 Thank you, Pat. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. It's a real pleasure to be with you today. As you know, this is, I guess, the first of the conferences for our non-career executives, but it's part of a broader program that we like to think of as an integral part of building and continuing our management team. And we look at you people as being very important parts of that management team. As a matter of fact, perhaps one of the most important links in the chain that starts with the president, of course, at the top and goes through our structure and connects what the president is trying to do with the people, most of whom are career people, who are carrying out the services and the obligations of government and who are the ones that most of the time come in contact with the citizens. And so the management positions that you have, are the absolute key in translating the policies of the president into what really happens in government. And at the same time providing the monitoring the oversight over what is really going on in government. And that's why we appreciate your attendance here, are glad that you've been able to participate in this, and hope that it's worthwhile to you. As a matter of fact, I'm sure others have mentioned this to you, but we would really like to have your feedback as to the value of this type of a conference, the good things about it, the things you think should be improved, whether it has been helpful to you, and other offshoots, additional types of gatherings such as this that you think might be worthwhile. I appreciate the chance to be with you. I think in a moment we're going to be visited by the highest inside White House administration authority. And so I thank you for the chance to be with you. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I have to go to Houston. I heard that. So, this unnamed White House source, thanks you very much, and thank you very much for taking time out of what I know must be hectic days to gather here like this. I know it wasn't easy because I know that you're the ones who implement the strategy and guide our policies over the pitfalls and the hurdles. You don't always get the glory when your efforts succeed, but let me assure you, I think all of us over there in the house know you're out there. And I'm grateful for your loyalty, your hard work, and your commitment to the cause. On behalf of all your fellow citizens, I want to thank you for your service to our country. I know that sometimes life gets a little frustrating as we try to change a government that's fixed in its ways, but don't lose sight of all that we've accomplished. Our program or our progress, I should say, has been, I think, significant. We came to office vowing to renew America. Our economy was rapidly sliding into recession when we got here. I know back during the election months I was trying to remind some people there when the opposition was saying we were totally responsible for the 10-point-something or other unemployment. And I tried to remind the people out there of what the unemployment level was when we got here and said, I'll take responsibility for the 2.4 that's happened since we've been here. You'll take responsibility for the 7-point-something or other before we got here. Inflation had been running at double digits two consecutive years and backbreaking interest rates, crippled American business, jobs, and families. And since we've been here, we know that inflation has plummeted. In the first quarter of this year, inflation was lower than in any comparable period in almost 25 years. Interest rates are less than half of what they were and the leading economic indicators have been up for the last seven months. And we've begun what I believe will be a healthy and sustained recovery. And I told a group the other day that the most significant of all the economic indicators was the fact that they're no longer calling it Reaganomics. But we still have a lot to do, as you well know. We came to office promising to rebuild America's defenses. We made progress in the first two years, but not enough to make up for the decade of decline yet. It seems that convincing the Congress of the threat we face is one of our toughest battles, but we won't give up. It's our solemn responsibility as temporary custodians of this government and of all our duty as citizens to make sure that America's strong enough to remain both free and at peace. And you know, I have, of course, an opportunity to see some of the differences that have come about from when we first arrived here. For one thing, the difference in morale, the esprit de corps of our military today is something that chokes me up whenever I see the examples of it. And with all the talk of having to forego pay cuts and everything, I opened a letter one day and it was signed by more than 100 Marines stationed in Italy. And they said, if that's what it takes to help our country count on us, we'll do without. It also seems that our tax cut and indexing won't be safe until every phase is completed. I happen to believe that our tax incentives were critical to the sustained recovery and we won't abide with any tampering of them. The third year of the tax cut is scheduled to take effect in July. Tax indexing will benefit small business and the average working man's family the most. Their repeal has been advocated by some of the critics in Congress or even their delay would be a cruel blow, an unfair attempt to steal the just rewards of those Americans who've carried us through the recession and into this recovery. I will veto any attempt to get rid of those two tax cuts. And our social policies like prayer in school, tuition tax credits, anti-abortion legislation have yet to be passed by the Congress but we'll keep right on pressing for their adoption. We're determined to renew America's moral spirit as well as our economy and I think that is a hunger that's out there among our people, that there's a hunger for a kind of spiritual revival, for believing in something once again in this country. But these next few months are going to be critical to our programs. We've been struggling for a long time and I know it gets tiring. We can't weaken now. We must continue the crusade to return values to American government, free our people to create a new era of growth and prosperity that brings better times and new opportunity for all and that and the preservation of peace and freedom for our children are our highest aspirations. With your continued support and help I know we can do it and I thank you for that and now I think maybe we've got a few minutes here before I have to leave for Houston that you can do what you've been doing with your questions and I know that some of you must have said it one time or another boy if I had a chance what I asked here is. Mr. President, I understand no president has ever been at a graduation of the United States Air Force Academy. This year is the 25th graduating class. I wonder if you could make a special effort to attend. I have to confess one thing with all that they say about the power of the President, I still haven't discovered where that paper comes from but it tells me what I'm going to be doing every 15 minutes the next day but I didn't know that no president has done that and as an old horse cavalryman who in World War II found wound up flying a desk for the Air Force that would be pretty appropriate. I'd like to do that. Now there's two hands almost crossed. I'll take the one in the dark suit and then the one in the light suit. I have a question for you. Just an observation of somebody that several people here, many people here have worked for you so many times, so many years in the past and we just want you to know that if and when the time comes we'll be there better than we've ever been before. Now the Mr. President, a lot of what we've heard over the excellent past few days in the seminar has had to do with communications. You have provided in this administration the best example of a communicator but it is often frustrating to us that you have not taken that role upon yourself more often on television speaking directly to the American people in the way that you do so very effectively and I'm wondering if in the coming days you plan to make appearances of that nature more frequently. Well, when we think they will be effective there is a danger of over exposure and I don't want to run that risk but I do believe that where there is an evidence that the public themselves such as this one the other night on Central America was because the polls reveal that the public out there just doesn't understand what the situation is and we thought that the best way to get the word to them was that. I can't resist, I know we're limited for time but I have to tell you all of you get an opportunity to communicate and I once heard one of the greatest examples of communication it takes more than a willing speaker and a willing listener and this was told to me by Danny Villanueva who used to place kick for the Los Angeles Rams and then became a sports announcer and he told me this story that he was over at a young ball player's house one night for dinner ball player with the Dodgers about getting the dinner ready and the baby started to cry and over her shoulder she said her husband changed the baby he was a young fellow and he was kind of embarrassed about this whole thing and in front of Danny and he said what do you mean changed the baby I'm a ball player that's not my line of work and she turned around put her hands on her hips and she communicated she said look Buster you lay the diaper out like a diamond put second base on home plate and if it starts to rain the game ain't called you start all over Mr. President since that gentleman brought up the Air Force my dad flew for 24 years and I had a brother flying B-52s and another one flying C-130s in Germany for you and they were thrilled to have you there in Germany I'd like to urge you as people begin looking at the defense budget that you don't let them cut out spare parts and maintenance part of their flying is this is how you fix the plane when it's in the air and with the 4-5 B-52 crashes in the last several months I'm a lot of concern about that I think you all heard that about the maintenance and supply I know of one instance of a B-52 in which something flying a low level mission practice mission and something went haywire with the turn and bank indicator and showing that they must have been familiar with that same kind of accident before the pilot squashed a soft drink can under his heel picked it up and somebody handed him some tape out of the first aid kit and he jammed it in and put the views of the tape and they fixed this while they were in flight when we came here we were astonished I'd been talking all during the campaign about the decline in our preparedness we were astonished at how much I had underestimated it when we really had access to the facts and much of it had to do with spare parts and maintenance at any given day approximately half of our planes our aircraft, military aircraft could not fly for lack of spare parts and the same was true in the Navy for ships that there were ships that couldn't leave harbor for that or for lack of crew no we won't let that be cut down we think that one of the most important things in the defense budget and in the improvement we've made is what we call readiness the money that we're spending on readiness so that in an instance notice we would know that we could respond and I think of course that I regret the delay that took place before we came here in the replacement of the B-52 with a more modern plane because I have an uneasy feeling about some of the accidents that are happening from men that are flying planes that are older than they are Mr. President is it possible that we could let Reagan be Reagan for the next two years before you went again in 1984 until having to wait afterwards? I haven't mind particularly the Department of Education pledge that you made during the campaign well you know I can't answer about anything except the next two but I just finished doing usually I do my Saturday radio noon broadcast live but because of this Houston trip I have just finished taping it and it's on the report that we've just gotten back from the special commission and that special commission's report is again an eye-opener for everyone and I hope the people will get familiar with it because it records the greatest decline in quality of education in this country when you stop to think that in a number of very telling examples of education 19 of them that are characteristic of education in our industrial allies and the countries we do business with and so forth Americans now do not come in first or second in any of the 19 but come in last in 7 of the 19 as to quality of education in these very 19 separate components or divisions and we're going to press forward on the findings of this commission and it isn't that the kids aren't as bright we know better than that it's just that we're not stretching it here anymore homework that averages less than one hour letting them take voluntary courses instead of having compulsory courses and they're recommending great increase in the compulsory courses and properly so no kid going to high school for example is aware or knows inside himself what it is that he might what direction he might want to go and it's only through being compelled to take a variety of these courses including math and science and things that they can make up their mind and I can remember even though it's a long way back I can remember in school sorting out in physics I knew within the first 3 months of physics I didn't want to be a scientist but I saw other kids in the same class with me that suddenly you saw the bug hit them and they were going in on their own time for additional experiments and so forth and this is what we must we must recovery I think that letting somebody graduate for X number of hours of driver training I've even found they have courses in bachelor living I don't think that stretches their mind very much we have time for one more question similarly I like to work myself out of a job at the department of energy but I think that people stick with you if you try to not only reduce the growth of the government but actually reduce the size of this monster and we're certainly ready when we're able to help you in the future reduce the not only reduce the growth of the government but actually start reducing the size of this monster listen that's my dream my dream of the day when finally we can get out of these deficits balance that budget and then the day when you can submit a budget that is smaller than the one the year before and that should be our goal and that was we used to say to each other when we start talking about government as we instead of they, we've been here too long thank you very much thank you all very much