President’s Move Shows a Deft Political Touch

Washington-Ronald Reagan the politician has shown once again that he has the sure touch of a safecracker, and the nerves. With the announcement yesterday that he will appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court, the President has won the support of liberals and feminists and has undercut growing criticism that he has failed to give women important jobs. National Organization for Women President Eleanor Smeal, who in the past has characterized Reagan’s views on so-called women’s issues as “pathetic” and “medieval,” praised the nomination of Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor as “a major victory.” The criticism this time has come from some longstanding supporters-social conservatives, particularly antiabortion activists-but even that is not necessarily bad news for the President. Reagan’s conservative base is not really threatened, one adviser said, and the right-wing ire makes him look practically moderate. “It does a lot of things for us,” another aide, presidential pollster Richard Wirthlin, said of the appointment. “Somebody told me once that the worst thing you can do in politics is have your most ideological supporters be perfectly happy with you.” When you do, he.went on, it’s likely to mean that just about everybody else is not. Now, by appointing a woman who apparently holds moderate views on social issues, Reagan has managed to win praise from feminists who disagree with his views on the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights an:a- criticize his record on appointments.