Leaning on bipartisan muse

By Curtis Wilkie, Globe Staff, January 20, 1999

AUSTIN, Texas -- Playing on his ability to bridge partisan divides while giving no hint of greater ambition, Texas Governor George W. Bush began a second term yesterday with an inaugural address that touched on the themes of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, as well as the Republican family values embraced by his own father, former president George Bush.

The 52-year-old governor, who is expected to seek the GOP presidential nomination on a platform of "compassionate conservatism," continued his effort to win over erstwhile Democratic constituencies by calling on "the armies of compassion . . . to love, to nurture, to mentor, to help, and thus to offer hope to those who have none."

Some of Bush's lines were consistent with the "war on poverty" rhetoric of LBJ, whose presidential library is within walking distance of the Texas state Capitol.

Yet in his next breath, Bush spoke of traditional Republican values that see certain "moral judgments" as essential. "For our children to have the kind of life we want for them," Bush said, "they must learn to say yes to responsibility, yes to family, yes to honesty and work, and no to drugs, no to violence, no to promiscuity or having babies out of wedlock."

The inaugural celebration, featuring a jet flyover, a cannonade, and a Texas barbecue for 15,000 spectators on the south lawn of the state Capitol, served as a counterpoint to events in Washington, where Congress prepared to hear President Clinton's State of the Union address even as the Senate struggled through another day of his impeachment trial.

Bush, who won reelection with overwhelming numbers last year, is not expected to reveal his national plans until a 140-day legislative session is completed this spring. He was a critic of Clinton's character well before the Lewinsky scandal broke and has long harbored a desire to avenge his father's defeat at the hands of Clinton in 1992. But he has said repeatedly that he is withholding a decision on the presidential campaign, and made it clear he will not run unless his wife, Laura, and their 17-year-old twin daughters approve.

"I haven't met one 17-year-old child who is eager to get dragged through the national spotlight," Bush said earlier this week.

Still, the air at the Texas capitol was that of a presidential warm-up, two years and one day from the next inauguration in Washington.

Former President Bush and his wife, Barbara, were present. The Texas governor's younger brother, Jeb, the new governor of Florida, was not on hand.

Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci, however, had a front-row seat. Cellucci, who has been a friend of George W. Bush since he worked for his father's first presidential campaign in 1979, was the only out-of-state governor to attend the inauguration. Cellucci said he hoped Bush would run for president, but added, "It's his decision, and one he and his whole family will have to make."

If Bush does enter the 2000 race, Cellucci said, "I'll be with him all the way, in New Hampshire, in Massachusetts, wherever. The Republican Party should look to a governor like him, someone who gets things done by appealing to a broad spectrum of citizens."

Former Democratic legislators in Texas who attended the ceremony also spoke of Bush's bipartisan appeal and vowed to support him in a presidential bid.

Bruce Gibson, a six-term legislator who is now a senior vice president for Houston Industries, a giant Texas utility, said Bush had mastered the art of "connecting with people at every level," especially in a legislature where the Republicans control the Senate by only one vote and the Democrats command the House by a mere six votes. "The guy develops relationships on a personal level," said Gibson, a conservative Democrat.

Tom Schieffer, president of the Texas Rangers, a three-term Democratic legislator, and Bush's former business partner, called the governor "a great politician because he's not a politician. He's very affable and likes people."

Schieffer said he expected Bush to become a presidential candidate. "But part of me wouldn't be surprised if he didn't," Schieffer said. "He's seen the heartache that goes with being president, what it does to a family. I guess he'll go for it, but I don't think he'll consider his life a failure if he doesn't."