Regan Lashes Back at President Over Ouster : Declares Loyalty Is ‘Two-Way Street’

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former presidential Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan, accused by the White House of writing a book “to exploit the presidency for personal self-interest,” lashed out at his critics and President Reagan himself Monday, saying: “Loyalty is a two-way street.”

Regan’s book, “For the Record,” which was published Monday, depicts an oblivious President domineered by a heartless wife who used the advice of an astrologer to determine virtually all of her husband’s scheduling. Regan’s firing in February, 1987, followed a well-publicized tiff with Nancy Reagan, who was widely thought to have been responsible for his ouster.

Acknowledging that he knew the President would be furious over the revelations about his wife’s astrological consultations, Regan said: “That was not my concern. My concern was to get my story out truthfully and wholly, which I submit I have done. I have not attacked his wife. Certainly to paint an accurate picture is not to attack.

“Did anyone think of my wife’s feelings when I was being stabbed in the back by all this innuendo? No one thought of my feelings. Why am I supposed to be the one who agrees to play victim and doesn’t retaliate?”

Angry Interview

Regan said in a sometimes angry interview in his office here Monday that his firing prompted him to “make it clear to the public what was happening . . . and to show me in the exact role that I deemed I played.”

As for questions about embarrassing the President while he remains in office, Regan snapped: “They had dismissed me. Why, then, should I wait?”

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater characterized Regan’s book Monday as “a kiss-and-tell story in the mold of all such books which seek to exploit the presidency or the First Family.”

Stresses Loyalty

But when Regan was asked whether he thought his book was an act of disloyalty to his former boss, he fumed: “I’ll stack my loyalty to this country against any other person in this country.

“I’ve always been taught in the Marine Corps, in Merrill Lynch, in management and I thought in this Administration that loyalty is a two-way street. You have loyalty down if you’re going to have loyalty up.

“I submit that I didn’t set the time for my leaving this Administration, or the conditions under which I left this Administration. Accordingly, I then thought I was free to write about this Administration. I know of no rule that says you wait until the President is absolutely finished, and he writes, his wife writes and then you take your turn.”

Iran-Contra Lesson

Regan said that the lesson he learned from the Iran-Contra affair was not to cover up the truth. That, he insisted, explained why he revealed Nancy Reagan’s astrological consultations.

“Isn’t that the lesson that should have been taught to everyone in this Administration, to tell the truth and keep it out there for the people?” he asked. “Why keep it a secret? Doesn’t the public have the right to know this?”

Regan said that he never brought the astrology matter to the President’s attention because “I find it difficult to talk to a man about his wife’s eccentricities. He’s thinking of a much bigger picture than whether his wife is talking to astrologers.”

Sitting in front of a wall that contained photographs of himself with Reagan and pictures of Reagan’s 1981 and 1984 cabinets, Regan said that he decided to write the book as he angrily sped away from the White House for the last time in his chauffeur-driven government Mercury.

Voluminous Notes

He had already kept voluminous notes. “The girls can show you,” he said, referring to his secretaries.

Regan said that he decided “months ago” to donate his $1-million advance and all the other proceeds from the book to charities “primarily in the educational and medical fields.” He refused to name any of the charities, explaining: “That’s private and frankly I don’t want a solicitation from 25 charities asking for a slice.”

At times in the interview, Regan played down the importance of Mrs. Reagan’s astrological leanings, saying that it affected only the timing of events and not policy. The problem developed when Regan, frustrated by her dependence on astrology, decided to just say no to her.

“The thing didn’t prove onerous,” he said. “It didn’t hurt or harm anything in the Reagan Administration. It wasn’t until the final three months (of Regan’s tenure) that I became so worried about it that I resisted it. I stopped it. I said, ‘No.’ That’s when we really went head to head over it.”

Doubts Damage

Regan said he did not think the revelations would damage Reagan’s credibility. When asked whether his portrayal of Reagan as a henpecked husband whose schedule was determined by his wife’s astrologer would prove harmful, Regan angrily replied:

“Now wait a minute. That’s not the presidency. That’s the individual. I’m talking about the presidency, have I damaged the presidency, have I damaged the Administration, and I am saying, I don’t think so. But we’ll find out. Others are going to have to analyze, Is this important? Or is it just sensational?”

Regan said he had not communicated with Reagan since the day he left the White House.

“No, I don’t think it’s my point to call him,” Regan said. “He’s never called me, he has never communicated with me. It’s odd.”

Gave Up Big Salary

At one point, Regan fumed about giving up his “seven-figure” salary as chairman of Merrill Lynch to devote six years of his life to Reagan, “and then I got this reward. Disappointed? Yes.”

But at another point, when talking about the fact that Reagan had not spoken to him, he said he was not disappointed. “I’ve been around. I’m a big boy,” he said.

When asked what a First Lady’s proper role should be, Regan chuckled.

“I’m a man,” he said. “I don’t know. They come in all sizes.”

Astrologer knew it was going to be a hard week. View, Page 1.