INSIDE REPORT: PRESIDENTIAL TALENT SCOUT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000100160067-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 23, 2000
• Sequence Number: 67
• Publication Date: April 16, 1965
• Content Type: NSPR

NEW YORK
Approved For Re1easLW0?P75-00001 R0001 00160067-7
APR 16 1965
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INSIDE REPORT:, presidential Talent Scout
By Rowland Evans and Robert Nuvak
o
The surpr se se ec
Rahorn as head of the Central Intelligence Agenc vacancy on the Federal Communications Commission. ,
('CIA) was another sign of the quiet but pervasive powe Nobody dreamed of James Wadsworth, an... Eastern'
wielded in Washington today by a 48-year-old caree ' establishment Republican who was President Eisen-1
Civil servant named John Macy. bower's disarmament negotiator. . {
Mach was buried in bureaucratic obscurity as chair , But Macy did. Ile reached Into his file and out
man of the Civil Service Commission until Nov. 2 popped the Wadsworth credentials. Armed with Macy's
,Although he's kept that job, Macy's far more powerful, memo on Wadsworth, the President telephoned Wads-'
role is working as President Johnson's talent scout. worth and within 24 hours the FCC had a highly re=
Macy. now has a file cabinet full of such dossiers,
For example, Republican politicians were pushing
n of retired Adm. _VVITTIa-M-M a half dozen different possibilities for a Republican-
i 1 ti
By recommending men for high office and having- spected lawyer as a new member.
automatic arci's i to press those recommendations on th Let it be added that politics is still a vital ingredient
President, r1~t 't; Influence has soared-well above th in Presidential appointments. 'Macy clears his prospects'
exercised bpi ~Jt. iIph Dungan, talent scout for Presider t with Presidential lieutenants Clifton Carter at the Demo-,
Kennedy (mi(t now Ambassador to Chile). cratic National Committee and Lawrence-F. O'Brien at'`
Moreovc r, Macy has alleviated the dangerous tale t the White House, among others.
shortage in u'ashington we reported in January. Whit
makes this 1+a rt irularly impressive is the high caliber f
the appointn::tn':s.
Adm. Raborn's selection for the ultra-sensitive post
of CIA dirt,-tor reflects the JohnsomMacy teamwn
as it. has evob,'ed the past four months. Raborn was not
the choice 01 any group. He was John Macy's choice.
Any number of famous names had been bandi d
about Washington -likely chief at CIA replacing 4 o n
,McCone. Inside the agency itself there was strong sen
ment for CIA's Richard Helms, a talented intelligen e
But Mr. Johnson has" changed his emphasis during
16'months as President. A year ago Presidential Intl-~
mates heard private complaints about the lack of Texans .
and Southerners in office. But, now most appointments
come from outside Mr. Johnson's political base (spe-;
cifically from California, the District of Columbia, Con.
neeticut, Maryland and New York).
And in staff conferences, . the President puts in
creasing emphasis on morn; Phi . Beta Kappas ln- top;
jobs. Thus,, John Macy's power ,is understandable;
veteran, rejected for fear he might not have the weig
prestige to deal with Congress and the military.
.Rahorn Is expert In evaluation of weaponry--a maj -r
;:CIA function.
413. Raborn's handling of the brilliantly successf 1
Polaris project was a model of efficient weapons develo
ment, displaying his managerial skill.
Q4. Although Congress frowns on military me ';
running the 'CIA, the retired Raborn is exceptional)
popular; on Capitol Hill and has the prestige to stan
his ground with Congress, perhaps the most telling f
'? Macy's four points. Mr. Johnson wants no part, of
Congressional watchdog, committee on the CIA. Ther
fore, he needs a- CIA chief that Congress trusts.
. The President bought Macy's recommendation i
stantly. Raborn (who never was approached by Mac )
was summoned to the LBJ Ranch and offered the jo
At CIA, Helms becomes go. 2, with a clear track
become Raborn's hei .
But the really jiscinating side of this select
process . is. the fact that Macy originally prepared h a;
dossier on Raborn , without any specIfic job in min y
It was at this point that Macy dispatched a wcre , ,
typically voluminous memorandum to the President. It 'r
surprise recommendation: Raborn. Macy backed up h
choice with these four points:
(11. Raborn is trusted by the military and the CIA. 412. As the father of the Navy's Polaris missal ,
:-ei . RDP75-00001 R000100160067-7