A couple of weeks later, I accompanied President Reagan on his August vacation to California. The morning of the flight, I picked up a copy of the staff manifest and found that my regular seat assignment on Air Force One had been changed. There's a long-established pecking order on the presidential aircraft: the president's quarters are up front; then comes a line of compartments for the chief of staff, senior staff, other staff, guests, and the Secret Service. The press pool sits in the back of the bus.

I checked with one of Deaver's aides, who told me I'd been moved from the senior staff area to the guest section on Jim Baker's order. But it was only for one leg, I was assured.

I couldn't figure out why I'd been moved until Doug Brew of Time magazine sat down next to me. I asked why he wasn't in the back of the plane with the press pool. He told me Time was doing a cover story on the 1982 elections, and he had an interview with Baker en route to California. Half an hour after takeoff, Margaret Tutwiler came back and escorted Doug to Baker's cabin, where he spent much of the trip. The light bulb went off in my head: Goddamn, I'm being set up. If there's anything in Brew's piece that isn't flattering or is too revealing, Baker has the perfect alibi: What do you expect? The guy sat next to Rollins on Air Force One.

When we landed in California, I was steaming. As we deplaned, I couldn't resist needling Baker on the square. "Baker, you bastard, I hope you made me sound brilliant." I smiled.

"Rollins, you never sounded so brilliant," Jimmy said, grinning.

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