether the defensive devices he envisions have a reasonable chance of working. Enough scientists accept the theory to make it worth pursuing. Besides, visions of this scope are not necessarily the province of the technical experts. After World War II, one of America's top scientists, Vannevar Bush, delivered this wisdom for the ages: "There need be little fear of an intercontinental missile in the form of a pilotless aircraft." And many of the instant critics of Reagan's idea, like former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, were not all that prescient when conducting the public's business.

A determined, skilled President who captures a nation's imagination, energy and know-how can work miracles. Abraham Lincoln understood the enormous strength of American industry even while the country was being torn apart by the Civil War. He unleashed that force to build a railroad to the Pacific. Eighteen hundred miles of track were flung across prairies and mountains in four years.

Theodore Roosevelt bragged, as if he had created the Panama Canal with his bare hands, "I took the Canal Zone, and let Congress debate." Teddy's battering-ram shoulder did wonders, but private concerns had already made attempts to cut through the isthmus, even in failure showing it could be done. T.R. knew the time was ripe. Soil conservation was a science long before Franklin Roosevelt lifted it to the top of the national agenda and we began to heal the washed and windblown land. Ike grasped the importance of a huge interstate highway system. His endorsement helped push 23,500 miles of superhighways across the country in a decade.

Once challenged, and once convinced, this nation has been able to do just about anything it has wanted to do. It may decide, after further consideration, that Ronald Reagan has come up with a bum idea. But it should not rebuff his vision out of timidity. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.