Diary Entry - 12/04/1984
Key Facts
President Reagan welcomes President Lusinchi of Venezuela to the White House.
President Reagan receives the first 1984 Christmas Seals from Ms. Pearl Bailey of the American Lung Association.
A five-day hijack drama begins as 4 armed men seized a Kuwaiti airliner en route to Pakistan and force it to land in Tehran, where the hijackers killed American passenger Charles Hegna.
A visit by Pres. Lusinchi of Venezuela—a bright cold day with a formal ceremony on the S. Lawn. Almost a diplomatic Faux Pas. I slipped into my topcoat. When time came for my opening remarks I took my notes out of my pocket & horror of horrors it was a speech welcoming “His Royal Highness” the Duke of Luxemburg. I couldn’t imagine how they could have given me the wrong speech. I started to ad lib & then remembered I’d worn my top coat last on the day of the Grand Duke’s arrival. Today’s speech was in my suit coat pocket. I made a switch & got away with it pretty well. In the afternoon Pearl Bailey & others of the Am. Lung Assn. came by to present me with the first page of Christmas seals. She’s a wonderful lady & a long time friend. She had a scarf for Nancy made up of a silk reproduction of the sheet of stamps. Then she unveiled a robe for me made out of 8 of those scarves.
A long arduous Budget Core meeting—this time on Defense. No final decision but I know we can squeeze some out so as to make our claim of a freeze valid. We’re up to $33 Bil. of the 45 we need.
Then I took Marine 1 to Walter Reed hospital to visit Sen. John Stennis whose left leg was amputated at the hip (cancer). He seems fine.
Tonite the state dinner for the Pres. of V. [Venezuela]. Andy Williams is entertaining. It was as usual a nice, warm occasion. Pres. Lusinchi was carried away by the fact that I told him & the others about the speech mixup.
