In all the excellent publicity about Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday, too little attention has been placed on the people he brought into government, both in Sacramento and in Washington. For example, John Roberts, now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was a young lawyer in the White House in the 80s. I'll stop at that: there is no point in getting started on a list of notable Reagan alumni because it would take up many pages.
Regardless, the top of the list surely would be occupied by Ed Meese, Reagan's Chief of Staff as Governor, his Counselor in the White House and his highly influential Attorney General. No aide was closer to the President. Ed was Reagan's policy point man, the one who implemented Ronald Reagan's aims best because they shared the same political philosophy. Today, if you want to know what Ronald Reagan would think about some current issue, you couldn't do better than ask Ed Meese.
I'll never forget the day that Attorney General William French Smith called the White House to tell Ed, a confidant, that he was planning to resign. That "heads up" gave Ed a chance to go immediately to the President, inform him of the resignation and ask him on the spot for the chance to replace Smith as AG. Reagan trusted Meese completely and knew of his effectiveness--and his long background in law enforcement. They had been through a lot together. Reagan agreed.
Minutes later Chief of Staff Jim Baker heard of the French resignation, only to find out simultaneously that the President already had promised the job to Meese. Had it been anyone other than Meese, Baker's claim still would have prevailed. Instead, after the longest confirmation battle in history (the left hated Meese), Ed Meese became AG. What a difference it made! Baker was a good man, but the head of the "pragmatist" wing of the White House staff. Meese was and is a movement conservative.
Jeff Lord does an excellent job at the American Spectator explaining what the Meese appointment meant to the jurisprudence of our times. Ed Meese reminds me (as a former aide, I'm prejudiced) of Sir Thomas More, although Meese--happily--won his most important battles and kept his head! If the U.S. Constitution is back in fashion, it's largely because of the statecraft earlier of Ronald Reagan--and Ed Meese.
Even now, Ed is the go-to man for conservatives in America, generously sharing his talent, advice and time. A distinguished fellow of Heritage Foundation and the Hoover Institution, Ed is doing well. He never opted to "cash in", like so many presidential aides, and instead continues to contribute to the world of ideas. As one of his many affiliations, I'm very grateful to note that he is an adjunct fellow of Discovery Institute.
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