Who's in Charge Here?

Reagan's campaign suffers from disorganized staff work

So far, victory has been especially sweet for Ronald Reagan because he has not had to share the credit with anyone. Ever since he fired Campaign Manager John Sears last February, Reagan has been his own boss, and who can argue with success? He breezed through most of the primaries, brushing aside his opponents without really seeming to be trying. But as a Republican strategist who backs Reagan says, "It was historical momentum rather than operational depth or skill that won it." When the going gets rough in the months ahead, Reagan will need solid work from a staff that has shown some alarming signs of disorganization.

One key example was the needless confusion over whether or not Reagan should retain Bill Brock as chairman of the Republican National Committee. First he wanted to keep him on; then some aides said Brock had to go; finally Reagan kept him after all. The campaign in the states is off to an ominously slow start because of a lack of direction at headquarters. Last week aides somehow failed to pass along an invitation to Reagan to address the N.A.A.C.P. convention in Miami. Reagan does not often appear before black groups and may not have wanted to go to Miami anyway. But he unnecessarily offended the organization by sending his regrets at the last minute and then taking off on a long-planned vacation in Mexico. When N.A.A.C.P. Chief Benjamin Hooks publicly complained about the slight, Reagan apologized and assured Hooks he had not written off the black vote. He quickly accepted an invitation to address the National Urban League when it meets in New York on Aug. 5.

Reagan's problem is not so much the quality of his top aides, who are mainly competent professionals. But some are new to their jobs and, more important, do not get clear directions from the nominee-to-be. When the Sears team was ousted, it was replaced by a triumvirate. Cam- paign Manager William Casey is an able administrator, but, despite his title, he is more a chairman of the board than a workaday boss. He has also not known Reagan very long.

Chief of Staff Ed Meese is an old Reagan loyalist with an easygoing, reassuring presence and skills as a coordinator.

Pollster and Strategist Richard Wirthlin smiles all the time and has reason to: his estimates are usually right on target.

To strengthen the staff, Reagan last week named William Timmons as his political director. Though Timmons has worked for Reagan's G.O.P. rivals in past presidential races, he was selected because of his close ties to the party's moderate wing and because he had served effec -tively as a White House liaison with Congress. Timmons has been running a successful lobbying operation in Washington that, along with work for other major cli ents, helped Chrysler get its loan guarantee. In command of the campaign's 20 regional directors and 50 state chairmen, Timmons will be responsible for allocating money to the states and coordinating grass-roots activities.

Two other longtime Reagan loyalists, both fired in a purge by Sears, are once again assuming key roles in the campaign. Lyn Nofziger, who returned in mid-June, is communications director. He is a shade too outspoken and irreverent for Nancy Reagan's taste, but his bluff candor appeals to the traveling correspondents. This month Mike Deaver returns to become the top aide on tour with Reagan, freeing Meese to devote more time to organizational problems. Deaver will keep Reagan briefed, a conspicuous gap in the campaign to date.

Reagan has thus assembled a team of experts, but will they mesh? The new table of organization has six deputy campaign directors under Casey, including Timmons, Nofziger and Meese, and all will have access to Reagan.

Says Casey: "I don't attempt to head off end runs, as Sears called them. They can help."

But one top G.O.P. analyst disagrees: "It's a damn near impossible situation. These kinds of operations are tough enough to hold together even with someone who is clearly in charge. Without that authority, it is almost guaranteed that there will be problems. There's a lot of potential for debilitating infighting."

Reagan may be an ardent proponent of more laissez-faire for the nation's economy, but he is going to have to become a strict regulator if he expects to have a smoothly functioning campaign as November draws nearer.

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