Word: reed
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...Karl Rove did land an Enron consulting job for Ralph Reed, one thing is certain: Reed didn't really need his help. Reed's choirboy looks notwithstanding, he was no neophyte trying to get into the business. By the time he stepped down as executive director of the Christian Coalition in April 1997, Reed, now 40, was considered such a shrewd political operator and grass-roots organizer that any number of FORTUNE 500 firms were knocking on his door...
Still, there is no doubt that the Bush campaign had plenty of reasons to make Reed happy. After taking over Pat Robertson's fledgling religious organization in 1989, Reed turned it into a political force, exercising something close to veto power over the Republican presidential nominee. If Reed had signed up with one of Bush's conservative rivals, Bush's White House dreams might have been threatened. But if Reed had too visible a role in the Bush campaign, his right-wing reputation might step on Bush's compassionate-conservative message...
...answer may have been to have Reed play an informal, behind-the-scenes role in the campaign while earning a tidy sum working for one of Bush's most dedicated supporters. Late last week the White House confirmed that Rove did indeed recommend Reed to officials at Enron in 1997. Both Reed and Rove, however, vehemently deny that this was part of any kind of deal to secure Reed's backing. Reed insists he was not even aware that Rove had put in a good word for him and claims that he had pledged his support to Bush...
...Reed definitely paid dividends for Bush on the campaign trail. After the candidate's stunning loss to John McCain in the New Hampshire primary, Reed's firm came to the rescue in South Carolina, bombarding the state's 400,000 religious conservatives with negative phone calls and mailings about the maverick candidate from Arizona. Bush won handily...
...Democrats termed the disclosure serious and promised to investigate. Reed, a political consultant in Georgia, points out that Enron tried to hire a Democrat, James Carville, for the same work in 1997--something Carville, no friend of Rove's, acknowledges. And Rove told Time that if he spoke to anyone at Enron about Reed, it might have been only after Reed was hired. An Enron official, meanwhile, who says he and two others made the decision themselves, told TIME they had no contact with Rove about the matter. But a veteran G.O.P. organizer who was in contact with Reed...