Nation: A Team Player for the Pentagon

Whose adaptability makes him Reagan's man for all reasons

In a West Wing office of Richard Nixon's White House there was an audacious wall decoration: a large photograph of a broadly smiling Ronald Reagan, who had challenged Nixon for the 1968 G.O.P. nomination. Moreover, the occupant of the office, Nixon's director of the Office of Management and Budget, often proudly pointed to both Reagan's grin and the handwritten inscription under it: "The smile is for real, thanks to you. In friendship and warm regards, Ron." Said the OMB boss to one visitor: "Now, there...

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