South Bend, January 1, 1988
The Changed Atmosphere
Compared to last year, the atmosphere between East and West has noticeably improved. On this New Year’s Day, the messages of greeting between President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev were exchanged unconstrained. Reagan spoke on Russian and Gorbachev on American television. Gorbachev has become such a familiar figure here that his greetings for the New Year are being taken as a matter of course. Moreover, his picture is on the front page of Time Magazine as “Man of the Year” for 1987.
January 5, 1988
The Downtrend of the Dollar
Only by the intervention of the central banks in Europe and Japan was the downtrend of the Dollar stopped. From its record low of DM 1.58 and 122 Yen the exchange rate to the Dollar was raised to DM 1.60 and 124 Yen. But how long can this cover be provided? If the high American trade and budget deficits cannot be reduced, then certainly not for long. However, in this election year every effort will be made to avoid a recession.
January 25, 1988
State of the Union Address
In his last State of the Union Address President Reagan was conciliatory and confident about the future as never before. Among other issues, he turned to school reform, the perennial topic of American domestic policy. He received undivided applause when he mentioned the INF Treaty and asked the Senate for a speedy ratification. As the Reagan era is coming to a close, it is becoming ever more clear that the initiated process of reducing the nuclear threat belongs to the great achievements of his presidency.