Two for the Cabinet

Two for the Cabinet focuses on the lives of two neighbors who grew up in the small rural township of Worcester, in Montgomery County Pennsylvania. Senator Richard Schweiker was the second son of a relatively prosperous business man in the eastern regions of the Pennsylvania Dutch area of Pennsylvania. Richard's next door neighbor in his teenage years was Andrew (Drew) Lewis, the son of another business man and golfing partner of his father.

The business and political relationship of Richard Schweiker and Drew Lewis for over 20 years had significant impact on our national history. Senator Schweiker was selected by Reagan as his Vice Presidential running mate in Reagan's 1976 attempt to wrestle the Republican nomination away from President Ford. Drew Lewis was Ford's man in Pennsylvania, and Schweiker's former campaign manager for 3 Congressional and one Senatorial campaign.

The interactions of these three individuals has never been completely told before. Through personal interviews and access to the private papers of both the story can now be accurately set down. The Pennsylvania Dutch culture that surrounded them as they grew up had significant impact, as did their Christian background.

In discovering their heritage and their political history we can see why they made the decisions that had such impact at the national level. We can understand why President Reagan valued both of them enough to put them in his first cabinet. That cabinet decision tells us a significant amount about the character of President Reagan and the nature of the individuals with which he surrounded himself when he first went to Washington.