President Bush revealed a bit about himself on his journey across America last week, but the trip also raised questions about whether he went to persuade Americans about some message of national importance or merely to schmooze.
”It`s the see-me, touch-me, feel-me part of communication,” said John Sununu, the White House chief of staff, hoping to explain the value of the four days of travel. ”It`s what you`re going to do if you`re going to do things well. It`s the general instincts of a politician, to get feedback.”
”It feels like we`re back on the campaign trail,” Rep. Robert Donan
(R., Calif.) quoted Bush as saying on their way to an antidrug speech near Los Angeles. ”But what a different pace; this is easy.”
Early in the week, Bush`s glee was evident in Bismarck, N.D., during what he later described as ”a marvelous, uplifting day.”
At the end of his speech, huge nets filled with red, white and blue balloons were released and Bush heard a local band play his old campaign song, ”Proud To Be An American.”
That same day, at the memorial service for the 47 crew members killed on the USS Iowa, Bush also showed a finely tuned sensitivity, a touch of presidential dignity, when he dropped a line from his text about his own wartime experience.
Although some thought he was too moved to read it, a White House official later said the President cut it out because he felt it focused too much on himself rather than on the sailors who died.
In California, Bush was ill at ease; his speeches were pedantic and he started one by bollixing the introduction, saying how pleased he was to be in Carolina.
Bush also had to deal with the inevitable first post-election meeting with former President Ronald Reagan and risk slipping once again into Reagan`s shadow.
”The polish is the same, the warmth is the same . . . except maybe when it goes on video or film,” Dornan said in assessing the way the two men react to cameras. ”With Reagan, maybe it`s the X-factor that makes a movie star,” he said. ”It`s important to do TV. That may come (for Bush).”
As usual, when he gets back to Texas, Bush is more relaxed and comfortable. He even improved his speech to the Texas legislature by cutting out unnecessary words, and he made a self-deprecating joke when he mixed up the word ”conquer” with ”cancer.”
He even won a laugh by repeating the statement of Ann Richards, the Texas state treasurer, who had mocked Bush at the Democratic National Convention by claiming that he was ”born with a silver foot in his mouth.” Richards was sitting just in front of Bush as he said it.
If there was any political mileage to be made as Bush hopscotched across the three largest states in the Sun Belt (California, Texas and Florida), it was to white-collar workers in the Silicon Valley and to a few hundred Hispanic campaign contributors in Los Angeles. The Hispanics, Bush said, represent ”the nation`s fastest-growing minority in the year 2000.”
Sununu conceded that several of Bush`s speeches got little coverage on the heavily watched national television evening news shows. But he said, ”You don`t always focus just on trying to get 15 seconds or 30 seconds on the national news. The regional aspect is very critical.”
Beyond such political goals, there was no question about the timing of the trip. Bush was trying to make a forceful imprint on the public mind as his administration marked its first 100 days in office Saturday.
Bush said he ”learned a lot” from his tour and he defended himself Friday against complaints. ”In terms of problem-solving, Washington . . . does not automatically know best,” Bush told a group of conservative state legislators meeting in Washington.
”It`s a very important thing for a president to get outside the White House and move around this country.”
Adding a dig at some of the more critical news media, he continued,
”Some of the friends who we were traveling with didn`t seem to understand that. But I can tell you that I learned a lot from it. And it was a very good thing to do, and I`m going to keep doing it.”
As the Bush presidency is undergoing that early assessment of its triumphs and failures, the President will be conscious of another, broader comparison this weekend.
On Sunday, he will join in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of George Washington`s inauguration in New York City. There, at St. Paul`s Chapel, Bush will attend a service and sit in the same pew used by the nation`s first president.
The presidency makes the officeholder sensitive to such history, Bush said last week, and it seems clear that he is eager to link his own reputation with those of several predecessors.
Bush named presidents he most identifies with and examined some of their qualities. He cited Teddy Roosevelt ”for his limitless energy.” Harry Truman was ”a practical man, a problem solver.” Dwight Eisenhower ”understood the value of quiet, steady leadership.”
Bush called Reagan one of the greatest presidents and praised his optimism.
