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Nonetheless, he had more than his share of frustrations in the job. Associates speculated that he was troubled by Attorney General Edwin Meese's determination to stay in office and by the Administration's inept negotiations with Panamanian Strongman Antonio Noriega. A man who dislikes confrontation, Baker was often reluctant to argue a position with the President. But he maintains that he was not upset by a failure to sway Reagan. "The President makes his own decisions," says Baker. "I've never been disappointed if he goes some other course. All that has nothing to do with my decision to leave the Administration."
Some critics charge that Baker's temperament and work habits have been too much like the President's. "Baker could have spent a little more time doing his homework," grumbles a White House staffer. "He tends to be on the lazy side. He'd just as soon delegate rather than take on any of the heavy work himself."
No one will be able to accuse Baker's designated successor of a casual management style. A burly, backslapping Brooklyn native, Duberstein made a name for himself as the Administration's aggressive congressional liaison from 1981 to 1983. Before joining the White House staff last year, he worked for four years as a lobbyist at Timmons & Co., a Washington consulting firm. He usually arrives for work at 7:15 in the morning and tries to return to his suburban Maryland home by 8 in the evening to tuck in his two young children. When he isn't chain-smoking Marlboros, he is nibbling on pretzels from a huge jar on his desk. More than any other White House staffer since Michael Deaver, Duberstein has taken pains to develop a good relationship with Nancy Reagan. He and the First Lady talk at least twice a day. Duberstein's energy and loyalty led Baker to compare him to a bird dog. Hence Baker's nickname for him: "Duberdog."
Duberstein's backers say his promotion will be a wake-up call for a drowsy White House. "They're entering the final stretch now, and they need a little adrenaline," says Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. "He can energize the President in a way Baker couldn't." Others say that Duberstein's hard-driving style can be alienating. "Kenny's got a strong will and a strong set of convictions," says Tom Griscom, Reagan's communications director, who is leaving the White House with Baker. "He can be tough, determined. He knows when to put his foot down to make something happen."
The biggest challenge facing Duberstein may be finding something exciting to do. Reagan's agenda for his final months in office is hardly the stuff to send an overachiever's blood racing: preparing for the economic summit in Toronto this week, leading a virtually hopeless drive to win more funds for the Nicaraguan contras, working to revise the trade bill, pushing for stringent work requirements in the new welfare-reform legislation, campaigning for Bush. While Duberstein tries to generate enthusiasm in his staff, some observers expect a rash of White House resignations this summer. "I wouldn't want to be here till the bitter end," says a departing aide. "I wouldn't want to be around when Ronald Reagan packs his bags. It won't just be the end of an Administration. It will be the end of a political career."