California Governor's Office
Meese joined Ronald Reagan's staff in 1967. He served as legal affairs secretary from 1967–1968 and as executive assistant and chief of staff to Governor Reagan from 1969 through 1974. Despite his later well-known fondness for Reagan, Meese was initially reluctant to accept the Reagan appointment because Meese saw himself as a non-partisan figure. "I was not particularly interested," Meese said. Nonetheless, Meese was known for his "unique ability" to explain complex ideas to Reagan in a way that often mirrored Reagan's own speaking style and mannerisms. Because of this, Reagan biographer Lou Cannon referred to Meese as "Reagan's geographer."
After being named Reagan's chief of staff, Meese convinced his predecessor's deputy, Mike Deaver, to stay on in the position, beginning a partnership that would last more than two decades. For his role in Reagan's office, Meese earned reluctant praise from across the aisle. Former Democratic speaker of the Assembly Bob Moretti said, "Were I in the governor's seat, I would want someone like on my side."
Read more about this topic: Edwin Meese
Famous quotes containing the words california, governor and/or office:
“The California fever is not likely to take us off.... There is neither romance nor glory in digging for gold after the manner of the pictures in the geography of diamond washing in Brazil.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Three years ago, also, when the Sims tragedy was acted, I said to myself, There is such an officer, if not such a man, as the Governor of Massachusetts,—what has he been about the last fortnight? Has he had as much as he could do to keep on the fence during this moral earthquake?... He could at least have resigned himself into fame.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin—and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)