So maturity is in at the second Clinton White House. The president, who turned 50 last August, knows he won re-election in part because voters decided he’d grown in office. That means rewarding those who’ve grown with him, and those who can also help him deal with a returning GOP Congress.
Clinton’s most critical personnel decision will be a new chief of staff. Leon Panetta will leave in the next few weeks. Comfort level is everything to Clinton in a decision like this, and few people make him more comfortable than Bowles, his favorite golf partner. But Bowles, who ran debate preparations and helped persuade a reluctant Dick Morris to resign after last summer’s call-girl scandal, has just founded a new investment-banking firm back home in North Carolina. He may well decide to stay there–but will remain a key unofficial adviser no matter what.
Likely to thrive this time around are other battle-tested team players who’ve also bonded with Clinton. National-security adviser Anthony Lake will probably stay and see his influence expand. Sandy Berger, Lake’s deputy, could become chief of staff or chairman of the National Economic Council. Domestic-policy adviser Bruce Reed, a defender of the centrist ““New Democrat’’ faith, will also grow in stature, even if his title doesn’t.
Given the GOP majorities on the Hill, Clinton might also reach out for a couple of moderate Republicans, notable for their adult status, too. Retiring Sen. Bill Cohen, a favorite of Al Gore’s, could add gloss to the CIA should John Deutch move on (possibly to the Pentagon, where Bill Perry would like to leave). And former New Jersey governor Tom Kean, an ally of Clinton’s on school issues in the 1980s, might take over as secretary of education.
Clinton wants to leave his mark on foreign policy, so he is looking for a trusted figure to replace Warren Christopher at State. U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright is pushing for the job, and she has a well-placed patron: Hillary Clinton. But former senator George Mitchell bonded with the president by delivering a blistering performance as Bob Dole in the debate preps. ““Mitchell got Clinton to control his anger about Dole,’’ says one adviser. ““He goaded him and goaded him.’’ But Mitchell may not be easy to persuade. He’s making money (he’s at the Washington law firm Verner Liipfert) and has a new and much younger wife, which might make a government salary–and those countless trips to the Middle East–a little less alluring.
Second terms are also the time to reward supporters who’ve waited their turn. Rep. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who missed out on a cabinet spot in ‘92, could slip in at Energy or Transportation, where Hazel O’Leary and Federico PeNa have one-way tickets out. Chicago’s Bill Daley might be the next trade representative.
Clinton isn’t the only one dispensing jobs. Gore’s influence on staffing will expand as he sets himself up for 2000. He recently swore in Franklin Raines as the new budget director, the first African-American to hold the post. Look for the vice president to place other minorities in high-profile positions. He’ll need to strengthen his base in the black community to withstand a primary challenge from the left.
The Clinton scandals could scramble some plans. Clinton would love to get rid of Attorney General Janet Reno, whom he regards as politically tone-deaf, and Mickey Kantor and Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick are possible replacements. But now that Reno is looking into appointing a special counsel to probe Democratic fund raising, it may be difficult to force her out. Kantor, who’s been both trade representative and commerce secretary, might also face tough confirmation questions about Indonesian cash and trade policy. By the time the investigators get done, the Clintonites may come to think of the tribulations of the first term as the good old days.
Determined to avoid the early mistakes and mishaps of his first two years, the president is hard at work putting together a new circle–one that’s already battle-tested. He’s focusing on the White House staff first, and will then turn to reshuffling the cabinet. He may even reach out to Republicans. But the key criterion for everyone this time around is experience. A sampling of the names in play:
Erskine Bowles
George Mitchell
Jamie Gorelick
Tom Kean
Mickey Kantor
Madeleine Albright
Sandy Berger
