For the Reagans, Has It All Been Written in the Stars?

--President and Mrs. Reagan look to the stars in making their schedules and have sometimes ordered staff to change plans for major events because the Reagans said an astrologer had indicated another time would be better, NBC News reported. Newsweek magazine also reported this week that former White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan will disclose in his forthcoming book that both the Reagans consult astrologers for help in making decisions. White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater denied that the President consults an astrologer before making any big decisions, but he indicated many in the White House, including the Reagans, read their horoscopes daily. Regan’s book, which is due out later this month from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, gives the President gentle treatment, Newsweek said. But the First Lady--who openly urged Regan’s ouster--takes a “tough hit,” the magazine said.

--Even though most Americans are looking forward to Mother’s Day, the National Father’s Day Council thought the time was right to announce the 1988 Fathers of the Year. Steven McDonald of Malvern, N.Y., a paralyzed police officer whose wife, Patti Ann, was named an outstanding mother last month, is on the list of best dads. Also named are FBI Director William S. Sessions, former tennis champion Arthur Ashe, radio and television interviewer Larry King, Fox Television sports commentator Bill Mazer, NBC White House correspondent Chris Wallace, singer-actor Kris Kristofferson and New York Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph.

--President John F. Kennedy would have supported his defense secretary, Robert S. McNamara, to succeed him in order to keep Lyndon B. Johnson out of the White House, Robert F. Kennedy told interviewers. The disclosure is contained in “Robert Kennedy: In His Own Words,” a book based on heretofore unpublished interviews Kennedy gave between 1964 and 1967. Excerpts appear in the current Newsweek. The book is to be released in June, marking the 20th anniversary of Robert Kennedy’s assassination. Speaking of Johnson, Robert Kennedy said: “In every conversation I have with him he lies. . . . He lies even when he doesn’t have to.”