Word: deaver
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...watches Reagan prepare for his national press conferences, Deaver can tell within minutes how well the President will do that night. Deaver always slips the President a handwritten message just before Reagan steps out the door to confront reporters. Sometimes the message teases him, sometimes it stresses a serious theme, always it seeks to break the tension for the performer. Deaver recently changed the format of the conferences, arranging for Reagan to stride down a long red carpet to the waiting reporters. Reagan seemed uncomfortable with the De Gaulle-like staging, but Deaver, ever the calculating imagemaker, persuaded...
...Deaver's stamp of approval is on every presidential day. He controls Reagan's schedules, decides who comes in to see him. He puts together details of foreign trips, such as those to China and Ireland. Reagan, chafing playfully at the way Deaver manages his life, recently told a Senate group about a young boy in Europe who rushed forward and surprised him with an American flag. "That was one thing Mike Deaver didn't set up," Reagan said grinning. The President might have been less relaxed over Deaver's ill-considered comment in an interview...
...Deaver's fussy imagemaking shows up everywhere. It was he, against strong opposition, who pushed for Katherine Davalos Ortega as the keynote speaker at this week's Dallas convention. He brushed aside suggestions that she was boring, seeing her instead as an answer to Geraldine Ferraro. Reagan sided with him. He balked at the showcasing of 1988 presidential hopefuls such as Howard Baker and Jack Kemp, and their roles were cut back. He initiated the convention films on the Reagans, including one on the First Lady. For that one, Deaver persuaded Reagan to be the narrator...
...close as Deaver's ties are to the President, they are even tighter with Nancy Reagan. The two are constantly on the phone, going over events of the day, measuring future dangers, sizing up the performance of Administration players, even the President himself. Reagan sometimes needles Deaver about the amount of time the two spend talking, referring to Nancy as "your phone pal." There is little action and intrigue around the White House that the pair does not know about. Says one longtime friend: "They're so alike in many ways, both suspicious by nature and judgmental." Sometimes...
...First Lady, zealous about her husband's fortunes, is an intimidating figure to many Administration insiders. But not to Deaver, who uses his partnership with her to push projects with the President. She places unlimited trust in Deaver and is candid about what is on her mind. He in turn works to protect her interests as much as he does the President's. Says one associate who knows both of them personally: "Nancy doesn't tell the President everything. But she's not afraid to tell Mike anything. They're like crossed fingers." Together they...