Ex-Staffers Reunite to Recall Reagan’s Legacy

A gathering Thursday of former Reagan administration staff members had all the markings of a class reunion. The big men on campus are now a little softer and grayer, and more than a few alumni nostalgically sported the school colors--mostly elephant-patterned neckties in red, white and blue.

But the old jokes still have the same punch lines (though there were some real doozies about President Clinton).

Kicking off a two-day conference to celebrate Ronald Reagan’s 88th birthday, more than 350 foot soldiers of the Reagan Revolution reminisced about the man and discussed his legacy.

“It was a great time, and we like to come back and visit with each other,” said Howard Baker, the former Tennessee senator who was a Reagan chief of staff.

The Ronald Reagan Alumni Assn. boasts 4,300 members--pollsters and paralegals, speech writers and secretaries--who convene several times a year to honor their former boss.

But with 1999 marking the 10th anniversary of Reagan’s departure from the White House, the group moved its annual birthday party from Washington to the presidential library near Simi Valley and added a conference, “Eight Years That Changed the World: The Reagan Legacy in the New Century.”

Reagan, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, did not attend the conference nor the birthday gala Thursday night, but former First Lady Nancy Reagan and his daughter Maureen were on hand, posing for pictures and signing autographs.

“He’d be amazed,” Maureen Reagan said, describing how her father would react to the auditorium full of his former appointees and staffers. “He would enjoy seeing everybody and enjoy hearing them tell the stories.”

‘What You Saw Is What You Got’

In analyzing Reagan’s eight years in the White House, panelists who worked for him focused on his efforts to fight inflation, cut taxes and crush communism. The Iran-Contra scandal and the era’s ever-growing national debt and income disparity did not get much attention during this love fest.

From cabinet secretaries to run-of-the-mill aides, everyone seemed to have their own Gipper anecdotes, some about the man and some he often told himself. They said it was Reagan’s down-home stories--one panelist called them parables--that made him known as the Great Communicator.

Former Atty. Gen. Ed Meese said the former actor and California governor was a straight-shooter who even political opponents found hard to dislike.

“The Ronald Reagan that you saw before 10,000 people was the same Ronald Reagan sitting in the Oval Office with one or two of us,” Meese said. “What you saw is what you got.”

When they weren’t listening to panel discussions, attendees milled about the library’s museum. Looking over a mock-up of the Oval Office, William Webster, who was FBI director and later head of the CIA, didn’t recognize the carpet but pointed out the chair by Reagan’s desk where he would sit during morning intelligence briefings.

Reagan “was a wonderful person to work for because he trusted you to do your business,” Webster said.

Charles Schott, who worked in the Department of Commerce and for the Federal Communications Commission, said Reagan’s political philosophy is what continues to draw staffers to reunions.

“It’s the same reason we were all there to begin with,” said Schott, who now runs a communications consulting firm in Greenwich, Conn. “Everybody is very proud to have been associated with it. May it come again.”

During a coffee and juice break, Schott huddled with Kimberley Borcherdt-Bolt, who now works in London for Britain’s Conservative Party, and Meg Shields Duke, who was wearing her old White House ID badge and a Reagan-Bush campaign button.

“We love Ronald Reagan,” said Duke, who is now campaigning for presidential hopeful Steve Forbes in Denver.

‘Important to Understand History to Move Forward’

The conference, which concludes today, was also a chance to honor Nancy Reagan, who received several standing ovations.

“In my judgment,” former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney told the crowd, “Ronald Reagan became president of the United States of America because Nancy Reagan was his wife, partner, friend and advisor.”

For those Reaganites who continue to work in government, at think tanks and in the private sector, “Eight Years That Changed the World” was more than a reunion; it was a way to rejuvenate the Reagan message and work toward winning another one for the Gipper.

“As Reagan fades into the sunset, by tragic necessity, his vision now becomes ours,” said Reagan biographer Dinesh D’Souza.

“It’s important for us to understand history to move forward,” said Assemblyman Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks), 28, who carries a photo of himself with the “greatest president of our generation” in his wallet.

As Reagan’s name is added to freeways, airports and federal buildings, scholars continue to guess at his legacy. His biggest fans--his staff--already rank him among America’s greatest presidents, and they hope historians one day will arrive at that conclusion.

“Hey,” former advisor Martin Anderson said, “give it 50 years and then we’ll see.”