REAGAN'S 'BRAIN TRUST'-- A CANDIDATE IS KNOWN BY THE COMPANY HE KEEPS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00901R000100250004-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 12, 2001
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: April 26, 1980
• Content Type: MAGAZINE

Reagan's `Brain Trust' A Candidate
Is Known by the Company He Keeps
With the GOP nomination seemingly within his grasp, Ronald Reagan has put
together a star-studded cast of advisers to guide him as he seeks the presidency.
R oriald Reagan, the former movie
actor who symbolizes the affinity
between show business and electronic-era
politics, is surrounding himself with a
star-studded supporting cast.
Already performing like the 1980
Republican presidential nominee-
perhaps with good reason in view of his
comfortable lead over struggling rivals-
Reagan has cultivated an advisory "brain
trust" composed of many of the most
prominent figures in economics, domes-
tic policy matters and national security
affairs.
Included are representatives of the
defense and intelligence community, such
as Frank It. Barnett, president of the
National Strategy Information Center;
Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham, co-chairman
of the Coalition for Peace Through
Strength and former director of the
Defense Intelligence Agency; and Adm.
Thomas H. Moorer, former chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
From academe come Nathan Glazer of
Harvard University, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
of Georgetown University and Eugene
V. Rostow, a Yale University law
professor.
Economists include Milton Friedman,
former Federal Reserve Board chairman
Arthur F. Burns and Arthur Laffer. (For
a list of keYadvisers, see box, pp. 674-75.)
Reagan's congressional counselors are
headed by Sen. Paul Laxalt of Nevada,
his campaign chairman, and Reps. Jack
F. Kemp of New York and Thomas B.
Evans Jr. of Delaware.
Coordinating the advisory operations
for the Reagan campaign are Richard V.
Allen. president of Potomac Inter-
national Corp. and former senior staff
member of the National Security Coun-
cil, who directs the foreign affairs and
defense policy input; and Martin Ander-
son, former White House aide and
Columbia University economics
professor now at Stanford University's
Hoover Institution on War, Revolution
and Peace, who oversees the domestic
issues area. They work with Edwin
Meese, Reagan's chief of staff and
principal issues adviser, under campaign
manager William J. Casey.
Predictably, as the national conven-
tions draw near, the number of candi-
dates dwindles and the early hoopla of the
campaign subsides, candidates are
obliged to be increasingly specific
about their policy positions.
Comparative analyses are
made by the news media
and by recognized spe-
cialists in particular
areas.
A candidate's advisers
constitute a wellspring
for ideas and proposals.
They conduct research and
instruct and brief the can-
didate. They keep him abreast
of the latest developments in certain
fields. They may suggest courses of
action. And they may even recommend
a particular book or research paper.
The quality and prominence of the
advisers a candidate attracts reflect his
political philosophy, directly bear on his
leadership capability and provide a
measure of credibility to his campaign.
in politics, as in other elements of
society, a person is known by the
company he or she keeps. So the
candidate's choice of advisers tells the
voters something about the office-seeker.
As Anderson observed, "People around a
candidate give an idea of what kind of
person he is."
Many campaign advisers, almost all of
whom are acknowledged authorities in
their fields, possess their own special
constituencies and followers and hence
may also serve as drawing cards. Con-
versely, a controversial figure could well
be a liability instead of an asset. A
candidate must therefore be careful in the
advisers he chooses.
A Carter White House aide, for
instance, reported that an offer by former
Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, D-Minn., to
help in the President's reelection cam-
paign was rejected because of McCarthy's
well-known liberal orthodoxy.
And although former Secretary of
State Henry A. Kissinger has been in
telephone contact with Reagan, he
is noticeably missing from the
candidate's public list of
advisers. Aides have cau-
tioned Reagan that Kis-
singer would be a dis-
ruptive presence because
of controversy over his
conduct of U.S. foreign
policy while in the White
House and State Depart-
ment, his long and close rela-
ionship with Richard Me Nixon
and his reported involvement with Da-
vid Rockefeller in efforts to find a suit-
able home-in-exile for the deposed Shah
of Iran.
There is also the possibility that
Kissinger might outshine the candidate.
One of the tacit campaign rules is that no
single adviser may loom larger in the
public eye than the candidate. Further-
more, policy positions must always be
identified with the candidate, regardless
of their origin.
Until recently, Reagan's "outside"
advisers dealt with him, or through his
campaign staff, in an ad hoc manner. The
sudden dismissal in February of cam-
paign manager John Sears, national
political director Charles Black and press
secretary James Lake led to a campaign
staff reorganization and a revision in the
internal operations. Whereas Sears
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to Reagan, Casey, his successor,
broadened the lines of communication to
the candidate.
Then, on the eve of the Pennsylvania
primary, the advisory system was, in
effect, institutionalized. Reagan an-
nounced he was establishing a 12-
member policy council, augmented by
two groups of specialized advisers, one on
foreign affairs and another on defense
policy- in all, 67 "distinguished experts."
"Their experience," said Reagan, "will
be of great assistance to me as the
presidential campaign addresses issues of
crucial importance to the future of our
country."
Allen said some of the advisers were
Democrats or independents and that
agreement to serve did not constitute
political endorsement. Nonetheless, the
great majority can be presumed to be
Reagan supporters.
In one case, Paul H. Nitze, a former
deputy Defense secretary and a leader of
the Committee on the Present Danger,
who is not among the 67, reported that he
was available for advice to any candidate
who requested it. "It doesn't mean I'm for
or against Reagan," he said. "I have
intentionally tried to address myself to
issues and not personalities."
He acknowledged, however, that
Reagan's defense policies were compati-
ble with his own and said he expected to
"see him again."
Citing a political maxim, Anderson
said, "It becomes easier to attract people
once they are convinced the candidate has
the nomination." That is apparent with
Reagan, considering the large number of
experts anxious and willing to offer
him professional advice.
It is not lost on at least some of them
that if Reagan wins in November, they
stand an excellent chance of being
rewarded with a presidential appoint-
ment. Though many undoubtedly are
motivated by a sense of public service, it is
not unlikely that the personal horizons of
others reach as high as a Cabinet post, a
job in the White House or the direc-
torship of a federal agency.
THE ADVISORY SYSTEM
Special advisers, normally grouped in
task forces according to issues, have long
been a functional ingredient of presiden-
tial campaigns. But only in recent na-
tional elections have they been expanded
and refined as a campaign force.
The complexity of contemporary
social and economic issues, the demands
on the candidate to offer possible
solutions to difficult problems and the
incessant focus of the news media on the
candidate's proposed policies have made
it incumbent upon presidential aspirants
to rely on the expertise
of outsiders. Today, it
would be almost un-
thinkable to wage a
presidential campaign
without a "brain
trust."
Anderson, who
served as Nixon's
research director in
the 1968 campaign,
recalled that he super-
vised 20 issue-oriented
task forces involving
about 250 advisers.
Last year, he took
nine months off to
help set up Reagan's
advisory arm.
"I first developed an
account of Reagan's
record while he was
governor of Califor-
nia," Anderson
reported. "Next, I put
together a basic issues
file. This meant col-
lecting background
material for hundreds
of issues. Third, I
began to build up
contacts among peo-
ple who would agree
to advise Reagan
Franklyn (Lyn) Nofziger, longtime Reagan adviser now
serving on a part-time basis: "[Reagan's] approach to the
cabinet [while governor] was, 'You guys are my men in the
departments: you're not the department's advocate. You will
run the department as if it is mine, not yours."'
irrespective as to whether they would
politically support him."
Allen, meanwhile, started rounding up
national security specialists.
Commenting on his coordinating role,
Allen said: "The advisers' views go
unrestricted to the Governor. I have
strong feelings about that. If they know
their ideas aren't going direct to the
candidate and being considered, they
aren't likely to stay on."
Allen, however, may send material to
Reagan with a cover letter summarizing
the information or directing the can-
didate's attention to certain sections or
even giving his opinion of the work and
making recommendations.
Still another aspect of Reagan's cam-
paign operations involves an executive
advisory committee, headed by former
Treasury Secretary William E. Simon,
with Michael K. Deaver, a longtime
Reagan associate, as vice chairman.
"Essentially, the committee is made up
of a small group of close Reagan friends
who have been advising him for years,"
said Deaver, a public relations consultant
whose firm, Deaver & Hannaford, has
offices in Los Angeles and Washington.
"Its function has expanded with the
campaign and it now serves as a sounding
board for Reagan, recruits personnel and
assists in fund raising."
Among those on the committee, he
said, are Holmes Tuttle, a wealthy
California automobile dealer; Justin
Dart, president of Dart Industries;
William French Smith, a partner in one
of California's largest law firms and
Reagan's personal attorney; and Joseph
Coors of the Coors beer family.
Once again serving as Reagan's ad-
viser, now on a part-time basis, is
Franklyn (Lyn) Nofziger, a former
Washington political reporter for the
Copley newspapers and Reagan's press
secretary when he was governor. Nof-
ziger, who had a falling out with Sears
early in the campaign, left and went back
to his political consulting firm. Once
Sears was dropped, Nofziger was invited
to rejoin.
"I've got commitments to my clients,
but I help out whenever I can, perhaps a
day or two each week," he said.
Among the responsibilities of Meese, -
Allen, Anderson and others on the
Reagan campaign staff is to assure that
the candidate is fully briefed on issues and
to deter him from making the verbal
bloopers and factual misstatements for
which he has become known.
Reagan also has a tendency to profess
ignorance about matters that a public
figure normally would be acquainted
with, as with his publicized admission
that he was not informed about farm
parity prices.
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Ronald Reagan's Foreign and ...
Ronald Reagan won't be suffering from any lack of advisers
in the domestic and national security areas.
The front-running Republican presidential candidate has
formed a 12-member policy council to give him "advice and
counsel on a broad range of key national policy issues," and
has also named 41 foreign policy and 26 national defense
advisers who, he said, would provide him with policy and
research guidance during his campaign.
Heading the policy council is former Treasury Secretary
William E. Simon. The other members are:
William J. Casey, former undersecretary of State for
economic affairs, chairman and president of the Export-
Import Bank of the United States and chairman of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and currently
Reagan's campaign director
Alan Greenspan, chairman and president of Townsend-
Greenspan & Co. Inc. and chairman of the Council of
Economic Advisers under President Ford
Rep. Jack F. Kemp, R-N.Y., chairman for policy develop-
ment of.the Reagan campaign
Irving Kristol, professor of social thought, New York
University Graduate School of Business. and senior fellow
of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy
Research (AEI)
John McKetta, professor of chemical engineering, Universi-
ty of Texas
William P. Rogers, lawyer and former Secretary of State and
Attorney General
Donald Rumsfeld, chairman of G. D. Searle & Co. and
former Defense Secretary and ambassador to NATO
George P. Shultz, president of the Bechtel Group and former
Treasury and Labor Secretary and director of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
Charls E. Walker. chairman, Charts E. Walker Associates
Inc. and former Treasury undersecretary
Murray L. Weidenbaum, director, Center for the Study of
American Business, Washington University, and former
assistant Treasury secretary
Caspar W. Weinberger, vice president and general counsel of
Bechtel Power Corp. and former Health, Education and
Welfare Secretary,--OMB director and Federal Trade
Commission chairman
FOREIGN POLICY
Kenneth L. Adelman, senior policy analyst, SRI interna-
tional, and former assistant to the Defense Secretary
This has always been characteristic of
Reagan. During a controversy over the
size of a proposed national redwoods
park in California, while he was gover-
nor. Reagan is reported to have stated:
"A tree's a tree. How ma ny do you have to
see?"
In an admittedly non-objective book,
Reagan. the Political Chameleon
(Praeger 1976), former California Gov.
Edmund G. (Pat) Brown suggests that
Reagan's semantic lapses are attributable
to his dependence on "quick and simple
answers to the complex questions of
government and society." Brown, a
Democrat, further notes that "Reagan is
used to working from a script. He is a
Robert C. Neumann," senior research fellow, Center for-
Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown Univer-
sity and former ambassador to Afghanistan and Jordan
Robert Osgood, professor, School of Advanced Inter-
national Studies, and director of the security studies
Adda B. Bozeman. professor emeritus of international
relations, Sarah Lawrence College
W. Glenn Campbell, director of the Hoover Institution on
War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University
Lev Dobriansky, economics professor, Georgetown Univer-
sity
Peter Duignan, senior fellow and director of African and
Middle East studies, the Hoover Institution
Charles H. Fairbanks, assistant professor of political science,
Yale University. and fellow, AEI
Roger W. Fontaine. director of Latin American studies,
Center for Strategic and International Studies,
Georgetown University
Jeffrey B. Gayner, director of foreign policy studies, the
Heritage Foundation
Nathan Glazer, professor, Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University
Mose L. Harvey, director of the Advanced International
Studies Institute, University of Miami
Rita E. Hauser, attorney and former U.S. representative to
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
Fred C. Ikle, consultant and former director of the Arms
Control and Disarmament Agency
David C. Jordan, professor of government and foreign
affairs, University of Virginia
Jenne J. Kirkpatrick, professor of government, Georgetown
University, and resident scholar, AEI
Ernest W. Lefever, professor of government, Georgetown
University
Carnes Lord, assistant professor of government and foreign
affairs, University of Virginia
Edward N. Luttwak, research professor, Georgetown
University, and senior fellow. Center for Strategic and
International Studies. Georgetown University
Charles Burton Marshall, consultant on foreign policy and
former member of the State Department policy planning
staff
Constantine Christopher Menges, consultant to the Hudson
Institute
Henry R. Nau. associate professor of political science,--,
.quick study,' as they say in the acting
business, and he made a very handsome
living for years playing roles that required
only that he memorize his lines, not
plumb beneath them for hidden
meanings, subtleties or nuances."
Brown, defeated for reelection by
Reagan in 1966, may have been guilty of a
personal bias, but other Reagan watchers
have observed the same qualities.
The current practice, as laid down by
Casey, who has become a more forceful
campaign manager than anticipated, is to
have one or more issues specialists travel
with Reagan at all times. This is in
addition to Meese, who accompanies
Reagan almost constantly. The assign-
ment may go to Anderson or Allen, or
others such as Roger W. Fontaine of
Georgetown University's Center for
Strategic and International Studies and a
member of a newly appointed panel of
foreign policy advisers.
"We will be doing more cycling of
people on the campaign plane," said
Allen. "It will depend on the issues."
Recently hired to assist Meese on the
campaign circuit was James Brady, a
veteran press-public relations adviser,
who had previously worked for former
budget director James T. Lynn,
Sen. William V. Roth Jr., R-Del., and
John B. Connally during his unsuccessful
bid for the GOP nomination. Brady will
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 . ; . Defense Policy Brain Trust
program, The Johns Hopkins University
Robert L. PfaltzgraffJr.. professor of international politics,
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts Univer-
sity
Walter L. Pforzheimer, former legislative counsel to the
Central Intelligence Agency
Richard E. Pipes, professor of history, Harvard University
Uri Ra'anan, chairman of the international securities
studies program. Fletcher School of Law and Diplom-
acy
Edward Rozek, professor
University of Colorado
of comparative government,
Pedro A. Sanjuan, director, Hemispheric Center, AEI
Frank Shakespeare, president of RKO General Inc. and
former director of the U.S. Information Agency
Laurence H. Silberman, executive vice president, Crocker
National Bank and former ambassador to Yugoslavia and
deputy Attorney General
Richard F. Starr, director of the international studies
program, Hoover Institution
William .L. Stearman, professor and director of the Russian
studies program, Georgetown University
Robert Strausz-Hupe, former ambassador to NATO,
Sweden and Belgium
Raymond Tanter, professor of political science, University
of Michigan, and fellow, the Wilson Center, Smithsonian
Institution
James D. Theberge, international business consultant and
former ambassador to Nicaragua
Robert W. Tucker, professor of political science, The Johns
Hopkins University
Charts E. Walker
Richard L. Walker, director of the Institute of International
Studies, University of South Carolina
Richard J. Whalen, author, and business consultant and
chairman of Wires Ltd.
Aaron Wildavsky, professor of political science, University
of California (Berkeley)
- -
Curtin win!
Enterprise
DEFENSE
Frank R. Barnett, president, National Strategy Information
Center
David A. Burchinal, retired Air Force general and former
deputy commander in chief, U.S. Forces in Europe
focus on the issues and help deal with the
press.
A WHITE HOUSE AGENDA
Not unnaturally. Reagan, who has had
his eye on the 'White House for more than
four years, has made plans should he
arrive there.
Notwithstanding Reagan's assaults on
federal social 'welfare programs and big
government in general, Allen predicted,
He will not go to Washington with
animosity toward the federal bu-
rca ucracy."
Ife would, however, seek conceptual
changes in the governmental structure,
e'PKjally in the national defense, foreign
Joseph Churba,
Security
president, Institute for International
Jacquelyn K. Davis. consultant and strategic analyst
John Davis, retired Army lieutenant general and former
assistant director of the National Security Agency
Russell E. Dougherty, retired Air Force general and former
commander in chief, Strategic Air Command
Leon Goure, associate director, Advanced International
Studies Institute, University of Miami
Daniel 0. Graham, co-chairman of the Coalition for Peace
Through Strength and former director of the Defense
Intelligence Agency
Walter F. Hahn. defense analyst
Martin R. Hoffman, attorney and former Army Secretary
Peter C. Hughes, defense analyst
William R. Kintner, professor of political science, University
of Pennsylvania, and former ambassador to Thailand
Charles M. Kupperman, defense analyst
John F. Lehman Jr., president of the Abington Corp. and
former deputy director of the Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency
1. William Middendorf II. president of Financial General
Bankshares Corp. and former Navy Secretary
Thomas H. Moorer, retired admiral and former chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Patrick J. Parker, chairman, National Security Affairs
Department, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
Jeffrey Record, consultant and strategic analyst
Edward L. Rowny, retired Army lieutenant general and
former Joint Chiefs of Staff representative to SALT
negotiations
William R. Schneider, consultant to The Hudson Insti-
. tute
Harriet Fast Scott, consultant and writer on Soviet militar
y
affairs
William F. Scott, consultant and writer on Soviet military
affairs
William R. Van Cleave, director of the Institute for
International Studies, University of Southern Califor-
nia -_: c . _
John W. Vogt Jr., retired Air Force general and former
commander in chief, U. S. Air Forces in Europe
Lewis Walt, retired general and former commandant of the
Marine Corps
Seymour Weiss, vice president of the Abington Corp. and
former ambassador to the Bahamas
policy and intelligence sectors.
"My own view is that he would replace
the foreign policy machinery down to the
assistant secretary level," Allen said.
Singled out for a complete overhaul,
according to Allen's scenario, would be
the National Security Council's staff
operations and its characteristically
competitive relations with the State
Department.
"Do we need a huge NSC staff in the
White House?" Allen asked. "Is it a policy
maker or a policy facilitator? Maybe its
150 or so people ought to be put back into
the federal bureaucracy, giving the State
Department a new lease on life."
He questioned whether a President
"should be inundated with the latest cable
traffic and overburdened in sheer volume
of minute-to-minute details. Should he
not be allowed to concentrate on longer
range, critical problems worthy of
presidential attention?
"There is latent bureaucratic strength
in the department. Why should there be
a competing organization within the
White House. one that constitutes a
massive backchannel?"
Reagan. in line with similar projec-
tions, would also reestablish "a strong
economic component" within the foreign
policy-national security complex
somewhat like the defunct Council on
International Economic Policy. Es-
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an executive agency by State Department that would review
li
President Nixon in 1971 to coordinate the matters of mutual concern to the three
work of U.S. agencies dealing with North American countries and help
foreign economic affairs, the council was establish and implement North-South
disbanded early in the Carter Ad- accords.
ministration.
A second executive agency discon-
tinued by Carter, the Foreign Intelligence
Advisory Board, would also likely be
revived by Reagan. The panel, created by
President Eisenhower in 1956, was
intended to review the various activities
.of the Central Intelligence Agency and
other units within the American in-
telligence community. In abolishing the
board in May 1977, Carter maintained
that its work was rendered redundant by
monitoring services performed by the
NSC and the Senate Intelligence Com-
mittee.
A forceful advocate of a strengthened
U.S. military posture, Reagan is reported
to favor an enhanced role for the Joint
Chiefs of Staff in defense strategy
planning, as well as greater involvement
in policy development by the Defense
PAST PERFORMANCE
One of the unresolved political
questions is whether the campaign and a
candidate's past performance as a public
figure offer satisfactory clues to his
probable behavior as President.
"They approach it but you don't get a
complete picture," said political analyst
Richard M. Scammon. "They give an
indication of how a candidate handles
himself under fire, how organized he is
and how he feels about certain issues. But
the presidency is so unique, so un-
duplicated that you can't get a perfect
picture. A candidate's record and
previous service can sometimes be deceiv-
ing. Look at Harry Truman! But it all
helps."
Be that as it may, Reagan aides and
associates stress that he hasn't changed
Richard V. Allen coordinates foreign affairs and defense
Department's international security af-
fairs office, which is involved in for-
mulating and coordinating defense
policies in the international political,
military and economic spheres, including
arms control and disarmament. -
In the foreign policy area, Reagan is
examining the feasibility of creating a
sort of "council of elders," retired
ambassadors and veteran foreign service
officers whose professional background
and breadth of information could be
mobilized in times of national emergency.
He would also consider efforts to
improve U.S. relations with its neighbors,
Canada and Mexico, by establishing an
office of continental affairs within the
much over the past several years and that
many of the characteristics he exhibited
as governor of California would probably
carry over into the White House, should
he make it there.
Sen. Richard S. Schweiker, R-Pa.,
selected by Reagan as his prospective
running mate in the 1976 campaign, said
the candidate is "comfortable in
delegating responsibility.... He works
easily with his staff and listens to the pros
and cons of subordinates. He doesn't
crowd them or unduly assume authority."
Nofziger, who worked closely with
Reagan for many years, similarly ob-
served: "He understands the use of the
Cabinet and personal staff. He's willing
to
sten and delegate authority. While
governor, he met with the cabinet
members about once a week and they
would talk and kick things around. His
approach to the cabinet was, 'You guys
are my men in the departments; you're
not the department's advocate. You will
run the department as if it is mine, not
yours, and this is administration policy
and you will carry it out.'"
Despite the fact that both Reagan and
Carter aspired to the presidency without
having had Washington experience and
that each assumes a rather aloof attitude
toward the nitty-gritty of politics, Reagan
aides insist that if he reaches the White
House, he will not make the same
mistakes that Carter has in the past three
years.
"One of the things Paul Laxalt and I
feel strongly about is that the errors of the
Carter Administration aren't repeated,"
said Schweiker, who serves as Reagan's
Northeast campaign coordinator. "Every
time Gov. Reagan comes to Washington,
we hold a meeting with his initial
supporters on the Hill and with prospec-
tive supporters for the specific objective
of establishing liaison with Congress."
Deaver recalled that one of the first
moves by the Reagan forces in Sacramen-
to "was to get together with a bunch of
old political hands who knew how to deal
with the Legislature; I assume it would be
the first thing we would do in
Washington. We certainly would not
ignore the legislators like Carter."
Anderson and Nofziger are convinced
that a lack of direct Washington ex-
perience would not hurt Reagan political-
ly.
-"So much depends on having a good
staff and Cabinet," Nofziger said. "If they
know what they're doing they'll sit down
with the congressional leadership. The
California Legislature comes closest to
being similar to the U.S. Congress; it
works full time, has a big staff and a lot of
research assistance. And Reagan's people
got along with the Legislature while he
was governor."
In response to questions about
Reagan's lack of foreign policy ex-
perience, Nofziger noted, "Jerry Ford
didn't have foreign experience when he
became President."
Besides, argues Anderson, the debate
over Washington experience is a specious
one. If experience were so important, he
said. "the ideal President would come
into office after having been Vice Presi-
dent, Secretary of State. a U.S. Senator, a
Member of Congress and be 35 years old.
He just doesn't exist.
"Reagan has spent a lot of time in and
around Washington and he knows many
people there. That's indicated by the
people he has around him." ^
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