Word: babbittism
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Mostly, though, Babbitt excelled by mastering the details, concentrating on them to the point of becoming something of a policy wonk. Even now, in the crucible of a presidential campaign, he manages to read widely and thoroughly, especially on foreign affairs and economics. Says Rob Smith, a Sierra Club official who has worked closely with him, "In negotiations, he is always the best-informed person at the table, so he usually wins...
...Babbitt's finest achievement as Governor was his passage of landmark legislation to protect the lifeblood of Arizona's rapid economic growth: its scarce underground water. This came only after a dramatic charade in which Babbitt enlisted Cecil Andrus, then Secretary of the Interior. The two agreed that Andrus would threaten to cut funding for a major water project dear to powerful economic interests in Arizona unless the state managed its groundwater better. "I went home and called him an overreaching federal hypocrite," Babbitt recalls with a grin. Then, having immersed himself in the arcana of water management, Babbitt mediated...
...perennial struggles beween Arizona's copper unions and its union- busting managements have influenced Babbitt's ideas on what he calls "workplace democracy." He believes government should encourage profit sharing and worker ownership of companies and end tax breaks for "companies like General Motors, which lay off thousands of workers while paying big bonuses to executives...
...While Babbitt can sound impassioned about creating jobs, his room temperature is cooler than most. Detractors call him aloof and ungrateful for political help, and even many allies describe him with more admiration than affection. Says Alfredo Gutierrez, former Democratic leader in the Arizona senate, "I consider Bruce a friend, but he has never been a warm, inclusive person, and that offends some people in politics...
What warmth Babbitt has to offer seems reserved for his family: Wife Hattie, 40, a Phoenix trial lawyer he met while working in the Texas antipoverty program, and Sons Christopher, 12, and T.J., 10. Ardent naturalists, the Babbitts regularly spent weekends and holidays hiking the canyons and skiing the mountains of northern Arizona before the campaign...