George Will: Bush Rules

W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 4 -- It is a law of the political universe from which, due to an oversight on the part of Providence, George Bush is not exempt: When a Democrat wins a presidential election he is said to have received a mandate to keep his promises, but when a Republican wins he is said to have acquired a duty to be ‘‘statesmanlike’’ by trimming his promises to suit ‘‘bipartisanship.’’

However, Bush’s Cabinet selections communicate his conviction that the election, although close, awarded him 100 percent of the presidency, and he intends to use all of it. The selections also bespeak his confidence and conservatism.

Last fall the media criticized Dick Cheney’s low-voltage campaigning — at least until Cheney took Joe Lieberman to school during their debate. Now the stories are that Cheney is such a dynamo he overshadows Bush. But Bush’s selection of Cheney indicated, as have subsequent personnel decisions, how confident Bush is in surrounding himself with strong, seasoned people such as Colin Powell and Don Rumsfeld.

Smart Choices

With the transition almost cut in half by the Florida unpleasantness, Rumsfeld has the crucial advantage of already knowing the complex culture in the building — all 17.5 miles of Pentagon corridors — he must manage. Furthermore, Rumsfeld chaired the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat. By nominating Rumsfeld, Bush strongly reaffirms his promise of defenses against ballistic missiles. Critics say missile defenses will aggravate Russia by requiring substantial revision, even renunciation of the 29-year old ABM Treaty. Rumsfeld will have the stature to oppose Powell if Powell acquires the State Department penchant for avoiding friction with Russia. (During the Rumsfeld commission’s work, this axiom was heard: The State Department is like tundra — anything you do to it improves it.)

The selections of Alcoa chairman Paul O’Neill (Treasury secretary), Mitch Daniels (Office of Management and Budget) and Colorado’s former Attorney General Gale Norton (Interior secretary) reflect the role of think tanks and public interest law groups in fueling intellectual conservatism. O’Neill serves on the board of American Enterprise Institute. Daniels is former head of the Hudson Institute. Norton began her legal career in Denver with the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which has been, among other things, the legal muscle behind the “sagebrush rebellion” defending Western interests against excessive federal regulation of land and other matters.