University of Virginia Library

Walter Bardenwerper

'How's The Peking Weather, Harry?'

Howard K. Smith

Dick Cavett

As American public interest
wafted into the glamour and
mystery of China not only was
Dick Cavett forced to defer to
Dick Nixon, but he had to
endure this Howard K. Smith
descriptor witticism during
Smith's perceptive television
introduction of Chou. Cavett
retaliated in kind against
Smith, but he had to suffer
Nixon's interruptions all week.

If last week's news out of
China had been fiction it might
have been titled The President
and The Press. Apparently it
was not fiction, but the title
still applies. While Nixon was
the center of attention, there
would have been little upon
which to focus if his arrival had
not been preceded by the
auspicious invasion of
television. So, before the next
presidential junket, some
comments on the television
coverage of his last one: (ABC
is our primary source; while
often vacuous, the ABC reports
were at least piquant and
engaging on a few occasions.

From the outset cynicism
crept into Howard K. Smith's
discussions with Harvard China
expert, Dr. James Thomson.
For example, early in the week
Dr. Thomson was remarking
that the Chinese were
resourceful and industrious.
So, during a film showing
Chinese children licking what
appeared to be a Chinese
version of the popsicle,
Howard was moved to remark,
"I suppose you are going to tell
me that the Chinese invented
the popsicle, too." Thomson
just looked annoyed.

Smith's questions began to
lose their cynicism and started
to betray a marked boredom
with the whole affair as the
week progressed. To wit: the
weather became a big topic.
This exchange occurred via
satellite while the president
visited the Great Wall:

(The viewer is watching a
snowfall as the coverage
begins.)

Smith: "How is the weather
there, Harry?"

Reasoner: "Well, it's snowing,
Howard."

Thomson: "Everyone seems
to be warmly dressed. Is it cold
there, Harry?"

Reasoner: "No. For the most
part it's been a beautiful
morning. It's really quite
warm."

Thomson: "What would you
say the temperature is, Harry?"

Reasoner: "Oh, about 25
degrees, I'd say."

Thomson: "I'd call that
cold."

Later in the week Reasoner,
who looked like he had left his
teeth at the hotel, commented
on the ABC 6 o'clock news
that he had reached one
conclusion: "I could never be a
communist." (That revelation
must have shocked
Vice-President Agnew who
probably thought Reasoner
already was one.)

Reasoner explained why:
Communism, he said, was too
boring; after seeing billboards
which read "Long live
Chinese-Albanian friendship!"
all week, he would welcome a
toothpaste advertisement. I
missed the rest of the
commentary because I was left
musing as to why someone
without teeth would welcome
a toothpaste commercial.

The condescension implicit
in many of the reporters'
comments was not too well
masked at times. Quips about
the ubiquitous bicycles
equated Chinese and children.
Once, while viewing pedicabs
in downtown Peking, Smith
allowed as how pedicabs had
replaced rickshaws. When he
asked Dr. Thomson why,
(remember, Thomson is an
expert), the professor was
so paralyzed with the weight of
the question that it took him a
moment to reflect on
everything he knew about
mechanics. Finally he
answered, "Well, I guess a
pedicab is easier to use than a
rickshaw." What good fortune
for Howard that such an
eminent scholar was available
to answer that one!

One network covered the
gymnastics exhibition which
President Nixon and Premier
Chou attended. The event was
performed before a full house
which clapped about every
three seconds. In fact, the
clapping for one stunt
sometimes overlapped into the
clapping for the next. I assume
that the applause was coerced
because the college coach who
did play-by-play analysis
seemed to think everything was
pretty good for Chinese, but
would never make it in world
competition. He was probably
right, because President Nixon
appeared less than awed by the
performance-and his keen
insight into athletics is well
documented.

Every reporter kept
warning against excessive
elation and inflated