Nancy Reagan
This former actress was instrumental in her husband Ronald Reagan’s ascension to the White House and his campaign preparation and personnel administration. She wanted the president to recapture a more glamorous persona after the Fords’ more “down-home” years.
She recruited Letitia Baldrige, Jacqueline Kennedy’s social secretary, to help recover that degree of flair. It was widely assumed that she had stretched the function of the First Lady into an “associate presidency.”
After her husband got shot in an assassination attempt, the media criticized her for wearing fashionable gowns, ordering an expensive refurbishment of the White House, and visiting an astrologist. She had a reputation for being a little out of touch.
While she utilized her position to raise awareness about drug usage, the public chastised the Reagan administration for cutting federal support for such programs. Nancy believed that raising awareness was more important than raising funds.
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