Bush Names Rove Political Strategist

Alvin Felzenberg, a transition scholar at the Heritage Foundation, said the concentrated authority of Bush's three top White House advisers will "keep the president from getting isolated."

Bush advisers argued that Rove and Hughes, who worked together during the campaign without distracting discord, could continue that arrangement. "It will be a White House devoid of the historical bickering and backbiting," predicted Ed Gillespie, who advised the Bush campaign.

Bush had decided to bring a large number of his campaign and gubernatorial staff to the White House. About 200 of his campaign staffers will move to Washington. In addition to Rove and Hughes, campaign spokesman Ari Fleischer, speechwriter Mike Gerson and Bolten will play similar roles in the White House. Bush has dispatched campaign finance chief Jack Oliver to the Republican National Committee, sent campaign chairman Don Evans to be commerce secretary and is considering a top White House political job for campaign operative Maria Cino.

Lawrence Lindsey and Condoleezza Rice, who advised the campaign on economic and foreign policy, respectively, will do the same in the White House. White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales and presidential personnel director Clay Johnson had similar jobs for Bush in Texas, while Albert Hawkins, Bush's Texas budget director, and Margaret La Montagne, Bush's Texas education adviser, are also likely to have key jobs.

Bush aides say the transplantation of large numbers of Bush campaign aides will give the White House an early sense of continuity and purpose. But previous White House veterans say there is a danger that Bush, like President Carter, who surrounded himself with Georgians, will be hurt by inexperience.

Bush has sought to counteract that by bringing in old pros, some from his father's administration. Card, Calio, Office of Management and Budget chief Mitch Daniels, deputy chief of staff Joseph Hagin, vice presidential chief of staff Lewis Libby and Cheney all fit into that category. Rove also notes that many other seasoned staffers less known to Bush will be brought into the White House.

In taking a White House assignment, Rove, a protege of Lee Atwater, the strategist of the president-elect's father, is doing something his mentor didn't. Rove, a history buff who has a fascination with policy, couldn't resist the opportunity.

"It's going to be a lifetime dream rewarded," he said while accepting the appointment this morning. The often combative Rove, 50, never finished college but got Bush interested in many of the pieces of what became his "compassionate conservative" agenda.

There had been rumors that Bush and Rove were having difficulty coming to terms on Rove's White House role because Hughes was named immediately but Rove's appointment was delayed. Rove was said to be requesting an unusually broad portfolio, which others had resisted.

But Rove, who received the broad assignment he desired, said today that the decision was made three weeks ago but that the announcement was delayed until the Cabinet was named. "We wanted to set the tone and make it clear he wanted to bring in a lot of different faces," Rove said.