President Seeks Variety of Advice for New Path : ‘Wasting No Time’ in Revamping Policies

President Reagan, confronting the job of wresting his White House from the grip of the Iran- contra affair, is turning to a wide variety of advisers to help him revamp his Administration’s foreign policy operations, relations with Congress and management of his staff, a senior White House official said Saturday.

With new Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker Jr. reporting for work Monday and former Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan cleaning out his White House desk Saturday, the President declared in his weekly radio address: “We’re going to be wasting no time preparing for another two years of aggressive work.”

But Reagan, trying to use the personnel realignment to give him a fresh start, faces serious challenges in Congress, a recent tumble in his personal popularity and continuing investigations related to the Iran scandal.

Long-Range Planning

The President himself visited the Oval Office only briefly Saturday, but an unusually large contingent of officials spent at least part of the day in the White House at a long-range planning meeting.

One day after Regan’s hasty departure, the White House made public a warm letter the President dispatched to his former chief of staff’s home late Friday afternoon. In it, Reagan said that Regan had raised the prospect of resigning even before the Iran affair became public but had agreed to remain in the White House during the subsequent investigations.

“Dear Don,” Reagan wrote. “In accepting your resignation I want you to know how deeply grateful I am for all that you have done for this Administration and for our country. As secretary of the Treasury, you planted the seeds for the most far-reaching tax reform in our history. As chief of staff, you worked tirelessly and effectively for the policies and programs we proposed to the Congress.”

Reagan added:

“I know that you stayed on beyond the time you had set for your return to private life and did so because you felt you could be of help in a time of trouble. You were of help, and I thank you. Whether on the deck of your beloved boat or on the fairway, in the words of our forefathers, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the wind be always at your back, and may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

It was signed: “Sincerely, Ron.”

A senior White House official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified, said the chief of staff’s resignation “was supposed to be announced at a time of Regan’s choosing,” most likely this week. But, he said, Regan rushed ahead with his departure when he heard rumors that Baker had already been chosen for the job.

In fact, the new chief of staff visited the President and formally accepted the post at about 1:30 p.m. Friday, several hours after the President had told four senior Republican members of Congress that he had offered Baker the job.

Regan Dashed Off Letter

As the reports flew through Washington, Regan dashed off his resignation letter and had it sent to the President in the White House family quarters at 3:35 p.m., the White House official said. Five minutes later, the President spoke by telephone with Regan, and within minutes the former chief of staff was on his way home.

While Regan was described by one source as angry, another said: “I don’t think he lost his temper.”

Defending the handling of the transfer, a White House official said: “There was a leak, and it was recognized we couldn’t let this story go over the weekend with rampant speculation.”

On Saturday, Regan drove himself to the White House, having told the White House motor pool that he would not require the car and driver customarily afforded to senior officials. White House officials said three White House telephones would be removed this week from Regan’s home at Mount Vernon, Va., on the banks of the Potomac River.

Regan Given an Office

The former chief of staff was given an office in the Old Executive Office Building, next to the White House, to use during his transition to private life. He spent time Saturday both there and in his large office in the southwest corner of the White House West Wing “cleaning the place out,” an official said.

He did not take part in Saturday’s 90-minute weekly White House planning meeting. That meeting, normally attended by no more than half a dozen aides, drew 15 officials Saturday, including two representatives dispatched by Baker, who was spending the weekend in Florida.

Among other topics, the meeting dealt with the speech the President will deliver to the nation, probably Wednesday, in response to the Tower Commission report, which was highly critical of Reagan’s management of the White House.

The speech is “still in the embryonic stage,” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.

Closest Advisers Gather

Some of the President closest advisers, who have seen him through previous political crises, gathered in Washington over the weekend. They included former National Security Adviser William P. Clark, political consultant Stuart K. Spencer and U.S. Ambassador to Britain Charles H. Price. Other Reagan confidants in town include former Deputy Chief of Staff Michael K. Deaver and former Sen. Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.), who had suggested Baker’s appointment.

One senior White House official said Reagan “wants to reach out to a number of people, including the Cabinet, Congress and private friends,” to ask them: “What changes should I make?”

“The President wants to talk about the whole system,” he said, including how foreign policy should be conducted, relations with Congress and such issues as notifying Congress of covert foreign policy activities.

Democrats to Cooperate

North Carolina Sen. Terry Sanford, delivering the Democrats’ weekly radio response to Reagan, promised cooperation with the President and said: “The Administration has been stalled, and we need to help it get moving again. The Congress stands ready to help.”

Reagan is scheduled to discuss the Tower Commission report with the Cabinet on Monday and to “emphasize that he wants an active final two years,” one White House official said. This official added: “One of the things Howard Baker will bring to the White House is a change in management style that makes sure the President is informed of all the activities and is involved to the degree he wants to be involved.”

Regan had been criticized for not keeping Reagan sufficiently informed about the activities of his staff and the policy options open to him.

The President’s nationally televised speech this week apparently will kick off his public effort to rebound from the Iran-contra affair. He has yet to make any lengthy comments on the Tower Commission report and has had little to say about the issue in public since his last news conference, on Nov. 19.

Reagan Plans to Travel

Within weeks, Reagan is expected to begin traveling to promote new elements in his legislative program, including international trade issues and a proposal for insurance against the costs of catastrophic illness. These steps, observers say, would be intended to demonstrate a revitalized presidency that is able to concentrate on matters other than Iran.

According to a Los Angeles Times poll made public Wednesday, before the Tower Commission report was issued, 55% of the population approved Reagan’s handling of his job. But an ABC News poll released Friday--after the report’s release--found that his approval rating had slipped to 44%. And a poll conducted Friday for Newsweek magazine determined that only 40% of those surveyed approved of Reagan’s job performance, while 53% disapproved.