Prodigal son

How will George W. Bush -- and the GOP -- confront the whispers about his past?

By Jake Tapper

Apr 9, 1999 | Here in the host city of the 2000 Republican National Convention, it's official: Texas Gov. George W. Bush is the Republican to beat. Not only has Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge endorsed him, but on March 31, 10 Pennsylvania party activists and major donors flew to Austin to sup with the man who would be president. Alongside 20 other power brokers and fat cats from California, the Keystone State Republicans sat down for lunch at the upscale Shoreline Grill, next to the Austin Four Seasons, and Bush began his serenade.

"He started with the salad and went right on through," says candy magnate Bob Asher, one of Pennsylvania's two Republican National Committee members. "He spoke and answered questions -- and there were some very pointed questions. I went down there to see what he was all about, and I was impressed. I liked the fire; I liked the honesty. I've been involved in politics since Dewey-Truman, and I'm used to getting a lot of manure. But you didn't get that with him." That afternoon, Asher, his RNC counterpart and the state chairman all endorsed Bush's exploratory committee. Now, Pennsylvania Republicans like Asher are charged with raising major cash for the Bush campaign -- $1 million in the next two months, by one estimate.

But even at the lovefest at the Shoreline Grill, Asher admits, there was an awkward moment when Bush had to answer the "pointed questions" about his allegedly hard-partying past.

"I'm paraphrasing here," Asher says, "but he said something like, 'We're baby boomers, and I've made mistakes in my life that I'm not always happy about, but I'm going to move forward.'" The group didn't press the questions any further. "With 30 people you don't bring it up. You'd probably pull him aside and say something like, 'Wait -- how the hell you going to address this thing?' But it's out there and all of us know it's out there. We're not going into the thing blind."

What rumors are out there? About what you'd expect from a Texas Good Ol' Boy who went to Yale in the 1960s and made some money in Texas in the '80s -- drinking and drugs and diddling around. Texas columnist Molly Ivins, a liberal who normally skewers George W. (in fact, she nicknamed him "Shrub" in 1992) confessed this week she feels a little sorry for her frequent adversary, now that there are so many reporters skulking around Texas, looking into Bush's past. "I offer to explain how Bush flubbed the tax reform proposals last session -- couldn't even get his own party to go along -- and the visiting journalists want to know if he ever used drugs," Ivins complained. Already, Bush's advisors and top Republican strategists are brainstorming about how to handle the character questions that are likely to dog the GOP front-runner.

And front-runner he certainly is. The Bush money machine is chugging along strong: With less than a year to go until the New Hampshire primary, the Bush campaign has already snagged $6 million, three times as much cash as his closest financial rival for the GOP nomination -- his dad's former No. 2, ex-Vice President Dan Quayle. On Wednesday, Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire announced he was endorsing Bush, giving him an incredible organizational boost in that key primary state. Now, with the unprecedented official outpouring of support for Bush -- at last count, 13 governors (including Ridge), six senators and 87 members of the House -- the pending primaries and caucuses almost seem a trifle.

In 1979, by contrast, then-Reps. Gerry Solomon and Trent Lott tried to muster congressional endorsements for Ronald Reagan, but they were only able to garner 15 supporters. Solomon, now CEO of a lobbying and consulting firm, is conducting a similar task for Bush, and he's finding it a snap. In just his first meeting to drum up support at the Capitol Hill Club in late February, Solomon was able to get 55 members of Congress to sign up. He anticipates reaching 100 by the end of next week.

"Look at the list of endorsements," says a thoroughly juiced Solomon, proudly pointing out that Bush's support ranges from liberal Republican Reps. Connie Morella of Maryland and Jim Leach of Iowa to |berconservative Reps. David Dreier of California and Phil Crane of Illinois. Bush "has proven that conservatism can be compassionate. That's why he has such breadth of support among women and minorities. It's uncanny, his support."

But don't order tickets for the Bush coronation just yet. Conservative activists are already wary of the self-described "compassionate conservative." Says Focus on the Family's James Dobson: "We don't know what he believes." Political insiders wonder aloud if revelations about a personal life more befitting a Democrat than a GOP standard-bearer could derail the Bush train.

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