It seems that Jim Webb, running for the Senate in Virginia against George Allen, is planning to use video footage of Ronald Reagan praising him during a speech. Nancy Reagan is absolutely furious and has demanded that the footage not be used.
Nancy Reagan has ordered Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb, a former Reagan White House military aide, NOT to use video of her husband praising Webb in an upcoming campaign ad.A three-paragraph letter from the former first lady's office says the use of footage of President Reagan is "neither authorized nor appropriate."
An ad Webb intends to begin televising Monday features Reagan praising Webb, then an assistant secretary of defense, during the 1985 U.S. Naval Academy commencement ceremony.
Ed Meese says the ad is possibly illegal. I'm not up on the use of video under copyright law, so it would be interesting to see who exactly controls the likeness of a former president of the US. But that would only be of marginal interest to the real issue here. Dishonesty. Webb served only ten months in the Reagan administration then openly criticized both Reagan and Reagan's policies.
It is very dishonest for Webb to use that footage and extremely disrespectful of the wishes of Reagan's family.
UPDATE: The WaPo indicates the Reagan library asks campagns not to do this sort of things rather often.
A better Meese quote has him talking about fraud. The problem seems to be how the footage was used, and that President Reagan isn’t around to condemn it himself. It has more to do with deceptive advertising than the public domain.