Myer Feldman

The Washington Post

Myer Feldman, an attorney and adviser to two presidents, a businessman and a founding board member of the Special Olympics, died March 1 of heart disease at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md. He was a resident of Potomac, Md., and Miami. He was 92.

Feldman, known as ''Mike,'' went to work in 1957 as a legislative assistant to John Kennedy, then a young senator from Massachusetts, and became a key adviser as Kennedy prepared to run for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination. He headed the research team that maintained ''Nixopedia,'' a compendium of Vice President Richard Nixon's every utterance, vote and potential weakness and helped prepare the candidate for crucial debates with his Republican opponent.

After Kennedy's election, Feldman became deputy special counsel to the president, where he wrote speeches, worked on trade matters and legislative issues and served as White House liaison to several cabinet officials.

Kennedy's de facto emissary to the American Jewish community, Feldman also was involved with U.S. policy on Israel. Kennedy, who was concerned about nuclear proliferation, relied on Feldman to help him stay informed about Israel's burgeoning nuclear arms program, described by one diplomat as ''the delicate matter.''

Through his friendship with the Kennedy family, Feldman was involved with Special Olympics from its inception in 1960s. In collaboration with Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he helped set up the President's Council on Mental Retardation and provided guidance as Special Olympics grew from a few dozen programs to more than 170 worldwide, with more than 2 million athletes. In addition to his service on the board, he was chairman of the executive committee.

''Special Olympics would not be what it is today without Myer Feldman - born to poverty, dedicated to social and political justice, compassionate advocate for those who are vulnerable,'' said Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics.