European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10.columns the stars and stripes sunday March 8.1987 Susanne m. Schafer supporters scoff at reported role of first lady Nancy Reagan victorious in her Campaign to drive Donald Regan from the White House a being pictured i everything from a dragon to a Power hungry finl lady who has made her Hus band appear impish and helpless. But in. Reagan s supporters say it nonsense to assert a one published report did bit week that the lint la Yhu become so powerful thai she plans to use the remainder of her husband s Ter to press for an Arm control agreement with the soviet Union. That s silly mrs. Reagan s pres Secretary Elaine Crispen said sure she s interested in arms control she s interested in peace Bui she s interested in arms control Only to the Point that i affects her husband s planning and his policy and what he1 doing with s former press Secre tary. Sheila tale agreed. She gels involved with people , no said Tate a longtime aide now working in Public relations. Few people question that mrs. Reagan has great influence Over her husband or thai she acts out of an intense concern about his health and his image. She has often commented thai All my Lille antennas go up when she believes someone is attempting to take advantage of the president and that she tries to Stop it by telling him or telling someone and she has not been reticent in re cent weeks while the president out of sight recuperating from prostate surgery has been battered by the Iran Centra controversy Many who know the couple might argue Over How a pervasive mrs. Reagan s influence is. But rare is the White House official or adviser who is willing to have any comments about he attached to his or her name. Commenting on the condition that they not be named sources had said for weeks that she was leading a movement to dump Regan. She s making it happen said on prior to the chief of staffs departure it looks pretty obvious she s going to get rid of him one Way or another former sen. Howard Baker Reagan Snew chief of staff showed during his first meeting with the White House press corps just How delicate the subject is though he treated it Wilh humor. Queried about a comment he handmade previously of mrs. Reagan that when she gets her hackles up she can Bea dragon the Tennessee political re plied by praising her As a distinguished citizen and a great she obviously is a lady or Strong convictions that s what i meant Baker explained Wilh a sheepish Grin Ami tie asks his readers to believe that the first lady personally decided to fire Don Regan whose Dis Missal it would follow had nothing 10 do with the Tower commission report or with Ronald Reagan s own sense of timing. He asks us All to believe s concern for her husband s health is a disingenuous Way of shielding his feeble mindedness fro Public View. She is accordingly an incipient Edith Wilson i.e., she plans to let her husband vegetate while she administers the office of chief executive. She is All Loo interested in appointments of . Ambassadors which one supposes Means that she decides who will became one who will not. She is a grave addition to the National debt As witness her bloated expensive East Wing and her Power hunger extends to designs on the future cultural life of Washington . To which end satire informs us she plans to contrive that Charles Wick should become the next head of the Kennedy Center. If so this serves Only to remind us of the Root incongruity namely the designation of Washington s Center of music an and Ballet As the "kenne-dy1 Center what goes on Why the spite directed at woman fighting for her husband s health and reputation is Safire specific in his charges Welt yes. Reclaims that when Regan urged on the president a press conference in place of a speech a few weeks ago Nancy was so infuriated that she said Over the Telephone to her husband s chief of staff have your damned new conference that s specific but not really All that scandalous. Damned is nowadays about the softest expletive in the american lexicon Safire writes so Well about there could have been one or two quit logical reasons for mrs. Reagan s opposing a press con Ference As we Are to understand that she did. It might have been thai she was concerned for her husband s health judging him not yet ready to Cope with ther Igors or what would certainly have been a polemical one for at. Or she might have been using her own political judgment that the president was not psycho logically ready for a press conference. Manifestly whoever recommended his press Confer ence on nov. 19 was defective in political judgment. All thai press conference accomplished for or Reagan was a drop of 21 Points in his National popularity. Anything else Concrete yes. Mrs. Reagan has a coterie of Media biggies in whom she regularly confides they passed on her drum fire of criticism or a staff chief who dared to refuse to defer to her advice. She was then Able to display the ensuing reports to the president As evidence that his chief of staff had become an intolerable there is quite awful analytical Joiner work in that statement. For one thing it simply is not persuasive my wife and h for instance have spoken with Nancy Reagan More or less continually for 20 Yean i am heavily involved in the Media. In not a single conversation with her during the past three months has she mentioned Regan. But the extra personal Point is the principal one. Twas hardly necessary for Nancy Reagan to drum up criticism of a chief of staff who presided Over the White House while it Laid one of the biggest eggs in political history. After the revelations of last novem Ber the proposition that Regan was not doing his Job was As universally obvious As the pleasure satire gets from vituperation. The National Relief at Regan s re placement would simply seem to reaffirm thai if his replacement was on mrs. Reagan s Agenda then she i politically astute Safire ended his broadside by suggesting thai , being the Power behind the throne ought to appear before congressional investigating committees to answer such questions As was the president aware gins of arms Transfer planning an interesting constitutional innovation investigate everyone and everything that might have influence your conduct. Mrs. Reagan would need merely to give that congressional committee a copy of her marriage certificate c Una Wisl Tom Syna Cale
