It had been a busy week for President Ronald Reagan, and I was expecting a low-key evening watching a movie at Camp David with him and Nancy Reagan. What I wasn't expecting was for that movie to yield a little insight into Reagan's nostalgia, and the force that pulled him out of it and onward. Nor did I expect a mention of the president's ex-wife, which made for one of the most awkward nights we ever shared together.
The year was 1985, and, as a presidential press aide, I had become the regular companion for the president and first lady on their weekends away. The idea of having someone from the Press Office accompany the president to Camp David was White House Press Secretary Jim Brady's. He thought it was essential that there be a point of contact with the chief executive at all times—someone who could act as Brady's eyes and ears “just in case.”
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