Word: elected
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When former Texas Senator John Tower sat down for a job interview with George Bush in mid-November, he had a surprise for the President-elect: a five-point plan for cleaning up the mess at the Pentagon. Since the plan came from, of all people, the hawkish Tower, Bush was startled -- and impressed -- by what he heard. "It was the exact opposite of what they expected him to say," said an adviser who helped Tower prepare. According to Tower's associates, Bush declared near the end of the meeting that he would announce his choice for Secretary of Defense...
More than a week later, Bush still had not filled the top Pentagon job. Aides to both the President-elect and the former Senator said Bush was postponing a decision until someone with strong management credentials could be found to serve as Tower's deputy. But as reports circulated that Tower had been a paid consultant for several weapons makers and had a reputation for drinking, the drawn-out negotiations became embarrassing. "This thing is beginning to stink," admitted a Bush aide. Nearly all the signals indicated that Bush would eventually stand by his fellow Texan. Nevertheless, the hesitation revealed...
...package deal seemed near closure, Tower's stock fell again with reports that he was on retainer to five defense contractors and rumors about his past womanizing and drinking. Conservatives complained that Bush was letting their man twist slowly in the wind. But the President-elect insisted that "nothing is going to shake my view" that Tower should go to the Pentagon. Bush's vice-presidential chief of staff, Craig Fuller, was even more unequivocal: "I know of absolutely no information that has come to us privately or through the press that would in any way disqualify Senator Tower...
...cast doubt on the U.S. commitment to a negotiated settlement in the Middle East. They also fretted that the Shultz rejection made a mockery of America's commitment to free speech and jeopardized the Reagan Administration's recently improved relationship with the U.N. Nonetheless, both Reagan and President-elect George Bush supported the decision, although Bush made it clear that he had not been consulted...
...foreign policy is already off to a good start. Bush's appointments of James Baker as Secretary of State, Brent Scowcroft as National Security Adviser and Nicholas Brady as Treasury Secretary have generally been well received, both at home and abroad, and the public statements from the President-elect himself on defense and diplomacy have reflected his considerable experience in those fields...