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— Franklyn ("Lyn") Nofziger, 51, a pudgy ex-newspaperman who was press secretary during Reagan's first campaign and his first two years as Governor. After leaving the staff in 1968, he worked successively in public relations, as a White House aide and deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee. He rejoined Reagan last summer as a deputy to Sears, and directs the campaign's West Coast operations from Los Angeles.
By now Reagan has refined his generally predictable views on issues, sometimes reducing them to oversimplified formulas that cause Republican moderates to doubt his grasp of national and world affairs. A sampling of his views:
DETENTE. Using rhetoric with a 1950s, Red-baiting ring, he regards Communism as "a form of insanity [that] is contrary to human nature." He is deeply suspicious of dealing with the Soviet Union. Last week he told TIME Correspondent John Austin: "Detente has been a one-way street that the Soviets have used to continue moving toward the Marxist goal of a socialist, one-world state." He contends that the Russians are trying to achieve nuclear superiority over the U.S. in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks with Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He adds, "The Soviet Union would have greater respect for us if they knew that we weren't fooled. We must insist that we aren't going to be second to anyone."
INFLATION. Reagan stresses that inflation was caused by excessive Government spending and can be cured only by balancing the federal budget. Says he: "The main cause of this mess is not business or labor but Government-engineered expansion and pre-emption of the nation's money." Reagan would apply the same "cut, squeeze and trim" policy to the federal budget that he boasts of having used in California. He views Ford's call for a $28 billion reduction in next year's budget as not going far enough. Says he: "It has a little bit of the sound of the fellow who advertises a big sale, 20% off, but he raises the prices 40% before he cuts them back." To stimulate the economy, Reagan believes, the Government should eliminate "excessive regulation and injurious taxing policies."
BIG GOVERNMENT. Like Ford, Reagan believes the federal establishment should be reduced. His plan: abolish the federal role in welfare, education, housing, Medicaid and some other services. The savings, he contends, would total $90 billion, permitting a 23% cut in federal personal income taxes and an initial $5 billion payment on the national debt. State and local governments would have to take over many of the programs. But he argues that the savings to taxpayers would still be big because the programs would be run more efficiently —quite a few, indeed, would be dropped —and many jobs would be eliminated.
ENERGY. Both Reagan and Ford would eliminate price controls on domestic gas and oil to encourage industry to discover and develop new wells. Says Reagan: "The problem is not a lack of energy. It is Government regulations which deter, rather than promote, the extraction of it."