ABC MAKES POSNER’S DAY AND REAGAN SEES RED

Had President Reagan suffered a relapse of Rambo Fever? Was Sylvester Stallone writing the President’s ad-libs?

Well, maybe. But even an ABC News executive has agreed with the President that the network gave a Soviet spokesman too much latitude in responding Wednesday to Reagan’s televised address urging congressional acceptance of his $311.6-billion defense budget. “Reluctantly, I tend to agree that Vladimir Posner was allowed too much scope on our program last night,” Richard Wald, senior vice president for ABC News, said in a statement Thursday.

Reagan reportedly had complained to congressional leaders earlier Thursday about the air time given Posner. “I don’t know why the hell the media is so willing to lend support to the Soviets,” Reagan was quoted as saying.

Support ? That’s going too far.

ABC brought on Posner from Moscow during a post-speech analysis of Reagan’s speech Wednesday, in which he urged continued high military spending to counter the Soviet threat. Posner was on the air for almost seven minutes in a program that lasted a little more than half an hour. It was anchored by David Brinkley.

Making a case for his defense budget, Reagan presented a scenario showing the Soviet Union as increasingly dangerous to the United States. Predictably, Posner disagreed, calling the President’s speech “very dishonest in many ways.” And ABC let him disagree.

Posner was allowed to go on and on and make a number of apparently erroneous statements virtually unchallenged by Brinkley, who was hosting the program because “World News Tonight” anchorman Peter Jennings was on assignment in the Soviet Union and “Nightline” anchorman Ted Koppel was on assignment in the Philippines. Both are more agile interviewers than Brinkley.

“Our production error was in letting him (Posner) push on at too great a length without an opposing voice to point out the errors and the inconsistencies,” Wald said.

So this was how ABC lent support to the Soviets? Give us a break, Ron.

This is not the first time Reagan has relied on the grubby line that the news media are soft on commies. He used the same tactic when interviewed last year by TV preacher Pat Robertson on “The 700 Club.” And Joe McCarthy traveled that smelly path during his witch hunts in the 1950s.

Posner, who was born and reared in the Bronx and speaks impeccable Americanized English, is a skilled Soviet radio commentator who regularly makes appearances on U.S. television and radio as a spokesman for the Soviet Union. He’s been on “Nightline” many times and has co-hosted several global TV discussions between Soviets and Americans beamed to American viewers via satellite.

Reagan’s criticism of ABC was especially ironic, as it was that network that earlier had temporarily postponed production on a controversial miniseries, “Amerika,” after strong Soviet denunciations of the project. ABC later announced it would go forward on “Amerika,” which depicts a somber United States 10 years after a Soviet takeover.

Also protesting Posner’s appearance was Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), a fiery conservative and frequent media critic who often makes more noise than sense.

In remarks to the House on Thursday, Dornan called Posner “a paid communist propagandist.” Which Posner is, as an employee of the state-owned Soviet broadcasting system. Dornan called Posner a “little flunky.” Which Posner is, albeit a highly articulate and effective one. Dornan said Posner “called our President a liar.” Which Posner did.

And so?

“How long are we going to allow our networks to put (Posner and other Soviets on television) and call these people newsmen?” Dornan asked.

How long? As long as there is freedom of the press.

Does Dornan really want to change that? Would he want our government to censor TV the way the media are censored in the Soviet Union? If that happened, then we would be the ones with the Vladimir Posners blabbing a White House line to the rest of the world.

As Wald noted: “There is nothing wrong with asking a Soviet spokesman for his views of a presidential speech concerning American posture in relation to the Russians.”

Unfortunately, Brinkley identified Posner only as someone who “now works for Radio Moscow,” as if the Soviet were some sort of unbiased observer. On the other hand, the media also don’t identify White House press chief Larry Speakes as a propagandist.

That’s right. The last time anyone checked, Speakes--who represents the President--was also a paid propagandist, the only difference being that he mouths the Reagan line instead of that of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Or have you heard Speakes criticize Reagan lately?

Of course, the American news media are free to challenge Speakes, whereas the Soviet media are an obedient arm of the state. And thank goodness for that.

It is the Soviets--not the American media--who designate their spokesmen. So Posner was the Soviet pick, not ABC’s.

Posner is a slippery character who is able to defend seemingly indefensible Soviet positions with awesome earnestness. An especially earnest Posner surfaced recently on a syndicated program he co-hosted with John Denver, in which American and Soviet kids carried on a dialogue via satellite. Posner so endeared himself to his co-host that, by the end of the hour, Denver was addressing his Soviet counterpart as “Vladdy.”

Still, whether Vladdy or Vladimir, he shouldn’t be blackballed from American TV. And Reagan and Dornan should know that.