CONFIDENT BUSH TEAM MEETS TO DIVIDE PRESIDENTIAL SPOILS.

Although the two-day meeting of the nation's Bush Republican Party bosses was billed as the last big strategy meeting and campaign updating before the final push to the November presidential elections, many of those in attendance, confident of a Bush victory, saw it as the first opportunity to put in an in-person bid on that great Washington job that they've had their eye on. (Called "Victory 2000," its campaign literature identifies it as "the national party building organization of the Republican National Committee (RNC) that supports the entire Republican ticket and is working closely with the George W. Bush for President Campaign." Salon magazine translates: "All those six- and seven-figure corporate donations that can't go directly into the candidate's coffers get laundered through the RNC.") While the scheduled program went on in the meeting rooms of Austin's Hyatt-Regency, just two miles down South Congress Avenue from the Governor's Mansion and the Capitol on the south bank of the Colorado River, the real action took place in the suites upstairs and the Bush campaign headquarters not far away. Bush, himself, spent little time at the hotel, but he's very familiar with downtown suites, having used facilities when the Mansion was unavailable due to repairs, and later keeping a suite as a hideout two springs ago when he was gearing up his presidential campaign. Clay Johnson, the man with the high-level job applications, was the one to see in the suites. Months earlier than Washington insiders such as Toledo Blade bureau chief Ann McFetters have anticipated, Johnson was collared by "Republicans eager to get back to power central, including some people who worked for [Poppy]."

Talking as though a November victory is a slam dunk, the Republican Party visitors saw Johnson as being in charge of Bush's transisiton team. Johnson has been in the Governor's office since '95, and their relationship goes back to being classmates at Andover and roommates at Yale. Another old friend is seen as heading up the anticipated White House staff, Don Evans, the wealthy energy czar who goes back to Bush's Midland oil bidness days. Evens has been in charge of getting Bush the cash for his campaign, so he's the man the big bucks contributors will go to for many happy returns. Evens, who is also Bush's national campaign chairman, told those at yesterday's meeting that there should be more of a grassroots effort devoted to key voter groups such as suburban voters. Then, of course, there's Carl Rove, the man who puts the push in Bush. Flying under the radar as much as possible, Rove calls the strategy shots, pushes the bottons, and pulls the levers. Yesterday, however, Rove proved that Johnson was not the only one with feet of clay.

When Bush gave his pep talk to the party faithful yesterday, he mentioned that Clinton and Gore "are the people who live by polls and focus groups," implying that he's made of sterner stuff. Then, in a private briefing to those in attendance, Rove said that on the basis of polls he was very optimistic about Bush's chances in November: "We are anywhere from a dozen to two dozen or better points ahead of where a Republican should be on some of these traditional issues like health care, education and Social Security. On some of them we have not only closed the gap but we also have moved ahead." As for focus groups, Rove pointed to his image-making of Bush as "a strong leader and somebody who is straightforward, somebody who is plain spoken, somebody who is approachable and likeable." This has not been the first time that the two political friends have been singing from different pages in the Bush hymn book.

On another front, Bush took an hour out of his busy schedule to meet with Henry Kissinger. Most likely, the lion's share of the time was spent dealing with Bush's "key" foreign policy advisor Richard Perle's gaffe, as reported in yesterday's New York Post. "Richard Perle [a holdover from Poppy's administration]...urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to avoid becoming a pawn of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign - and to make sure Gore doesn't take part in the summit, sources said." A Bush spokesman, caught by surprise, had no comment on the report. Democrats, of course, did. "Are Governor Bush and his advisers interested in peace or politics for Israel?" asked Rep. Sam Gejdensen, D-Conn., the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee. Although Perle later told a reporter that he never told Barak to preclude Gore from peace talk participation as Vice-President, the damage had been done, forcing Bush to respond. After his meeting with Kissinger, he felt able to talk to reporters about it. He said Perle was not speaking for the Bush campaign and he wished the Clinton administration well in its attempts for a Mideast peace accord.

Closer to home, although Bush acknowledged that Texas lawmakers will have to approve emergency spending of over $600 million to cover the shortfall in the budget that resulted from a Bush tax cut of $1.7 billion, he said "I did the right thing." However, he didn't say for whom. Finally, while the big behind-the-scenes news at the Austin Republican meeting was Washington job shopping, the Bush media campaign to keep reporters focused on his Veep choice continued, if only negatively. U.S. Rep. and Bush friend John Kasich is now seen as the new Dan Quayle--the kiss of death. A smiling New Jersey Guv Christie Whitman was caught with her gloves on in an ambarrassing racial profiling photo. Former Christian coalition head Ralph Reed said he wouldn't want to apply a "litmus test" to pro-abortionist Pa. Guv. Ridge. Chris Cox of California remains adamant about changing his name. --Politex, 7/13

BUSH'S VOODOO VOLUNTEERISM A Year After W's Faith-Based Welfare Speech, We Learn the Facts Are Not With Him. Bush's Idea of Health Care industry paid health lobbyist deborah steelman $2.4 million last year. now she's defending her private life. BUSH FEEDS NAACP "BABY FOOD" BUSH STIFFS KIDS LIES ABOUT IT IS BUSH A DIFFERENT KIND OF RACIST? BUSH WANTS TO KILL CHURCH-STATE VOTING A BUSH-NADER TICKET? SEDUCED BY NADER THE SAFE ZERO VEEP more bushisms

"OBVIOUSLY AGITATED" TEXAS gOVERNOR IN SUV STOPPED FOR SPEEDING (video)...(transcript)...(no apology)

see also...SMOKING GUN FOUND IN TEXAS gOVERNOR'S OFFICE

today
wednesday, july 12

thadeus and weez Weez Meets Harry Potter. 8:35
gore-tex trivia #3 What Kind of Pet (Rock) Does Nader Like? 8:30
bushnews, 33 stories Did Bush Operatives Meet With Anti-Barak Religious Leaders? 8:30
cunningham Bush NAACP Speech Excerpt. 8:25

tuesday, july 11

cunningham Bush's Missile Defense. 11:30
quote/unquote "Anyone who invents a name like "Kweisi Mfume" for himself can only appreciate a quasi-history of America." 9:30
gore-tex trivia #2 How Many "Times" Equals "a Few Occasions"? 8:30
bushnews, 33 stories Bush "Nudges and Winks" As He Feeds the NAACP "Baby Food." 8:30
wizard of whimsy Exclusive Photo of Bush-NAACP Meeting. 8:30

monday, july 10

gore-tex trivia #1 Did Bush Ever Lie About His Military Record? 8:25
bushnews, 23 stories How a Bush Supreme Court Would Tear Down the Church-State Wall. 8:00
tom tomorrow Political Humor for the Whole Family. 7:50

sunday, july 9

letters Is Bush the Missing Link? 1:25 p.m.
bushnews, 30 stories Bush Tax Cut Alone Would Exhaust Usable Surplus. 11:00
trudeau Hey, He's My Boy! 8:55

saturday, july 8

houston pollution Level Red Ozone Warning...Unhealthy. 2:45 p.m.
houston pollution Level Orange Ozone Warning...Unhealthy. 1:45 p.m.
bushnews, 31 stories Bush Education Record Not What He Claims. 8:55
rall The Scout's Oath Helps Build Character. 8:45

friday, july 7

texas travel advisory CDC Warns That 30% of Houston Children Without Immunization. City Ripe for Epidemic. 5:00p.m.
houston pollution Level Purple Ozone Warning...Very Unhealthy. 4:00 p.m.
houston pollution Level Red Ozone Warning...Unhealthy. 2:00 p.m.
houston pollution Level Orange Ozone Warning...Unhealthy. 1:00 p.m.
bushnews, 36 stories Bush Lets Them Eat Cake on Birthday. 7:55
veep test Take the Test. Perhaps Bush is Looking for You. 6:45
sargent Ralph on the Bumper Means Bush in the White House. 6:40

thursday, july 6

birthday Bush Hits 54 Today, Wants More Money. 3:45 p.m.
poem Short History of a Veep Campaign. 8:15
bushnews, 27 stories Bush Nephew Invisible as Latino at Rice. 7:55
oliphant I Ralph, Therefore I Am. 7:00

wednesday, july 5

houston pollution Level Orange Ozone Warning...Unhealthy. 2:00 p.m.
bushnews, 23 stories Will It Be a Bush-Rush Ticket? 7:45
gore watch 1,455,352 Coffees, Hold the Ice Tea. 5:25
nader watch A Vote for Nader's A Wasted Vote, Right? 5:20
letters Seduced by Nader. 4:50
wizard of whimsy Bush Wears His Heart on His Sleeve. 4:45

tuesday, july 4

bushnews, 19 stories Why Bush's "Faith-Based" Volunteerism is a Dead End. 8:05
game Jimmy Carter Survives Campaign Game. 5:45
english patient Bush Unable to Verify What He's Thinking. 5:10
cunningham Select Your Favorite View of the Environment. 5:00

monday, july 3

bushnews, 26 stories Bush is Favored Candidate of Oil Industry. 7:35
tom tomorrow Bush Proves That Small Empty Heads Can Run for President. 6:00

sunday, july 2

bushnews, 22 stories Conservatives' Supreme Court Disappointments Would Change Under Bush. 8:25
game Who Survived the Campaign Game? 6:45
thadeus and weez Aggression, the American Way.6:45

saturday, july 1

bushnews, 19 stories Bush Chooses "Zero Tolerance" Abortion Plank. 8:55
don wright Bush Oil Bidness Clarified at the Pump. 6:45

Scandals... ...bush beds... coke... uncle duke... funeralgate... bushwater... secret memo... dietgate... microgate... lotterygate... awol...

OUR TAKE ON BUSH'S ISSUES

Tax Cuts...Education...Health Care...Environment...Housing...Welfare...Character Ed... Foreign Policy... Social Security...

SITE MAP

Bush Watch... Gore Watch... McCain Watch... abortion... april fool... archives... autobiography... books... brasin's beat... bush bedrooms... bush league... blacks... blurbs... bushisms ... bush speak... bush whitewater... california... catholics... cartoons... character ed... charter schools... cocaine... comedy... compassion... culture... debates'99... debates jan.... debates 2000... de lay... dirt... driver's license... drugs... education... elian... the english patient... endorsements... environment... executions... exploitation... family... faith-based institutions... faq... foreign policy... free speech... funeralgate... gays... gipper vs. dubya... guns... health care... his heart... indians... insider trading... iowa... jews... justice... latinos... letters... links... lotterygate... missing in action... media... millions... negative politics... oil-gate... our birthday... parody... pat... personality... poems... pollution... press kit... primaries... principles... quizgate... rankings... reformer... religion... st. patrick... schedule... skull... soft money... songs... taxes... texas record... tobacco... welfare... women... end...

daily briefing... ap breaking... election 2000 ... today's houston air... bush web o' wealth...

music to listen to us by... daily feed... mojotoons.com...

Bush Watch is a daily political internet magazine, a non-advocacy site paid for and edited by Politex, a non-affiliated U.S. citizen.
Based in Austin, Tx., publication began on February 1, 1998, prior to any other official or unofficial G. W. Bush site.
(c) 1998-2000 Politex. Permission of author required for reprinting. The duration of the working links is not under our control.
Bush Watch has not reviewed all of the sites linked to our site and is not responsible for the content of any off-site pages
or any other sites linked to our site. Your linking to any other off-site pages or other sites from our site is at your own risk.

Send all e-mail to Politex.