43 ties up 41's loose ends on taxes, elitism, Iraq
George W. Bush is his father's son, all right, so maybe we shouldn't be so surprised that he's pushing ahead with plans to cut taxes, take out Saddam Hussein --and raise cattle in Texas. Don't get the connection? Let family friend Doug Wead explain. "Presidential children," he says, "tend toward completion or mimicry." Bush, adds the author of the forthcoming book All the Presidents' Children, "fits the completion theory." As in: redeeming Bush 41's broken no-new-taxes promise, punishing Saddam for plotting to kill Dad, and highlighting the cowboy side of the Kennebunkport clan. One headline about Bush in his book, out February 18, reads: "This one's for you, Dad." Wead's book is a fascinating study of the 159 first kids. A common thread: Many can't live up to their father's example, end up on the bottle, and die young. Remarkably, Bush himself was headed in that direction before he cleaned up his act, shocking even his own family. Wead recalls asking brother Marvin in 1988 if W would take up their father's public service. "George?" Wead quotes Marvin laughing. "George is the family clown."
Flat Stanley finally hits pay dirt
Do you know the story of Flat Stanley, the kiddie book about a boy who's flattened by a bulletin board, then makes the best of a bad situation by mailing himself to a friend? It's huge in grade schools, where kids mail paper dolls of Flat Stanley to big shots who have their picture taken with him and then mail it all back. Well, Flat Stanley has finally made it to the top: in President Bush's lap. The exclusive story: Marcy Ring, a teacher at Chicago's Henry Suder School, sent Flat Stanley to her White House pal Susan Ralston, Karl Rove's aide. Rove took it from there, taking the black Flat Stanley everywhere, even the Oval Office. "He had better access," says Ralston, "than the senior staff." But Rove did more. He spent hours at home preparing a 13-page, 25-photo package autographed by the prez. There's Flat Stanley with chief of staff Andy Card reading a top-secret report, and with national security adviser Condi Rice, who's lecturing Flat Stanley to obey his parents. What drove Rove? "He loves kids," we're told.
The man show
Lots of Washington newswomen were complaining that President Bush's pre-State of the Union briefing for network anchors and political-show hosts included 10 guys but only one gal: CNN's Judy Woodruff. You know the charge: "Sexist." Bull, said the White House. "We invited anchors and political-show hosts," says one Bushie. "They should complain to their network bosses who aren't promoting women to those jobs."
No more jokes
Ex-White House speechwriter David Frum reveals that President Bush has met with most families of 9/11 victims, and it's taken a toll on the prez. "He doesn't tell goofy jokes anymore," says Frum, author of the Bush book The Right Man. And, he adds, Bush has trouble putting on a happy face. "He can't fake emotion."
Pinch hitter
Administration officials are bracing for the resignation of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, the 71-year-old former Clinton cabinet member who suffers from painful back ailments. Insiders say that Housing Secretary Mel Martinez, the only cabinet Hispanic, is being touted as Mineta's replacement.
Exit, grumpily
We're starting to hear whispers that it's time for long-time West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd to pack it up. They come just as Byrd, considered the Senate historian, is barking about how the new kids on the block just aren't up to snuff, especially when it comes to debating war. "Members of Congress," he gripes, "are not as aware, are not as dedicated with respect to the Constitution as they were when I came here." And don't get him started on President Bush. He brags about ignoring first family invitations. "I'm not interested," he grumps, "in going to the White House."
Dissed and dumped
Former President Clinton can still grab a headline, but he's not being mentioned much by the new crowd of presidential candidates. "He's out of vogue," says a senior Democratic strategist. Party bigwigs also worry that he could hurt New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's much anticipated 2008 presidential campaign. The recommendation, says one: "Divorce him."
Detroit takes aim
Detroit's carmakers have had enough of pundit Arianna Huffington's "Detroit Project," which ran a series of tongue-in-cheek ads a few weeks back equating SUV owners with terrorist sympathizers. We hear that auto execs and dealers, who spend $15 billion annually on TV, are threatening to pull their ads if they have to compete with Huffington. Also under Detroit's gun: Jeffrey Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who said he wouldn't let his kids ride in an SUV, fearing rollovers. Auto execs say calls were made to friendly administration types and now Runge isn't talking about his concerns.
12-gauge Clark
Turns out there's more to the athleticism of retired Gen. Wesley Clark, the maybe 2004 Democratic presidential hopeful, than just swimming. Pals say he golfs pretty darned well. And he's a crack shot. During the recent duck drought in his native Arkansas, the Ducks Unlimited member could brag about bagging the daily limit of five mallards.
The idiot's guide
New Central Command spokesman Jim Wilkinson, a White House alum, seems to have survived the slings and arrows insiders threw at him. When he arrived three months ago, he was called too young (32), too political, and--worst of all--a "civilian." That last barb hurt most because he's a lieutenant in the Navy Reserves. But reviews from reporters and officers say he's passed the hazing and has Gen. Tommy Franks's trust. It took work and lots of No-Doz. "I live," he says, "in a permanent state of sleep deprivation." Military types cheer his ability to feed the press while stopping leaks. Reporters are happy that he and boss Torie Clarke, Pentagon spokeswoman, are promising battle access if war with Iraq comes. Wilkinson's even having a little fun in his very serious job. At his own expense, he mailed war correspondents a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq with a note that said, "This book sounds as perfect for you as it is for me. Just kidding. Happy Reading!"
Bush aide Karl Rove's Flat Stanley school project is at www.usnews.com/whispers
With Richard J. Newman and Suzi Parker
This story appears in the February 10, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.