The Day After was the ABC movie, seen by more than 100 million people, set in

Lawrence, Kansas, the day after a fictional nuclear strike. What had been its purpose? VG: "The producers and the director of the show . . . wanted Americans to think that . . . deterrence was a failure . . ." WFB: "How can that which has manifestly succeeded have failed?" VG: "You don't have to debate me on such a thing." WFB: "I know, but I'm asking you how ... to cope with that." VG: "Well, in the scenario . . . they created the failure ... by the fact that the Russians became afraid because we had placed the Pershing missiles." To Mr. Leonard, the fact that the script writer had said he wanted to hinder our deployment of the Pershing missiles means nothing: "Do you know what a writer is like on television?" WFB: "No, I don't." JL: "A writer can say whatever he likes, but what appears on the TV screen is so far from what that writer originally intended because it's been nibbled to death by ducks to make it palatable, ... to make it seem as though you're being provocative, but without ever really offering a significant alternative."