The Press Assistant also acted as an administrative assistant by doing research for speeches, news releases, press briefings, and investigating current topics of interest. Gary Hymel held this position (1978-1981), followed by Christopher Matthews (1982-1986). The bulk of the material dates from Matthews' tenure as Press Assistant. The files cover a broad spectrum of issues from the budget and tax plans to Central America and the MX Missile. Included here are Democratic Party responses to President Reagan's radio speeches and State of the Union addresses. Newsletters and interviews, including oral history transcripts done for the Kennedy and Johnson Presidential Libraries, conclude the Press Assistant Files subseries.