Too Much Mr. Nice Guy?
BARNES, FRED
Too Much Mr. Nice Guy? George Bush wants to "change the tone." So far he's the only one who does. BY FRED BARNES WHEN a home schoolers' organization offered to summon its members—hundreds of...
...Perhaps Bush Nice will grow contagious in Washington over time...
...A good place to start is the Ashcroft nomination...
...For instance, it was a onetime friend and neighbor of Linda Chavez who ratted on her for giving refuge to an illegal alien...
...BY FRED BARNES WHEN a home schoolers' organization offered to summon its members—hundreds of thousands of them—to rally behind John Ashcroft, aides of George W. Bush said forget it...
...As for Ashcroft, his views on abortion and his style of Christianity, though shared by tens of millions of Americans, were treated by the mainstream press as provocative or exotic...
...This may not be unilateral disarmament on Bush's part, but it is risky...
...He condemned "this escalating ideological division" in Washington and said it was hurting the confirmation process...
...Congressional Democrats and their allies don't...
...But it was another instance of Bush Nice...
...But the day after the story about the Guatemalan broke, Bush aides refused to return her calls...
...Fleischer went only a bit farther...
...What, Weyrich asked, about those who won't cooperate...
...He could have answered by stating the reasons he chose Ashcroft and pouncing on questions raised about him as unfair...
...Paul Weyrich, host of the session, asked if Bush is prepared to deal with mean-spirited Democratic partisans in Washington...
...Later, with Ashcroft's nomination for attorney general under fire from liberals, David Keene of the American Conservative Union began organizing conservatives behind Ashcroft...
...The Bush team did not encourage the effort...
...Bush aides didn't trash her for not telling them about the illegal alien...
...Bush suggested the only questions about his cabinet team that matter are those raised in Senate confirmation hearings...
...Of course, when he said this, the nominees were muzzled...
...It was his style in Texas and will be in Washington: Bush Nice...
...When Bush strategist Karl Rove met with a group of conservatives in Washington the day after Chavez stepped down, he encountered skepticism about Bush Nice...
...Let's wait and see how they're questioned when they go up in front of the Senate...
...He can say what he wants, but . . . I'll be honored to be sworn in as the president," Bush said...
...But Bush really believes in making politics more civil, Rove said...
...Bush himself is privately steadfast in backing Ashcroft and other Cabinet nominees (except Linda Chavez), but publicly tepid...
...All that was fine, but he also didn't make the case for Ashcroft or any other nominee...
...She had lined up other immigrants she'd helped for a press conference in which she intended to declare her intention to battle on...
...popular theme of his campaign...
...Bush's reluctance to fight led naturally to the decision to abandon Chavez as nominee for labor secretary...
...He thinks there are many Democrats who want to cooperate...
...Neither did his press secretary, Ari Fleischer...
...The accuser is a Democratic activist, and party loyalty outweighed personal considerations...
...He said his nominees will "stand up and speak on their own . . . talk about their vision, talk about their heart...
...Besides, dealing amiably with everyone, especially political opponents, works for Bush...
...He didn't...
...Bush's vow to cool the rhetoric, reduce hostility, and lighten the mood here was the most Fred Barnes is executive editor of THE WEEKLY STANDARD...
...Bush responded to all this with near-serenity—except twice...
...An environmental group successfully peddled to the press a story suggesting Gale Norton, Bush's pick for interior secretary, was racially insensitive...
...The result: Washington is halfway to adopting the new civil tone that Bush has promised...
...Not that he won't fight ever, but Bush is wary of giving life to opposition that might fizzle in the absence of combat...
...So why is he doing it...
...Despite this, Chavez was ready to hang tough for confirmation, and remained so as late as hours before she withdrew...
...To their credit, Bush transition officials tried to make her demise as Chavez-friendly as possible...
...Rove said Bush had gotten a taste of this during the Florida recount and is ready...
...Rather, it was a "misunderstanding," a Bush adviser said...
...Bush can handle them, too, Rove said...
...But it hasn't had any impact on Democrats or the media in the days leading up to Bush's inauguration as the 43rd president...
...He zinged the Norton story as ridiculous and shot back at President Clinton's insinuations that his presidency will be illegitimate...
...It was based solely on a mention of the Confederacy in a speech taking the conventional conservative position on states' rights...
...And following old-fashioned protocol that says a nominee shouldn't talk to reporters before he faces senators at his confirmation hearing, Bush muzzled Ashcroft...
...And when she heard not a peep of support the next day, she pulled out...
...Otherwise, Bush didn't complain about attacks or cheap shots, and didn't act like a victim...
...She was invited to announce her withdrawal at transition headquarters...
...On January 4, Bush was asked how he'd deal with that opposition...
...She gave the Bush crowd grounds by concealing the fact that she had sheltered an illegal alien from Guatemala in the early 1990s...
...Bush often sounded detached when talking about opposition to Ashcroft and others, more like a commentator than a player...
...Well, the public wants a halcyon Washington, according to polls...
...This was little consolation to Chavez, who had quit for lack of Bush support...
...The president-elect and his aides act with civility and restraint...
...He is conflict-averse...
Vol. 6 • January 2001 • No. 18
