| Page 2 of 2 < |
President Names Ex-GOP Leader As Key Adviser
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
But Gillespie is well liked by the president's staff and could be helpful to Bush in some parts of the White House operation that have drawn criticism over the years, including relations with Congress and the news media, said several GOP strategists outside the administration. He is also close to political adviser Karl Rove, who some Republicans said had a tense relationship with Bartlett.
"It's good for the White House because Ed has great relationships with the key folks to be successful in that post -- the president, White House staff, Hill, reporters, K Street, party leaders," Ken Mehlman, the former RNC chairman, said in an e-mail exchange.
One thing that remains to be seen is how well Gillespie will work with the new Democratic majority in Congress, given his background as a fierce partisan.
During the 2004 presidential election, Gillespie regularly bashed Democratic nominee John F. Kerry for vacillating and indecision. The Democratic National Committee greeted his appointment with derision, describing Gillespie as a "loyal foot soldier" out to spin for the administration.
Gillespie had recently taken over as chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, which has struggled after Democratic victories in two successive governor's races and last year's U.S. Senate contest. He immediately sought to rejuvenate what had been widely regarded as the state party's ineffective fundraising operation, using his connections to Washington to organize events featuring party celebrities, such as former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
He has been said to be interested in running for elective office.
In a brief interview yesterday, Gillespie said he was "flattered" to have been asked to do the job by the president and expressed great enthusiasm for trying to advance Bush's "vigorous agenda" in the administration's last 18 months. But Gillespie would not tip his hand on his priorities and his analysis of the president's political situation, saying he would provide that kind of advice privately to Bush and hope "it doesn't leak."
Staff writers Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Tim Craig contributed to this report.
