Shakespeare in the White House

President Reagan may not be as thick-skinned as his publicists would have us believe. In Washington, the rumor is that the President is increasingly irritated by the media’s jibes at his homespun speaking style.

White House sources say the President and his top aides recently met in secret at Camp David to deal with the crisis. Vice President George Bush, a blueblood with impeccable Ivy League credentials, urged a classical rhetoric on the President. But White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan reportedly warned against abandoning the pithy quotations the President favors. The result was a compromise. The quote format will stay, but, bowing to Bush’s suggestion, the President will go with the classics—Shakespeare.

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Richard Methia

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President Reagan may not be as thick-skinned as his publicists would have us believe. In Washington, the rumor is that the President is increasingly irritated by the media’s jibes at his homespun speaking style.

White House sources say the President and his top aides recently met in secret at Camp David to deal with the crisis. Vice President George Bush, a blueblood with impeccable Ivy League credentials, urged a classical rhetoric on the President. But White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan reportedly warned against abandoning the pithy quotations the President favors. The result was a compromise. The quote format will stay, but, bowing to Bush’s suggestion, the President will go with the classics—Shakespeare.