The first lady made her own contribution to the diffusion of authority. No one of his appointees, not even his chief of staff, exercised so much power. The New York Times, discussing Nancy Reagan, even wrote of an Associate Presidency. She understood her husbands limitations and did all she could to make sure that he was well served. Their son Michael said, Dad looks at half a glass of water and says: Look at this! Its half full! Nancy is always trying to figure out: Who stole the other half from my husband? She sometimes influenced Reagans policies, notably when she pushed for arms control, and she was thought to have been responsible for the removal of two cabinet officials and of the presidents latter-day chief of staff. During his tenure, she dismissed accounts of her impact, but in her memoir, she acknowledged: For eight years I was sleeping with the president, and if that doesnt give you special access, I dont know what does.
Reagans staff found especially exasperating the need to clear the presidents schedule with a first lady who placed so much reliance upon a West Coast astrologer, Joan Quigley. That had been true since the beginning in Sacramento when Reagan was inaugurated as governor at midnight because, it was reported, that was the hour this woman set after perusing the zodiac. On a number of occasions, Deaver would spend days working out an intricate itinerary for the presidents travels down to the last detail only to be told that he had to scrap everything because the astrologer had determined that the stars were not properly aligned. Horoscopes fixed the day and hour of such major events as presidential debates and summit meetings with Soviet leaders. The presidents most important aide said, We were paralyzed by this craziness.