Bush names Rice, two loyalists for key posts

Bush names Rice, two loyalists for key posts
REUTERS

AUSTIN, DEC 18: President-elect George W. Bush named foreign policy aide Condoleezza Rice as his national security adviser on Sunday, the first woman to hold the post, as he embarked on a post-election, peace-making trip to Washington.

During a ceremony at the Texas Governor's mansion, Bush picked two other long-time loyalists for key White House positions that reflect the president-elect's desire to appoint a diverse cabinet.

He chose a Hispanic, Texas Supreme Court Justice Al Gonzales, as White House counsel, essentially the chief lawyer's position under Bush, and a woman, his communications director Karen Hughes, as counselor to the president, a top-level advisory role that will take her out of day-to-day relations with the news media.

Rice, 46, will be only the second black ever to become White House national security adviser. The other, Colin Powell, was nominated on Saturday by Bush to be his secretary of state.

Bush said the message behind Sunday's appointments was that "people who work hard and make the right decisions in life can achieve anything they want in America."

"America will be better off that these three have agreed to serve," he said.

Bush made the announcements shortly before departing for Washington on his first journey there since he won the disputed election over Vice President Al Gore last week.

He will discuss the US economy with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, sound out Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress on his agenda, including a hotly debated $1.3 trillion tax cut, and meet both Gore and President Bill Clinton to present an image of national unity to a country divided by the election outcome.

He will also interview prospective cabinet appointees.

In a sign he might clash with Congress over policy, Bush said he was unwilling to give ground over his proposed across-the-board tax cut despite criticism from both parties.

"I campaigned on a tax relief package that I firmly believe... is important as an insurance policy against any economic downturn, and I look forward to discussing my vision of tax relief with the parties," he told reporters during the announcement ceremony.

"It doesn't make much sense for people to be drawing lines in the sand before we've had a chance to discuss things."

Democrats have slammed the proposal as favoring the wealthy. And some Republicans, like House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, have said it might better to present the legislature with piecemeal tax cuts.

"I can't think of anything that would divide this nation more quickly, right off the bat, than to impress upon the Congress the importance of passing a tax cut of that magnitude," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat.

Replied Bush: "I think it's a little early in the process for people to be making judgments on our plan before they've given me a chance to explain it."

In Washington, Bush plans a breakfast meeting on Monday with Greenspan to discuss the slowing economy, Vice President-elect Dick Cheney told ABC's This Week. "We want to work very closely with the Fed chairman," Cheney said.

Greenspan, widely seen as the architect of the record US expansion, has indicated that he would like to see bulging government budget surpluses used to pay down the nation's debt rather than to finance Bush's plan for a large tax cut.

Bush's Chief of Staff Andrew Card signaled some possible flexibility on the tax plan in an interview with Fox News Sunday.

"We want the Congress to make sure that the ultimate goalis achieved and we may have to do it in different steps," he said.

But Cheney insisted that "we have no intention at all of backing off" the big tax cut.