February 2003

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The Patience of Jeb 2/24/2003 10:52 PM Jeb Bush is talking, as he often does, about family. "Although it is an intensely private -- and at times painful -- matter, you should know that I am rededicating myself to being a better father and husband," the governor says. He is giving his second inaugural address under a crystalline sky on the steps of Florida's Old Capitol. "I realize that any sense of fulfillment I have from this event is meaningless unless they too can find fulfillment in their lives," Bush continues, his voice quivering. Bush, 50, is best known for the melodramas that bubble around him. He is a shy public man who seems destined to suffer in the open. In the Bush family shorthand, Jeb was the anointed one: the driven big-thinker who started kindergarten a year early and graduated from the University of Texas in 2 1/2 years. He has succeeded by any measure: the first Republican to win reelection as Florida's governor. Some fans call him "Bush 44," kidding, sort of. (George P. is "Bush 45.") He might be the most closely watched U.S. politician outside Washington. Read the article California Republican Bill Simon May Run Again 2/24/2003 10:18 PM Conservative businessman Bill Simon, who lost a close race for California governor last year, has started a new political action committee that could position him for another run for office, possibly Congress. The Republican declined to say whether he plans to run for U.S. Senate next year or again for governor or for another statewide office. "I'm open to running again, but right now I want to be of service to others," he said Saturday after announcing the creation of the California Grassroots Leadership Committee during a reception at the state Republican Party convention. Read the article GOP Governors Block Try to Oppose Tax Cuts 2/24/2003 10:12 PM A threatened exodus of Republican governors from the National Governors Association was slowed yesterday when the organization's executive committee managed to kill a resolution that would have opposed tax cuts favored by President Bush. The resolution would have put the nation's governors on record as saying the best stimulus to the economy would be more federal tax dollars for the states, rather than the tax cuts supported by Mr. Bush and most Republicans in Congress. Rebellious Republicans led by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Colorado Gov. Bill Owens managed to thwart the resolution. The victory came a day after Republican governors met privately and resolved to work together to gain control over an NGA staff they say is dominated by liberals and Democrats. Republicans say the staff has long set the NGA agenda, even though Republican governors are in the majority. Read the article McConnell Back at Work After Surgery 2/24/2003 9:58 PM Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, returned to work Monday, three weeks after undergoing triple bypass heart surgery. The Kentucky lawmaker met with other Senate leaders and his staff and voted on an anti-child pornography bill. "It's great to be back at work," McConnell, 60, said in a statement. Read the article Ex-GOP Chief Barbour in Mississippi Governor's Race 2/17/2003 5:21 PM Republican Haley Barbour said Monday he was entering the governor's race to get Mississippi's economy back on track and restore fiscal stability in state government. Barbour, 55, formally launched his campaign from his hometown of Yazoo City on the southern tip of the Mississippi Delta. The former Republican National Committee chairman and an aide to President Reagan said he is running for governor "because I know we can do better." Read the article Former Congressman Barr to Seek House Seat 2/17/2003 5:20 PM Just months after a Georgia colleague ousted him from Congress, Republican Bob Barr announced Monday he will run again for the House. Barr, who was defeated by Rep. John Linder in last year's GOP primary, is running for the 6th District seat being vacated by Johnny Isakson. Read the article Republicans Rally Around Blunt for Missouri Governor 2/17/2003 10:35 AM Gathering in Kansas City, Missouri Republicans on Saturday began the process of rallying around Matt Blunt as the party's likely nominee for governor next year. Blunt, Missouri's secretary of state, was greeted with standing ovations at several events on Saturday. His red, white and blue signs touting "Effective Leadership 2004" were prevalent at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, where the GOP gathered for its annual Lincoln Days celebration. "It's an exciting time to be a Republican," Blunt told the GOP State Committee. Read the article The Agonies of Office Envy 2/3/2003 3:34 PM Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) sits in a cramped, white-walled office in the Dirksen Building courtyard watching C-SPAN on a compact TV set. Though the room looks vaguely senatorial - furled American flags lean against a wall and armoires display family photographs - it's the opposite of grand. The ceiling is claustrophobically low and the missing elements are windows, matching furniture, silver chandeliers and oil paintings. Its locale, the subterranean intestines of the Dirksen Senate office building, hardly lends itself to an expression often voiced by real estate agents, "Location! Location! Location!" A constituent wanders in to take Coleman's picture. He says the office was "really really really hard to find." To track the freshman Senator down, one must travel down a particular bank of elevators from the ground level and wind around a dirty hallway and maze of offices temporarily housing other newcomers. Read the article Cheney's Quiet Loyalty Earns Thanks 2/3/2003 2:45 PM Watching Vice President Dick Cheney deliver a speech is sometimes like watching paint dry, say some observers who have seen the vice president in action. Before a meeting of the Republican National Committee on Friday, he dutifully recited President Bush's position on everything from tax cuts to the possible war with Iraq in his characteristic, low-key way. "Fellow Republicans, in this critical hour all of us are proud to be part of a cause larger than ourselves. We will support our president as he confronts every threat from every source that could possibly do harm to our country," the vice president said in his usual monotone. But even without the same enthusiastic rhetorical skills as some other politicians and lawmakers, fans say with Cheney, voters get an intelligent and thoughtful lawmaker. "God may have given him a first-class brain, but shorted him a little bit on charisma," said former Chief of Staff Dave Gribbin, who worked with Cheney on and off Capitol Hill for 18 years. "That's the way it works and he's not going to pretend that it's otherwise." Read the article Rhode Island Governor Takes Cue From Former New Mexico Governor 2/3/2003 2:36 PM One family came to Gov. Don Carcieri to talk about insurance for their child. Another man just wanted to shake the governor's hand.n a state with a shadowy reputation for public corruption and back-room dealmaking, doors are beginning to open and politicians typically only seen and heard - including the governor - are listening. Carcieri last week held his first day of monthly office hours meant solely for regular citizens. The new mayor of Providence, whose predecessor is serving more than five years behind bars for corruption, says he plans to solicit ideas from the community. The new House speaker, who follows a powerful legislator known for closed-door deal making and a sexual harassment scandal, promises better communication with the public. Read the article