October 31, 1982 – The World This Week – CBS Radio – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
October 31, 1982 – days away from the 1982 Mid-Term elections. President Reagan was actively stumping on behalf of Republicans and the message was “stay the course”. Reagan was touting a booming economy, the numbers were working and there was a drop in unemployment. All in all, a rosy picture, which would have been dashed if the Democrats took control of the House. Yep, same story, different Mid-term. In this case, the argument was the questionable theory behind “Reagan Economics”, which many Democrats felt were leading America down a blind alley. The campaigning was sprinting to the finish line, with elections only two days away. Polls were leaning in the direction of Democrats, even though Reagan’s approval ratings were going up. The suspense wouldn’t be over until it was over.
Meanwhile, parents were being warned that there was a clear and present danger in poisoned candy, this Halloween season. Apparently, the infamous Tylenol case was having copy-cat perpetrators, with reports of poisoned candy, over-the-counter medications and even soda popping up all over the country, prompting officials to say that, if anything looked suspicious or smelled suspicious to be suspicious. The warnings prompted many towns and communities to ban trick-or-treating this year.
Former Auto Maker John DeLorean, the one-time jet-setter was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on 9 counts of drug trafficking and racketeering. DeLorean allegedly tried to put together a multi-million dollar cocaine deal in an effort to save his bankrupt car company. He was freed on $10 million bail.
And, according to his forthcoming coming book, Watergate figure John Dean ventured to speculate a guess that the identity of Deep Throat, the source that provided most all the information to The Washington Post on the scandal was, in all likelihood, Gen. Alexander Haig, according to a recent article in Time Magazine. Expressing shock and surprise that he would even be considered, General Alexander Haig, who was now Secretary Of State, retorted that the speculation was absurd and most likely commercially motivated.
And that’s just a little of what went on, this Halloween in 1982, as reported by The World This Week and Hourly News from CBS Radio.
