Diary Entry - 09/26/1984
Key Facts
President Reagan addresses about 4,500 students of Bowling Green State University on foreign policy issues.
President Reagan attends the annual "Family Octoberfest" at he Old Heidelberg Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
President Reagan tours the state-of-the-art Timken Company Faircrest steel facility.
Depart for Bowling Green U. in Ohio. Q&A with 4500 students. Arrived on campus & there were about 4 or 5,000 students at the helicopter landing who couldn’t get in to the auditorium. There certainly is a new generation on hand. The crowd both in & out were wildly enthusiastic & supportive. I thought I was at a Repub. convention. Then on to Canton & the Timken Co. Faircrest steel facility. It is still being built & is a high tech mill. I addressed a couple of thousand workers who were also supportive. Mondale was speaking to their union leaders in Cleveland who were endorsing him in the name of the Union. I’ll take the rank & file.
The new plant is really something. It is computerized & will produce steel at tremendous savings in fuel, time & labor. It will be competitive worldwide in quality & price.
Flew on to Milwaukee to the annual “Oktoberfest.” A crowd of about 10,000 at this annual recognition of Milwaukee & Wisconsins ethnic heritages. Again a good reception and then back to W.H. where at 9 P.M. had a meeting with C.I.A., Defense, State, et al. We have intelligence regarding a barracks in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon which could be the origin of the terrorists who blew up our embassy. I still was not satisfied that we had enough to go on to risk an air strike. We’re getting closer to being able to tie these attacks to the govt. of Iran. I’d like (when sure) to tell them any more attacks & we’ll retaliate at the source.
