The Nation : Reagan Called ‘Put Upon’ by Iran Report

President Reagan “really, really feels personally put upon” by the sharp criticism in the final report of the congressional Iran-Contra committees, but the scandal “did not destroy him by any means,” White House Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker Jr. said. In answer to a question on Reagan’s response to the charges, Baker said: “Well, his private reaction is private. I can tell you that he really, really did not like it and really, really feels personally put upon by many of the implications and many of the assertions in the report.” Reagan has refused to comment on the report, which charged, among other things, that he allowed foreign policy-making to be overtaken by a “cabal of zealots,” and Baker’s comments in interviews with NBC and Cable News Network were the first characterizations of the President’s response.