Henry Trewhitt

Henry Trewhitt
Born	(1927-04-17)April 17, 1927 Cleveland,Tennessee
Died	January 23, 2003(2003-01-23)(aged 75) Albuquerque,New Mexico
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Journalist, author
Spouse	Barbara Trewhit
Children	1

Henry Lane "Hank" Trewhitt(April 17, 1927, inCleveland,Tennessee– January 23, 2003, inAlbuquerque,New Mexico) was an American journalist and author.

Early life and education

Trewhitt was born on April 17, 1927, on a farm inCleveland,Tennessee.He received his journalism degree from theUniversity of New Mexicoin 1949.Soon after graduating, he worked for theSanta Fe New Mexican,where he covered the development of the firstthermonuclear bombatLos Alamos National Laboratory.At the age of 25, he became the youngest individual to be awarded aNieman Fellowshipat the time.

Career

Trewhitt worked forthe Baltimore Sunas the chief of theirBonn,Germanybureau from 1957 to 1967, and then worked as a diplomatic andWhite Housecorrespondent forNewsweekuntil 1974, when he returned to theSun,this time becoming its diplomatic correspondent.In 1971, he publishedMcNamara: His Ordeal in the Pentagon,a book about Defense SecretaryRobert McNamara.The book was based on Trewhitt's experiences covering theUnited States Department of DefenseforNewsweekin 1965.He was a panel journalist at two presidential debates: a Ford-Carter debate in 1976and the second Reagan-Mondale debate of 1984.He was a frequent panelist onPBS'sWashington Week In Reviewfor 20 years.In the 1980s, he worked as the deputy managing editor for international affairs atU.S. News & World Report,in which capacity he defended the magazine's correspondentNicholas Daniloffafter Daniloff was arrested in theUSSR.In 1989, he retired fromU.S. News & World Reportto become a professor of journalism at the University of New Mexico, where he taught until 1997and continued to coach students until his death in 2003.In 1996, he received the University of New Mexico's James F. Zimmerman Award.

1984 presidential debate

Trewhitt questioning Reagan about his age.

While he was a diplomatic correspondent for theBaltimore Sun,Trewhitt was one of four panel journalists who asked questions toRonald ReaganandWalter Mondaleat their second and final of the1984 United States presidential debates.The other three journalists on the panel wereGeorgie Anne Geyer,Marvin Kalb,andMorton Kondracke.At the debate, he asked Reagan a famous question about whether he thought his advanced age would impair his ability to function as president. Trewhitt had previously worked together with hisSuncolleagueJack Germondfor several hours to devise the question. Their aim was to frame the question so as to make it difficult for Reagan to avoid the issue of age, which they considered to be his "greatest vulnerability".Theage questionhad grown more pointed after a difficult time for the president -- he "stumbled over words, mangled his own familiar stories, repeated mind-numbing statistics, rambled through his closing statement, and seemed to lose track of the rules at one point" -- in the first debate.The question Trewhitt asked President Reagan was as follows:

"Mr. President, I want to raise an issue that I think has been lurking out there for 2 or 3 weeks and cast it specifically in national security terms. You already are the oldest president in history, and some of your staff say you were tired after your most recent encounter with Mr. Mondale. I recall, yes, thatPresident Kennedy,who had to go for days on end with very little sleep during theCuba missile crisis.Is there any doubt in your mind that you would be able to function in such circumstances?

Reagan replied,

Not at all. And, Mr. Trewhitt, I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience.

This answer was met with an uproar of laughter from the audience, and even Mondale himself laughed along with them. The following day,David S. Broderwrote that "...it may well have been that the biggest barrier to Reagan's reelection was swept away in that moment."Since then, Reagan's response to Trewhitt's question has been praised as a "hit out of the park",and Mondale himself later said that he thought it effectively ended the race.Trewhitt's immediate followup to Reagan was "Mr. President, I'd like to head for the fence and try to catch that one before it goes over, but I'll go on to another question." Reagan's chief of staffJames A. Bakerlater recounted the efforts to prepare for the question and "insist[ed the answer]... had not been scripted ahead."

Death

Trewhitt died on January 23, 2003, at his home in Albuquerque, at the age of 75, after suffering fromemphysema.He was survived by his wife, Barbara Parnall Trewhitt, their son and two grandchildren, as well as by his sister.