Letters to the Next President: An Enlightened Conservative Assesses the Tough Choice-And-. . .

Although the book reads somewhat like campaign literature for his own political aspirations, the views on foreign policy in these ``letters'' by the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of its Arms Control Observer group, merits the attention of presidential contenders and the electorate. Warning against a growing gap between our objectives and capacities, Lugar stresses that defined priorities based on national consensus must govern our foreign commitments. He further maintains that the president should respect the War Powers Resolution and routinely consult congressional leaders on major foreign-policy matters; secrecy, he alleges, will undermine presidential credibility. Among Reagan administration foreign-affairs successes and mistakes, Lugar cites the encouraging movement toward democracy in Guatemala and the Philippines whose election of Cory Aquino the president championed, but the author deplores what he terms the Nicaraguan ``quagmire.'' Lugar concludes with ethical admonitions, the foremost of which is: tell the truth. Major ad/promo. (June)