The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour

MR. MacNeil: Good evening. Leading the news this Wednesday, Michael Dukakis tried to mend fences with black leaders after rejecting Jesse Jackson as a running mate, agreement was reached for Cuban troops to leave Angola, and South Africa to stop ruling Namibia. Vice President George Bush will present the U.S. case in the United Nations debate in the shooting down of an Iranian airliner. We'll have details in our News Summary in a moment. Jim.

MR. LEHRER: After the News Summary, we look at the growing crisis between the United States and Nicaragua, with back to back NewsMaker interviews with Sandinista official Alejandro Bendana and Acting U.S. Secretary of State John Whitehead. Then Judy Woodruff recounts the Dukakis/Bentsen ticket today with the NAACP and the Black Caucus, an FBI official and a university librarian debate the Bureau's library awareness program, and we close with a Penny Stallings essay about miniskirts.NEWS SUMMARY

MR. LEHRER: Michael Dukakis came to Washington today to make peace with the forces of Jesse Jackson. The near certain Democratic Presidential nominee addressed the NAACP Convention and met with the Congressional Black Caucus. Both are bastions of Jackson's supporters who wanted Dukakis to choose Jackson as his Vice Presidential running mate rather than the man he did choose, Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Dukakis brought Bentsen with him. They joined NAACP members in singing, "We shall overcome", and both men got polite applause after their speeches. NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Hooks told them, "You've got a hard act today. Many of our delegates wanted to see Jesse in this position." Later in the afternoon, Dukakis told a Capitol Hill news conference he still saw a role for Jackson in the fall campaign.

GOV. MICHAEL DUKAKIS [Democratic Presidential Candidate]: I want Jesse Jackson to be deeply involved in this campaign as a party leader, as somebody who's demonstrated that he can win great support, as someone who believes as I do and as Lloyd Bentsen does, that we must have a Democratic Administration in the White House in 1989, the stakes are high, the values are important, the opportunities are great, and I want him to be very much involved in this campaign, and I hope and expect that he will be.

MR. LEHRER: Another issue involved in the Bentsen decision is the fact that Jackson was told of the selection yesterday by a news reporter rather than by Dukakis. Today Jackson's convention manager, Ron Brown, said he and other Jackson supporters were flabbergasted by the way it was handled. He said in Atlanta he had suspended all negotiations with the Dukakis people as a result. It's now up to Michael Dukakis to make it a unity convention he said. Robin.

MR. MacNeil: The U.S. Ambassador expelled by Nicaragua, Richard Melton, said today the Sandinistas were trying to intimidate the opposition and that new military aid to the Nicaraguan Contras was needed. After seeing President Reagan, Melton told reporters that he and seven other Diplomats were expelled as a result of legitimate contacts with the opposition. Later in the day reporters asked President Reagan about U.S. efforts to expel Nicaragua's Ambassador and seven diplomats. The Ambassador is claiming he cannot be expelled because he also represents his country at the Organization of American States.

REPORTER: Mr. President, is there anything you can do to Nicaragua? What else can you do to Nicaragua, sir?

PRESIDENT REAGAN: He's taken their visas and they're going home.

REPORTER: But they say they're not going. He says he won't leave.

PRESIDENT REAGAN: He's going to get a big surprise.

MR. MacNeil: The brother of Contra leader Adolfo Calero was one of seven people indicted today on charges of illegally aiding the rebels. The federal indictments unveiled in Miami allege that Mario Calero recruited soldiers in the U.S. for action against the Government of Nicaragua in violation of the U.S. Neutrality Act. The others indicted included Texas millionaire Meco Stuart and Thomas Posey, head of Civilian Material Assistance in Alabama, as well as anti-Communist Cuban activists from the Miami area. The prosecutor refused to answer questions about any possible involvement of Administration officials.

MR. LEHRER: The House of Representatives today passed the plant closing bill by a vetoproof margin. The vote was 286 to 136, four more than two-thirds. The Senate passed it by a similar margin last week, so the bill now goes to President Reagan for an expected veto. He vetoed it earlier when it was part of the trade bill. The legislation would require businesses with 100 or more employees to give 60 days' notice of plant closings or employee layoffs. Also on the economic front today, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy would remain strong this year, but slow down in 1989. Greenspan also confirmed that the Fed has been tightening credit as a step to stave off inflation. He said inflation danger signs include the severe drought, tight labor markets, and increasing industry operating costs. Greenspan made his remarks in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

MR. MacNeil: Cuba, South Africa, and Angola, have agreed that Cuban troops will leave Angola and South Africa will end its rule over Namibia. This was announced by Assistant Secretary of State Chester Cocker after secret talks between the four countries in New York. Pretoria has nominally controlled Namibia or Southwest Africa for 73 years. Cuba has 50,000 troops fighting alongside Angolan Government forces against U.S. backed rebels. South Africa had demanded the withdrawal of the Cubans before it would accept a U.N. resolution calling for Namibia's independence. The U.S. said the parties did not agree on a timetable for the Cuban pullout. Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev today visited one of the places where Poland's Solidarity Movement was born. On the second day of his Polish visit, Gorbachev got polite applause from shipyard workers in Shtatin, the Baltic Port on the border with East Germany. He promised to stick to the job of reforming Soviet Communism and urged Polish workers to support economic policies, reform policies in their country.

MR. LEHRER: The outlawed Irish Republican Army took credit today for another bombing. An IRA statement in Dublin said it was responsible for two bombs that exploded at a British Army barracks in West Germany. Nine British soldiers were injured. The barracks are located in a residential area of Duseberg, West Germany.

MR. MacNeil: Vice President George Bush will speak for the United States in tomorrow's U.N. debate on the shooting down of an Iranian airliner by a U.S. warship. White House Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater was asked repeatedly why Bush, a Presidential candidate, was being sent to the United Nations. Fitzwater denied any political motivation and said the appearance of Bush, a former U.N. Ambassador, himself, reflects the importance of the issues at stake. Bush said later, "I can't wait to defend the policy of the U.S. Government."

MR. LEHRER: There was a claim of responsibility today for the Greek cruise ship attack. A group called the Organization of Martyrs for the Popular Revolution of Palestine made the claim in a statement released in Beirut. Officials said nothing was previously known of that group. Nine people were killed and eighty were injured on Monday, when gunmen began shooting and throwing hand grenades. Also in Greece today, the Greek Government officially notified the United States that it must dismantle 24 military installations by June 1990. Present agreements expire December 31st of this year; negotiations to extend them have been deadlocked.

MR. MacNeil: Finally in the news, Joshua Logan is dead. The prominent stage and movie director died last night in New York City of a rare neurological disease known as supra nuclear palsy. Logan's directing credits included South Pacific, which he co- wrote, Annie Get Your Gun, Mr. Roberts, and Picnic. He was 79 years old. And that's it for the News Summary. Now it's on to the new U.S./Nicaraguan diplomatic crisis, the Dukakis/Bentsen day among the Jackson forces, the FBI versus the libraries and miniskirts. NEWS MAKER - UNDIPLOMATIC ACTION

MR. MacNeil: We focus first tonight on the escalating diplomatic confrontation between the United States and Nicaragua. Two days ago the Sandinista Government expelled U.S. Ambassador Richard Melton and seven of his aides, charging the diplomats had engaged in state terrorism by organizing the anti-Sandinista opposition. Yesterday in a tit for tat response, the Reagan Administration ordered Nicaragua's Ambassador and seven of his aides to leave. We'll hear from key officials in Managua and Washington in a moment, but first an excerpt from a White House press conference today where Ambassador Melton defended the actions of his diplomats.

RICHARD MELTON [US Ambassador to Nicaragua]: Everything that we do in the Embassy is open. We do not try to hide things that we do, and when our people go around, what was happening, is an Embassy officer would go to see someone, completely above board, open kind of thing, the next day there would be a photograph of this individual with the caption saying, CIA Spy Meets With Opposition Leader X. The intent, the primary intent, was not directed in that case against the Embassy officer or the Embassy, but against the opposition. It was a message to the opposition, we know that you're seeing people from the Embassy, we know and we're making our list, and the day will come, and you'll pay for it. That's what they were saying.

REPORTER: Is the opposition growing? Do you have a sense that the opposition within the country is a lot stronger --

AMB. MELTON: Yes, I believe that's true. My feeling is that the people are really no longer afraid. They're willing to stand up and claim their rights, despite the obstacles, and living there it is omni present. It's an environment that you really have to be there to see it.

REPORTER: Can you address the question directly? Were any of the members of your staff who were declared PNG taking part in organizing or financing the effort?

AMB. MELTON: Absolutely not. They were engaged in normal diplomatic activities.

REPORTER: Does that include any --

AMB. MELTON: No. The answer is no. The answer is no.

MR. MacNeil: Joining us now from Managua is the Secretary General of Nicaragua's Foreign Ministry, Alejandro Bendana. Mr. Bendana, thank you for joining us. You just heard Amb. Melton say that he and his staff were just having legitimate diplomatic contacts with the opposition and that your real target in kicking them out is to intimidate the opposition. What do you say?

ALEJANDRO BENDANA [Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry]: What does this picture say? Does that look like legitimate political activities of a diplomat? Those are three members of a U.S. Embassy in Nandima last Sunday at an opposition rally openly taunting the police. That is far and beyond the legal scope for any diplomatic officer of any nation to represent in any country, No. 1. No. 2, here we have a picture of Mr. Melton and two of its member staff. Where are they? This is July 3, in the City of Esdali. What happened in the City of Esdali? There the extreme right wing businessmen's association called as La Prensa says for the formation of a new national government, that is to say legitimizing the overthrow of the present government, constitutional government of Nicaragua, which even the United States recognizes, and associating itself with a series of totally outrageous accusations against their duly constituted government of Nicaragua, and Mr. Melton, he took the floor at this event and what did he say? To read from La Prensa, an organ very much admired by the American Embassy, Mr. Melton spoke and there is the title in Spanish, "Tyranny Does Not Have A Moral Justification". And then he went on to say that there was an oppressive reign of a minority, that the people had to fight for their liberties. I'm quoting from his speech at this point. And then he went on to say that he gave his total backing, and when asked what he was doing at this rally at which no Western or diplomatic representative were present, he said it is part of the policy of his government. And what was the end call of this support of this rally? It was a call for the formation of a new government of national salvation. Now if you tell me that's legitimate, then we have to rewrite the Vienna Convention.

MR. MacNeil: Without addressing what you've just said, why then did your government in addition to expelling Mr. Melton and his aides shut down Radio Catholica and La Prensa? Isn't that in violation of the undertakings to the Central American Presidents to democratize your country during the peace process or the peace talks by increasing freedom of expression, freedom of the press?

MR. BENDANA: There's nothing in the Central American peace plan, Robin, that says that we as a government have to tolerate outright abuses and ruptures of the law. We do not have to countenance illegal activities? In fact, it's quite the contrary. Escipoulos, the Central American Peace Plan, sets out a constitutional frame work for reconciliation for normal political activities but when extreme right wing political parties or groupings or the American Embassies goes outside the legal frame work, the frame work of the constitution, it also goes outside the frame work of the Escipoulos Accord. And the second --

MR. MacNeil: Why is it illegal in a country with freedom of speech and freedom of expression to call for the formation of a new government? I mean, that's what opposition parties do in democracies everywhere.

MR. BENDANA: But not by openly backing the armed overthrow of a present government. I'm sure Ambassador Turnerman was not calling for the overthrow of the United States Government even though while we may not be in love with the Reagan Administration, we have a modest respect, even though we may not agree with the present Administration policies. Even Ambassador Melton's predecessors never went that far. That's the first point and the second point is that we're not talking about entities that are independent. They are indeed financed in many senses by literally La Prensa and Radio Catholica by U.S. Government funds. Maybe I could read to you what Elliott Abrams had to say about this. He calls them our boys that need financing. He said that in Congress.

MR. MacNeil: What proof do you have that La Prensa and Radio Catholica are financed by US funds?

MR. BENDANA: I would refer you to an article that just came out in the Columbia Journalism Review. I would refer you to the Iran- Contragate testimony where it says clearly -- and La Prensa's directors have admitted that they were taking money from Oliver North's National Endowment for the Democracy. We have here Elliott Abrams pleading on April 22, before the House Appropriations Committee, for financing. And what did he say? "We're for them. These are our guys, you and me," he's telling the Congress. "These are the men and the women of the Mothers Committee and La Prensa and free trade unions and the opposition political parties, the kind of people who are ordinarily helped through the National Endowment for Democracy, through USIA, through AID, the kind of people who are ordinarily -- human rights programs. And I wish that in the coming months, it would be possible to provide those funds through one of those organizations, through the Democratic or Republican Party Foundation, to the AFL-CIO."

MR. MacNeil: One more question along those lines, what is your proof that what Amb. Melton and these other institutions were advocating was the violent overthrow of the Sandinista Government, which you just said? What is the proof for that?

MR. BENDANA: Well, when we see that these actions are, one, are also directed at helping, of justifying the illegal criminal attacks by the Contras in the North of which there have been a resurgence in the last few days and that they're outright provoking violent confrontations, you see if they participate or even promote a peaceful activity, well, we don't like it, so what, but if they go out and actually try to provoke violent outbursts, confrontations with the police in order to have the news on the front page of the New York Times the next day, well, that's where we have to draw the line and any self-respecting government would draw the line.

MR. MacNeil: What do you say to the Democratic Congressman who up till now have opposed renewed aid to the Contras, that your expulsion of the American diplomats is going to strengthen the hand of the Administration in demanding new aid to the Contras?

MR. BENDANA: Well, it just might be the other way around if we look at the possibility of an eventual improvement in U.S./Nicaraguan relationships. By getting rid of these clowns at the Embassy, we're also telling the Reagan Administration to send down some real representatives, to send down some true, law abiding diplomats so we can still, we can begin a policy of communication, a peaceful settlement of our differences, but we couldn't even talk to people like Melton because they were too busy rallying the opposition around violent positions. So maybe let's wipe the slates clean. Let's try to look to the future and build on the future because we don't want a total break in relations. We want respect from the United States.

MR. MacNeil: Speaker Wright who has been supportive of the peace process said that it was an act of bad judgment and bad faith to expel these diplomats and it has set back the peace process and should not be allowed to fester. What is your country going to do so that it will not be allowed to fester, this situation?

MR. BENDANA: We, Robin, have to continue to hold that negotiations are urgent, are necessary, between the Nicaraguan Government and the Contras. We've called the Contras to a meeting in Managua at the end of this month. They are now saying they don't want to come. And they have the backing, according to the Los Angeles Times of the United States, which told them not to come to the negotiating table. We're calling on the United States to sit down and to resolve peacefully through dialogue in a civilized manner our differences. The United States refuses to come here. Shultz comes to the area and goes everywhere except Nicaragua. I don't see why they are afraid of negotiation. Negotiation is the way out. It's the only way out.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Bendana, thank you very much for joining us.

MR. BENDANA: Thank you, Robin.

MR. MacNeil: Now we get the U.S.side from the Deputy Secretary of State John Whitehead, currently Acting Secretary of State while George Shultz is in Asia.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Secretary, you've just heard Mr. Bendana make a lot of charges. How do you respond basically to his description of what your diplomats were doing in Nicaragua?

JOHN WHITEHEAD [Deputy Secretary of State]: Well, he made so many charges it's hard to know where to start.

MR. MacNeil: Well, let's start with going to the rally he described and he said, taunting and provoking the Nicaraguan security forces and police with the intention he described.

MR. WHITEHEAD: Yes, I would deny that. That was not at all what happened. Ambassadors everywhere, including Ambassador Melton, have the responsibility in representing the United States in a foreign country of getting to know the opposition, of seeing opposition groups, of meeting them, but they had no participation in this demonstration. They were there purely as observers. They were not involved in organizing it or leaving it in any way. These are normal responsibilities of Ambassadors and the charges that you have just heard are absolutely absurd and outrageous.

MR. MacNeil: Does that include Amb. Melton, as Mr. Bendana claimed, going to an opposition meeting and getting up and making a speech supporting the opposition at that meeting and talking about the government by a tyrannical minority?

MR. WHITEHEAD: I believe that when an Ambassador to any foreign country is invited to speak before groups, they often take advantage of that, and they take advantage of the opportunity to speak to the principles that the United States stands for, particularly in countries where those principles are not prevalent, to talk about the freedoms that we believe in, and to talk about what our country stands for. That's what he was doing.

MR. MacNeil: Are you confident that the behavior of Mr. Melton and his colleagues in Nicaragua would stand up to really close scrutiny and be totally in accord with the behavior of U.S. diplomats in other countries where there may be a regime that the U.S. does not approve of?

MR. WHITEHEAD: Yes. I am completely confident that there was nothing improper in his conduct.

MR. MacNeil: But turning it the other way here, you are not saying that the Nicaraguan Ambassador and the diplomats you have ordered expelled from Washington were engaged in improper activities? That's just tit for tat, right?

MR. WHITEHEAD: That's just tit for tat. That was a response to their action.

MR. MacNeil: What about Mr. Turnerman's claim that the United States cannot expel him as Ambassador from Nicaragua because he's also the Ambassador to the OAS?

MR. WHITEHEAD: Well, his claim is invalid. There is no justification for that claim. He has abused the privileges of being a resident in the United States, and that is sufficient grounds to force him to leave even as Ambassador to the OAS.

MR. MacNeil: How has he abused that?

MR. WHITEHEAD: I would rather not at the moment detail those abuses. They will be detailed at the proper time.

MR. MacNeil: But these were activities that might have been overlooked had not the Americans been expelled from Nicaragua?

MR. WHITEHEAD: There was no occasion to take action on those activities until now.

MR. MacNeil: I see. Do you see the situation escalating further?

MR. WHITEHEAD: I think it depends on the Sandinistas. We are considering what further action we should take in response to what has happened and I suppose they are considering further action too.

MR. MacNeil: Is the Administration attracted by the idea of severing relations with that government altogether, ending diplomatic relations?

MR. WHITEHEAD: So far we have determined that that would not be in our interest to sever relations. Our embassy there serves as a listening post, a point of contact with all elements in the Nicaraguan society, a source of information on what's going on there and we determine it to be an asset that we don't want to voluntarily give up.

MR. MacNeil: Do you agree with Speaker Wright that this situation should not be allowed to fester?

MR. WHITEHEAD: We certainly do agree that the situation should not be allowed to fester, but the actions in kicking out our Ambassador and his colleagues were not the most serious things that happened this week in Nicaragua. The closing down of the only remaining free newspaper, the closing down of Radio Catholica, the only free radio station, the imprisonment of 43 people that participated in that demonstration that was spoken of earlier, the violent break-up with beatings of a peaceful demonstration. These are the kinds of things that represent the last flickers of freedom that are fading out in Nicaragua, and we can't stand idly by and let that happen.

MR. MacNeil: Are Radio Catholica and La Prensa U.S. funded as Mr. Bendana just charged?

MR. WHITEHEAD: I believe that through the National Endowment for Democracy that some assistance has been given to those two institutions, as the National Endowment gives to democratic institutions in other countries which need support.

MR. MacNeil: Where does the National Endowment get its funds?

MR. WHITEHEAD: Mostly from appropriations from the U.S. Government.

MR. MacNeil: Would the Sandinistas be justified in claiming that there are CIA funds in that as well?

MR. WHITEHEAD: I believe there is no justification for that claim.

MR. MacNeil: With it being widely reported that many opponents of further aid to the Contras say that the Sandinista activity has strengthened the argument for aid, is the Administration going to strike while the iron is hot and seize the moment?

MR. WHITEHEAD: Well, we are having consultations with leaders in Congress, and we do appeal to those who have been opposed to Contra aid in the past to take a new look at the situation down there and to observe what has actually happened in the last months during the period when we have been trying as sincerely as we have to give peace a chance. The Sandinistas cannot be counted on. They violate over and over again the Escipoulis agreements and the other agreements which they have made to restore democracy to their country. They have not condoned any of those agreements that they have made in what we thought was good faith. And these latest evidences indicate that they have no intention of restoring democracy in Nicaragua, that they are merely trying to stage a waiting game in which their opposition will gradually fade out and disappear. So then they will have taken complete control of the country.

MR. MacNeil: So will there be a formal request to Congress soon for renewed military aid to the Contras?

MR. WHITEHEAD: We haven't decided that. We are talking with leaders to see what may be feasible.

MR. MacNeil: I see. Can we turn to the Angola agreement for a moment which your colleague, Secretary Crocker, announced today. Have you actually got an agreement if there isn't a timetable?

MR. WHITEHEAD: No. There is not a complete agreement. There is an agreement in principle, however, and we would describe that as a major step forward, a major breakthrough really in that very troubled region, a breakthrough which Assistant Secretary Crocker has been trying to achieve now for some seven or eight years. And it's a major triumph for him to have been the principal negotiator of that agreement. But the agreement now will be referred to the participating governments for their approval and then if that approval is achieved, the detailed agreements will still need to be worked out, including most importantly, the timetable for Cuban troop withdrawal.

MR. MacNeil: I don't understand what is new, what is the breakthrough in this, since the Cubans have agreed in principle to withdraw from Angola quite some time ago and South Africa has agreed to take its controls off Namibia, sometime ago, if the Cubans withdrew from Angola. Now what is different about this agreement than those agreements, those statements in principle before?

MR. WHITEHEAD: Countries have made statements before, but they have never sat down at the same bargaining table with all of the participants present and reached agreement at the same time and signed on to a document which if it is implemented, and that still is a big if, will be a major improvement of the situation in that region.

MR. MacNeil: Is it part of this agreement in principle that the United States makes any commitment to suspend or reduce its aid to the rebels fighting the Angolan Government?

MR. WHITEHEAD: It's not part of the agreement, but that would be as things proceeds, that would be the inevitable result, because there would be a reconstituted government in Angola, which would include representatives of Jonas Savimby.

MR. MacNeil: So that the Angolan Government as part of this agreement in principle agrees to form a government of national unity or a pluralistic government immediately?

MR. WHITEHEAD: That is what is contemplated, yes.

MR. MacNeil: I see. What do you see as the biggest obstacle to completing this agreement right now?

MR. WHITEHEAD: Well, as with so many potential agreements, the devil is often in the details. And the details have not yet been achieved and we are still months away from buttoning up all the details.

MR. MacNeil: Well, Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for joining us.

MR. WHITEHEAD: You're welcome.

MR. MacNeil: Jim.

MR. LEHRER: Still to come on the Newshour tonight, Dukakis and Bentsen in the Jackson den, the FBI and the libraries, and an essay about miniskirts. FOCUS - '88 - THE BIG CHILL

MR. LEHRER: Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen came to Washington today and stepped into the middle of anger. Judy Woodruff has our report. Judy.

MS. WOODRUFF: It was the first day out for the yet to be nominated Democratic ticket, but what they got was anything but a honeymoon treatment. The fact that Jesse Jackson was not selected to be the running mate and the fact that he heard about the Bentsen pick from a news reporter instead of the Dukakis campaign did not sit well with him, nor with his supporters. Dukakis and Bentsen found that out when they spoke to a convention of the NAACP this morning. The tone was already set by what Jackson had said to the crowd last night.

REV. JESSE JACKSON [Democratic Presidential Candidate]: I will never surrender. One thing I know, I may, I may not be on the ticket, but I'm qualified. That's what I know. That's what I know. I'm qualified, qualified, qualified!

MS. WOODRUFF: The crowd that was sympathetic last night to Jackson was only politely cool this morning when Gov. Dukakis and his new running mate showed up. NAACP Head Benjamin Hooks gave the first indication of the group's sentiments when he introduced Dukakis.

DR. BENJAMIN HOOKS [Executive Director, NAACP]: You know, knowing Jesse has been good for you, hasn't it? You know now where we are.

GOV. MICHAEL DUKAKIS [Democratic Presidential Candidate]: Yes, and I've learned a lot from Jesse and I've learned a lot from you. And I continue to learn, and that's going to continue and grow stronger and stronger as time goes on.

MS. WOODRUFF: Dukakis spokes about what he wants to achieve as President and several times appealed for the crowd's support.

GOV. DUKAKIS: Expanding the circle of opportunity, deepening the sense of community, building pride, making a real difference in the lives of real people, this is how you create a new world. And this is how we're going to make the American dream come true for every single citizen in this country, no matter who they are or where they come from or what the color of their skin.

MS. WOODRUFF: When Dukakis introduced Bentsen, there was applause, but also some boos from the crowd.

GOV. DUKAKIS: So may I introduce to you a distinguished United States Senator from the State of Texas, a man who I hope you will be working for for the Vice Presidency, the man I hope to serve with in a new Administration in January of 1989, Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas.

DR. BENJAMIN HOOKS: Just before Sen. Bentsen speaks, you may as well know you've got a hard act today, so do your best. This is a great audience, this is a great crowd, but many of our delegates wanted to see Jesse in this position, as you know, Senator, and - -

MS. WOODRUFF: After Dukakis and Bentsen left, we interviewed several of the NAACP delegates who said they were not mollified.

NAACP DELEGATE: The reception was very very cool, very cool, very cool.

REPORTER: Do you think any fences were mended today?

NAACP DELEGATE: Very few, very few.

MS. WOODRUFF: Even so, at least some of the NAACP members said they would support their party.

DELEGATE: I don't think so. As a Democrat, lifelong Democrat, I plan to support the Democratic ticket, and if Dukakis and Bentsen are on that ticket, that's where my support will go.

MS. WOODRUFF: Later at a photo session with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chairman Mervin Dymally seemed to gloss over the appearance of bad feelings.

REPORTER: Is everybody supporting the ticket?

MERVIN DYMALLY: Yes, everybody's supporting the ticket.

MS. WOODRUFF: At a news conference this afternoon, Dukakis tried to stress the positive reactions he has received to his choice of Bentsen, but the questions kept coming back to Jesse Jackson.

GOV. DUKAKIS: Yesterday morning after I managed to get in touch with Sen. Bentsen, I then asked my campaign manager to contact his staff and to make the necessary arrangements. We had a lot to do, to send a plane down and so on, and I told Susan I would meet her at my State House office at about 8:15 or 8:20, and we would begin to make calls which I wanted to make personally. I didn't want intermediaries informing some of the other people who had been considered. And we began placing those calls shortly thereafter. I was able to contact some of the people I was trying to get immediately; others weren't able to get back to me for a couple of hours or so, and Rev. Jackson was one of those. I said to him, as I said to Sen. Glenn, that I was sorry that I missed him on the first call and wanted him to know. But once you make the request of your running mate and he says yes and you begin to put the machinery in motion, it becomes news.

REPORTER: Would you not agree that the reception before the NAACP had moments that were less than warm, and if you agree with that, do you think that that bodes ill for --

GOV. DUKAKIS: I thought it was terrific. I understand there were a great many people in that room that were actively involved in the Jackson candidacy, cared very deeply about it, and are disappointed that he didn't win. If we had been at a convention of the Aheppa and I had lost and Jesse had come before them, I think he would have gotten the same good response. But I'm sure we'd all understand why an awful lot of people at the Aheppa Convention would be disappointed. But I thought it was fine and look forward to working with leaders, people in the black community, Hispanic community, and all communities across this country. We need everybody. This is going to be a tough competitive race and we want all communities and all people and as two public servants who have won strong support all during our political careers in the minority communities, we look forward to working with black leaders, Hispanic leaders, Asian-Americans, with Americans all over this country. And we believe that we can put together as powerful and as inspired and as successful a coalition as we've ever had in a Presidential race.

REPORTER: Governor, Sen. Bentsen, what was the purpose of the conversation with Rev. Jackson today, what did you discuss?

SEN. LLOYD BENTSEN [Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate]: Well, it's the first time I'd had an opportunity to talk to him since it had been announced that I was Michael Dukakis's choice for the Vice Presidency. Jesse Jackson's a friend of mine. He's a very able gentleman and I wanted to establish communications with him, and that I did. And I think we had a very good conversation. And some of the feedback I had convinced me that he also thought so.

REPORTER: Governor, one of the people in the Black Caucus meeting said that you told them you apologized to Jackson yesterday.

GOV. MICHAEL DUKAKIS [Democratic Presidential Candidate]: No. I said the same thing to him that I had said I think to John Glenn who I had not been able to contact immediately and that was that I was sorry that I hadn't been able to get through to him, and then proceeded to explain the situation.

REPORTER: He is talking that he has earned the right to what he calls a shared partnership. Are you willing to offer him something, and what would you consider a shared partnership?

GOV. DUKAKIS: I don't know what that means. I want Jesse Jackson to be deeply involved in this campaign as a party leader, as somebody who's demonstrated that he can win great support, as someone who believes, as I do and as Lloyd Bentsen does, that we must have a Democratic Administration in the White House in 1989. The stakes are high, the values are important and the opportunities are great. And I want him to be very much involved in this campaign, and I hope and expect that he will be.

MS. WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, Jackson flew to Chicago today, where he told reporters "At this point, I'm not in the partnership." He went on to say that he wasn't suggesting that he would compete for the Vice Presidential nomination when it comes up for a vote in Atlanta next Thursday night. But without elaborating, he said, "The floor is wide open." Earlier today, his campaign manager, Ron Brown, said all negotiations with the Dukakis people over party issues had been called off and that it's up to the Dukakis people to make next week a unity convention. FOCUS - SPIES IN THE STACKS?

MR. LEHRER: Next, the FBI versus the librarians. The issue is something the Bureau calls its Library Awareness Program. It involves FBI agents trying to involve U.S. libraries and librarians in their effort to thwart Soviet and Eastern Bloc spies. Librarians went before a Congressional committee last month to complain, some saying the program's threat to the free flow of information was worse than that of Soviet espionage. The FBI went before the same committee today to defend itself and its program, saying the only threat was to enemy agents' attempts to steal U.S. military and technical data. The FBI official who testified today is with us now. He is Assistant FBI Director for Intelligence, James Geer, who heads the Library Awareness Program. Also here is one of the librarians who testified last month, Herbert Foerstel, Director of the University of Maryland's Science Library System.

MR. LEHRER: Mr. Geer, the American Library Association says your program "invades our intellectual lives and is a threat to the most fundamental of our freedoms." How do you plead, sir?

JAMES GEER [FBI]: Not guilty.

MR. LEHRER: Why are you not guilty?

MR. GEER: Well, I think first I ought to give you some idea of the scope of the program and then go from there. This program was conceived by our New York office based on information and analysis they had of the use of libraries and the contacts with librarians of basically Soviet intelligence officials. So they instituted a program in New York, and they went to 21 scientific and technical libraries. It was restricted to scientific and technical libraries. That's the heart of our interest here. And it was an educational process and that's how the name evolved, Library Awareness program, to make an attempt to describe to the librarians what our concerns were and how --

MR. LEHRER: What were the concerns? How were they described?

MR. GEER: Well, what would be helpful to us if for instance we've had specific cases of say an Agricultural attache who makes a contact with a librarian, makes two or three contacts with the librarian, and begins to seek information that is not available in the library and try to access a national technical information service which they are prohibited by executive order from accessing, or someone who was acting outside of what was obviously the scope of his duties, an agricultural attache looking for highly technical information on emerging technologies.

MR. LEHRER: And you were, and the agents were asking the librarians to be on the lookout for particular Soviet people who would come in and ask for specific information and report it back to the Bureau or be alert for possible recruitment, watch out for all suspicious people. What did you want them to do?

MR. GEER: Well, certainly not watch out for all suspicious people. We wouldn't place anyone in that kind of situation. By describing the method of operation of the Intelligence Services, the way they use the librarians, the reasons that they've tried to develop contacts and even recruit librarians and what their aims were in doing so, we believed that this would assist them in perhaps spotting something or recognizing something that would not ordinarily come to their attention. Many of these people introduced themselves by name.

MR. LEHRER: And say I'm Sammy Sue Spy for the Soviet Union?

MR. GEER: By their Soviet given name or Polish given name, or whatever it might happen to be, and on occasion will actually identify themselves as being affiliated with an establishment.

MR. LEHRER: One of the key points that many of the librarians have made in their complaints about this isthe FBI wanted what is basically private information about people's reading habits, what kind of books they inquired about, or that sort of thing, and that's true, is it not? I mean, if the person, if you thought it was a targeted spy you wanted to know what that person was reading, right, if it was possible to find out, right?

MR. GEER: Yes, that's true, but where we seem to have gotten off course here, at least in the misunderstanding of some, was that there were even such quotes as we were looking over the shoulders of people trying to read in libraries. As a matter of fact, we have never asked, or received, for any records on any U.S. person having to do with libraries at all. And the entire focus has been in the Library Awareness Program one of education.

MR. LEHRER: There was also a report that I read today somewhere that you all were also accused of electronic surveillance of people going in and out of libraries, is that true?

MR. GEER: The fact that that accusation was made is true. The accusation, itself, is absurd as far as I'm concerned; of course we would not.

MR. LEHRER: How do you explain this severe reaction then, if it's what you described, why is everybody so upset in the library business?

MR. GEER: I think it's a result. We talk to people in all walks of life. That's the nature of an investigative agency. It's the nature of the Bureau, we follow the same procedures. Once the Library Awareness Program became known, a solicitation was sent out by the American Library Association to determine the extent of this and tell us about all contacts with FBI agents over the last few years, and there were some eighteen to twenty contacts identified, and all at once this became part of the Library Awareness Program, and all at once the FBI statements about its being confined to New York City were made to appear inaccurate, when each and every one of these cases outside of New York pertained to specific investigations and had nothing to do with library awareness.

MR. LEHRER: And that brings us to Mr. Foerstel, the Director of the Science Library at the University of Maryland. Now you've had some contacts or your libraries have had some contacts with the FBI. Tell us about them. And you're not in New York.

HERBERT FOERSTEL [University Librarian]: No, I'm not in New York. First I'm not here as a formal representative of the University of Maryland, or of the American Library Association; I'm just one library administrator whose libraries have been visited by the FBI. The first visit was about eight years ago when an agent came to the technical report center in the engineering library and asked that certain technical reports be monitored, and the names of those people requesting or using those reports be provided to the FBI.

MR. LEHRER: This was unclassified information?

MR. FOERSTEL: We have nothing --

MR. LEHRER: You don't have any classified information?

MR. FOERSTEL: We don't have any classified or restricted information of any kind.

MR. LEHRER: Okay. Did you do that? Did your man do that?

MR. FOERSTEL: First of all, the incident was not reported by the employee until a year later when she left employment, and it was my understanding from what she told me that, indeed, some information had been provided to the FBI.

MR. LEHRER: So everybody who checked out those particular publications during the course of the year, that information was passed on to the FBI?

MR. FOERSTEL: Such was the information given to me by the employee.

MR. LEHRER: All right. Now what about the other contacts?

MR. FOERSTEL:The more recent visits were a little over two years ago. This time the focus instead of monitoring particular materials was monitoring particular human beings, in particular foreigners. Particularly the request was made to check on people with foreign sounding names, East European or Russian names.

MR. LEHRER: What do you mean? You mean FBI agents came in and said what?

MR. FOERSTEL: Said things like, do you recall any people with Eastern European or Russian names who use your library, who frequent the library, can you remember their names. Eventually the request was made that we go into the filing cabinets and check on the records of database searches made and see if there were any foreign sounding names among our records. The material was not provided, but one of the librarians at the chemistry library who was approached was assured by the FBI agent that she need not worry about this because Americans were not involved, this was only foreigners that the FBI was interested in.

MR. LEHRER: What about Americans with foreign names?

MR. FOERSTEL: Well, as I say, if we were to follow the FBI's approach, someone like Zbigneu Brezhinsky would have a tough time in most libraries. We have no way of checking passports at the front door, and we wouldn't do it. All we could go on, if we were to follow the FBI's lead, is to check on names and accents, and we choose not to do that sort of thing.

MR. LEHRER: I take it you find this offensive?

MR. FOERSTEL: I find it inappropriate behavior, and not having access to classified information, it would seem to be purposeless. But at the very least, it's in violation of the library profession's ethics and recent law in Maryland, signed into law just a month ago, makes it illegal to provide such information. And there are laws of that sort in 37 states around the country and there are no asterisks on those laws that say the above does not apply to foreigners.

MR. LEHRER: Or when asked by an FBI agent, Mr. Geer. Are your people asking librarians around the country to violate their own state laws and their own code of ethics?

JAMES GEER [FBI]: There has not been one single instance that I've identified where we've received any information in violation of any state statute. I did identify one situation where an agent requested information, was immediately advised -- this was merely an address as a matter of fact -- was merely advised that it was prohibited by state statute and at which time he withdrew his request.

MR. LEHRER: What about this foreign sounding name business he's talking about?

MR. GEER: Well, I am familiar with that case. I am not familiar with the one that's some eight years ago. I have really no easy way to identify that. Quite frankly, that is no more than a pretext, because we knew the person we were interested in, we knew what name we were trying to get at, and --

MR. LEHRER: Rather than go in, say, Billy Bob Brezhinsky, you wanted to look at all of them just in case Billy Bob's name was on there?

MR. GEER: No, not look at all of them, but it was less broad as described, quite frankly, and we knew the name we were trying to get at.

MR. LEHRER: Do you buy that, Mr. Foerstel?

MR. FOERSTEL: No, I'm afraid not but once again I'm not privy to the motivation for a lot of these acts. What I do know is that - -

MR. LEHRER: Would it matter?

HERBERT FOERSTEL [University Librarian]: It wouldn't matter to the library profession because it is our obligation to maintain what has traditionally been a relationship of trust and confidence between library users and librarians and any hint that a person's reading habits, whether they have a foreign sounding name or not, a person's reading habits, the matters that they request in a library would somehow be used to embarrass or judge them is contrary to our ethics.

MR. LEHRER: Let me ask you a very specific hypothetical question. Let's say an FBI -- let's say Mr. Geer came to you and said very specifically, I want to know if Sammy Sue Boom Boom checked out a book or a record on a particular day because we think it is evidence that need to convict this person of espionage against the United States.

MR. FOERSTEL: We would require, we would request a subpoena. And from my conversations with Mr. Geer, I have reason to believe he wouldn't ask for that information. I would hope not anyway.

MR. LEHRER: Mr. Geer.

MR. GEER: Let me go back. I think one of the points we've missed here, before I touch on that, is what we're trying to get at here. And we're truly not interested in the reading habits, and I've already said, of any Americans. And as a general statement in many cases we aren't interested in the reading habits of any of these people. But we do have situations that help us identify them as being intelligence officers. I touched on one earlier. If an individual who represents himself as being the agricultural attache at the embassy comes in and he is looking for something that is clearly far removed from what both his title and alleged duties are, then that is an indicator to us that we're dealing with probably an intelligence officer.

MR. LEHRER: We're out of time. Let me ask you this final -- yes or no, Mr. Geer -- you're going to continue the program, right, unless Congress passes a law and makes you stop it?

MR. GEER: Where we see the need to do this, we will do it, we'll do it professionally, and with the sensitivities that I think are obviously needed.

MR. LEHRER: All right. Gentlemen, thank you both very much. ESSAY - RISING INTEREST

MR. MacNeil: Finally tonight we have an essay from our regular observer of things fashionable and popular, Penny Stallings. The subject is something to wear every day to the office, or is it?

PENNY STALLINGS: Where do I stand? Can I be completely objective? Have I taken a hard look at the issues, front and back? These are a few of the questions that have been plaguing American women for the last several months, not the tensions in the Gulf or the trade deficit, the real issue, the big question, should I or shouldn't I buy a mini. Shorter skirts first started showing up on city streets a year ago to the gratification of dedicated girl watchers everywhere. Teenagers and trendies took to them immediately, but to those who were neither, the prospect of exposing body parts that hadn't seen daylight in years was downright scary. Women were left with two options, either tough out the mini, or press the old wardrobe into service for another season. Judging from the drop in retail sales, that's exactly what many did. Retailers and manufacturers were stunned. Fashion slicks and trades like Women's Wear Daily, once the mini's biggest boosters, were suddenly silent on the matter. Time Magazine, which had only months earlier gushed over the new femininity, proclaimed the end of "mini-pulation", seconding a mini bashing New York Times editorial portraying mini resistance as something of a feminist victory, a sign that American women would no longer be bullied in to the next idiot craze simply for the sake of fashion. They did have a point. In a serious lapse, big name designers had apparently forgotten just who the customer was for their pricey numbers, the working woman of course, that briefcase toting careerist in a boxy business suit. Who else could afford outfits that cost the same as a new Hyundai? Focused and ambitious, she wasn't about to wear something to the office that would make her appear less serious than her male colleagues. Aged somewhere between 25 and 45, she's no kid. In fact, there's a good chance she remembers the mini from its first go-round in the 60's back when it was a wink, a come on, a symbol of the sexual revolution. Naturally she's aware of the damper disease has put on that era's sexual freedom. Still, she's not dead. Nor is she immune to the effect the mini has on men. So she's not entirely opposed to shorter skirt lengths, especially if she happens to be single. The mini's detractors were right in one respect. Women are no longer slaves to a single fashion. It's more like three or four. Our closets contain a little of this and a little of that, long, short, conservative, crazy, glamorous, dumb. But then women are creatures of style right to the end of our oversized shoulder pads. And most of us wouldn't have it any other way. Clothes are our secret passion, our favorite form of self-expression. To limit feminine fashion exclusively to the tasteful denies its very essence, not to mention spoiling the fun. The true breakthrough will come the day we no longer have to effect the drab sartorial style of the businessman's world and everyone can, if she chooses, go to the office dressed like Cher. RECAP

MR. LEHRER: Again, the major stories of this Wednesday, Michael Dukakis went to the NAACP Convention and the Congressional Black Caucus in an attempt to make peace with Jesse Jackson forces for selecting Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, not Jackson, as his running mate. The House passed the plant closing law by a veto proof margin. It now goes to President Reagan, who is expected to veto it again as he did when it was part of the trade bill. And on the Newshour, a Nicaraguan foreign ministry official displayed photographs which he said showed U.S. diplomats provoking Sandinista security forces at a demonstration last Sunday. He said this and other evidence led to the expulsions of the Americans from Nicaragua. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John Whitehead said the U.S. diplomats were at the event only as observers. Good night, Robin.

MR. MacNeil: Good night, Jim. That is the Newshour tonight. And we will be back tomorrow night. I'm Robert MacNeil. Good night.