Target Practice

Let’s face it: Nancy Reagan is an easy target for critics, because she does not come across as the warmest and most likable woman to have occupied the White House. If you work for the President, you are well advised not to cross the First Lady.

It is unfair, however--with perhaps an undertone of sexism--to conclude that Nancy is manipulating the President like a puppet and whispering the next day’s policy in his ear just before he drops off at night.

Mrs. Reagan is a very determined, protective woman, who is ambitious for her husband to do well. She has been doing pretty much what she has been doing for Ronald Reagan for the past 35 years. As her long-time associate, Nancy Clark Reynolds, put it: “She has a one-track mind in the best sense of the word: my husband. My husband and what is good for him.” This was so when Reagan was making the difficult transition from the movies to television and then to government. It was so during his eight years as governor of California, and it has been ever since.

Mrs. Reagan always has insisted that the President’s staff not overschedule him. She knows better than anyone else that Reagan does not perform well when tired. She has asserted herself when she believed that Reagan was being ill served or embarrassed by members of his staff. In this sense her instincts have been good. To the victims her tactics may seem harsh, but they have succeeded when others’ have failed.

When Americans elect their Presidents, they can usually expect to get spouses (First Ladies, so far) as part of the package--for better or for worse. Regardless of how they behave or how popular they may be, they bring a unique quality to the White House. The First Ladies have generally known their Presidents, and their Presidents’ strengths and weaknesses, better than anyone else.