This trait gives Bush more latitude than a less-secure chief executive might have as he navigates the gravest presidential crisis in nearly half a century. When a president is confident, the range of options and circle of advisers and emissaries can be bigger, which means a greater chance for creative policymaking, which, in turn, means a greater likelihood of success.
Right now, Bush needs all the help he can get beyond his Cabinet and staff, and he knows it. The question is whether the people around him know it-and will let him reach out in new and unconventional ways.
There is one person above all whose advice the president respects, and whose actions in the Persian Gulf War he hopes to emulate. But this is also the one person whose role cannot, at present, be made public. White House aides are understandably sensitive to the perception that the president’s father-known as “41”-is too involved in decision making. They think letting former president Bush step forward would make his son look callow and small when he most needs to look mature and tall.
But there is a way around this problem-a way to make use of Bush Sr. and his great international prestige without undermining the president:
Hire the ex-presidents. All of them (except ailing Ronald Reagan). Put Bill Clinton, George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford to work helping to hold the antiterrorism alliance together. They can be deputized to assist as rarely (Clinton?) or as often (Bush Sr.) as the president wants.
This is not a suggestion out of a “Saturday Night Live” cartoon. It’s a throwback to “The Wise Men” who advised Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War; to Franklin Roosevelt putting Herbert Hoover’s secretary of State, Henry Stimson, in his cabinet; to the wartime coalition governments of Winston Churchill. The public feels better when it sees former leaders brought back to Washington during a time of crisis.
But having the ex-presidents in for a few meetings is not enough. The advice they would give is probably being offered already.
A better approach is to put them to work, and there’s certainly plenty of work to do, with 190 supportive nations to keep in line and 50 countries known to contain elements of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. This is not a reflection on Cheney’s talents, or Colin Powell’s or anyone else’s. They are smart and know their way around the neighborhood from the gulf war, but that is simply not sufficient to get the job done.
In fact, in most of the countries that would be part of the coalition, the head of state won’t even talk to the American vice president or secretary of State, much less the national-security adviser. For the most part, presidents only speak to other presidents, and ours only has 24 hours in a day. To hold the coalition together, he needs pinch hitters with peer status.
That way, “41” can pay a call on, say, his pal Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, without anyone thinking he’s overstepping his bounds. Clinton could brainstorm with old friends like Britain’s Tony Blair and Carter could make use of his strong contacts in the Arab world. Even Ford might be given an assignment or two. The point is, these men are well-known and revered abroad.
President Bush is not, at least not yet. He has served in office less than eight months and has no close personal connection to any foreign leader other than Mexican President Vicente Fox. This is not his fault, but it is a serious handicap in this crisis. His father enjoyed excellent and longstanding relationships with other heads of state in 1990 and 1991 and he still had a difficult time holding the gulf war coalition together.
The usual Washington wise guys will discount this idea for the usual reasons. The first is that the Bushies loathe all things Clinton, and have particular contempt for his cruise-missile-in-a-desert-tent approach to terrorism.
But the Bush team is hardly blameless in this regard, having ignored recent warnings about airport security and failed to engage fully in the complexities of the Mideast. Instead of looking backward, Bush aides should see that Clinton could bring some real knowledge and skill to the process. If they’re too hung up in their old partisanship to recognize that, they have no business making important decisions now.
A related concern is that former presidents can be hard to control. Clinton had some problems with Carter on that score when he dispatched him to Haiti in 1993, though the mission ended successfully.
But the stakes are so high now that the ex-presidents aren’t likely to be difficult. Their own historical reputations would be on the line, not to mention the success or failure of the coalition and the larger war against terrorism. And President Bush’s own stature as president would be enhanced by his success at managing his predecessors.
Forget all of the political angles. The main reason to hire the ex-presidents is that these experienced public servants are needed now by their country.
When it’s all hands on deck, why should the admirals stay below?
