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. 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 himself is privately steadfast in backing Ashcroft and other Cabinet nominees (except Linda Chavez), but publicly tepid. 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. The result: Washington is halfway to adopting the new civil tone that Bush has promised. The president-elect and his aides act with civility and restraint. Congressional Democrats and their allies don’t.
This may not be unilateral disarmament on Bush’s part, but it is risky. So why is he doing it? Well, the public wants a halcyon Washington, according to polls. Bush’s vow to cool the rhetoric, reduce hostility, and lighten the mood here was the most popular theme of his campaign. Besides, dealing amiably with everyone, especially political opponents, works for Bush. It was his style in Texas and will be in Washington: Bush Nice. He is conflict-averse. Not that he won’t fight ever, but Bush is wary of giving life to opposition that might fizzle in the absence of combat.
Perhaps Bush Nice will grow contagious in Washington over time. 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. For instance, it was a one-time friend and neighbor of Linda Chavez who ratted on her for giving refuge to an illegal alien. The accuser is a Democratic activist, and party loyalty outweighed personal considerations. An environmental group successfully peddled to the press a story suggesting Gale Norton, Bush’s pick for interior secretary, was racially insensitive. It was based solely on a mention of the Confederacy in a speech taking the conventional conservative position on states’ rights. 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.
Bush responded to all this with near-serenity — except twice. He zinged the Norton story as ridiculous and shot back at President Clinton’s insinuations that his presidency will be illegitimate. “He can say what he wants, but . . . I’ll be honored to be sworn in as the president,” Bush said. Otherwise, Bush didn’t complain about attacks or cheap shots, and didn’t act like a victim. All that was fine, but he also didn’t make the case for Ashcroft or any other nominee. Neither did his press secretary, Ari Fleischer. Bush often sounded detached when talking about opposition to Ashcroft and others, more like a commentator than a player.
On January 4, Bush was asked how he’d deal with that opposition. He could have answered by stating the reasons he chose Ashcroft and pouncing on questions raised about him as unfair. He didn’t. He said his nominees will “stand up and speak on their own . . . talk about their vision, talk about their heart.” Of course, when he said this, the nominees were muzzled. Bush suggested the only questions about his cabinet team that matter are those raised in Senate confirmation hearings. “Let’s wait and see how they’re questioned when they go up in front of the Senate.” Fleischer went only a bit farther. He condemned “this escalating ideological division” in Washington and said it was hurting the confirmation process. Wow!
Bush’s reluctance to fight led naturally to the decision to abandon Chavez as nominee for labor secretary. She gave the Bush crowd grounds by concealing the fact that she had sheltered an illegal alien from Guatemala in the early 1990s. Despite this, Chavez was ready to hang tough for confirmation, and remained so as late as hours before she withdrew. She had lined up other immigrants she’d helped for a press conference in which she intended to declare her intention to battle on. But the day after the story about the Guatemalan broke, Bush aides refused to return her calls. And when she heard not a peep of support the next day, she pulled out.
To their credit, Bush transition officials tried to make her demise as Chavez-friendly as possible. She was invited to announce her withdrawal at transition headquarters. Bush aides didn’t trash her for not telling them about the illegal alien. Rather, it was a “misunderstanding,” a Bush adviser said. This was little consolation to Chavez, who had quit for lack of Bush support. But it was another instance of 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. Paul Weyrich, host of the session, asked if Bush is prepared to deal with mean-spirited Democratic partisans in Washington. Rove said Bush had gotten a taste of this during the Florida recount and is ready. But Bush really believes in making politics more civil, Rove said. He thinks there are many Democrats who want to cooperate. What, Weyrich asked, about those who won’t cooperate? Bush can handle them, too, Rove said. A good place to start is the Ashcroft nomination.
Fred Barnes is executive editor of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
