Cashing in on Top Connections

After former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver quit last May to become a "public affairs consultant," he drove about town for a while in a dark blue Dodge, very much like the limousines that transport top Executive Branch officials. The car served to get Deaver where he was going in more ways than one: in status-conscious Washington, it was a not-so-subtle reminder of / his White House connections. Now Deaver has given up the status symbol of public power for one of private wealth. These days he rides in a chauffeur- driven Jaguar XJ6 equipped with a car phone that keeps him plugged in to some of the highest offices in the land.

The onetime California p.r. man who followed Ronald Reagan to Washington five years ago has cashed in. As a White House official, he had to moonlight by writing a diet book, while his wife Carolyn, 46, went to work for a p.r. outfit, throwing parties on behalf of private clients. But now a dozen corporations and foreign countries, including CBS, TWA, South Korea, Singapore and Canada, pay him annual retainers that are, he says, "in the six figures." This year he should take home around $400,000 (at the White House, his top salary was $70,200).

What makes Deaver so valuable? "There's no question I've got as good access as anybody in town," says Deaver, as he reclines on a couch in his tastefully appointed office overlooking the Lincoln Memorial. Alone among departing White House aides, Deaver was permitted to keep his White House pass. He also still chats regularly on the phone with Nancy Reagan. But Deaver insists that he never discusses his clients' problems with the First Lady or the President. Actually, Deaver says, he does not do much lobbying. Nor does he do any public relations work, or legislative drafting, or direct mail, or polling, or any of the sorts of services performed by most high-powered influence shops. So what exactly does he do?

"Strategic planning," he says somewhat airily. His clients tell him "where they want to be vis-a-vis Washington in three to five years, and I help them develop a plan to get there." In fact, although Deaver is a relative newcomer to Washington, it is hard to think of a lobbyist who has a better sense of how the Reagan Administration works or who has more clout among the Reaganauts. And in a city where perception is often reality, Deaver is known as a master imagemaker who kept Reagan's profile high and bright. It is not hard to see why the government of South Korea, under fire for unfair trade practices abroad and repression of political dissidents at home, would want to hire him, even at Deaver's asking price of $1.2 million for a three- year contract. "There's a new breed in Washington," says Canadian Ambassador Allan Gotlieb. "Consultants about consultants." Canada hired Deaver--at $105,000 a year--for "his unique knowledge of how this Government ( works from the inside," says Gotlieb.