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Inside Politics

President-elect George W. Bush Resigns as Governor of Texas; Might GOP Talk of a Recession Help Create One?

Aired December 21, 2000 - 5:00 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's only one thing that would cause me to leave early...

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: ... and that's to become your president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: The president-elect is governor no more. We'll have the latest on Mr. Bush in transition, including two candidates for top jobs who have said yes.

BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, the Bush camp tries to deflect criticism that its talk of a possible recession may create one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE SPERLING, NATIONAL ECONOMIC ADVISER: I think they're making a serious mistake by looking like they're willing to inject fear and anxiety into the market for political gain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: And say so long to the Clinton style of partying. We will preview the Washington social scene when George W. Bush comes to town.

ANNOUNCER: From Washington, this is INSIDE POLITICS, with Judy Woodruff and Bernard Shaw.

SHAW: Thanks very much for joining us. Even as President-Elect Bush stepped down today as the top official in Texas, he moved closer to making two other Republicans ex-governors as well. CNN has learned New Jersey's Christie Whitman and Wisconsin's Tommy Thompson have agreed to serve in the Bush administration.

CNN's Major Garrett has more on Mr. Bush's choices and his transition from the state house to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Texas, as the natives say, is like a whole other country, and most Texans want to know why a native would ever leave.

BUSH: And there's only one thing that would cause me to leave early...

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: ... and that's to become your president.

GARRETT: The president-elect said Texas shaped him as a man, taught him about dreams that grow in desolate places, about independence and risk-taking, about what gets done when goals rise above differences.

BUSH: Laura and I need a little more time to move out of the mansion. We've got a lot of thanks to give, and we'll be giving them over the next 30 days. But my wish is that the new governor enjoys living in the mansion as much as we did. It won't be our home, but Texas always will be.

GARRETT: Thirty days to fill out a Cabinet and set a policy agenda. Two more Cabinet picks are known: Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Thompson's a national leader on welfare reform and supporter of school vouchers, issues his department will oversee.

And Governor Christie Whitman as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. A strong environmentalist, Whitman may soften Mr. Bush's pro-industrialist image. As for policy, a bipartisan session on education.

GOV. TOMMY THOMPSON (R), WISCONSIN: I know I have served under six presidents, counting the one coming up, and this is the first time I have seen a group of senators of diverse views on education, in particular, to be invited by any president to come to meet and to make sure that we can work together to benefit the children of this nation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GARRETT: The only glitch so far has been Montana Governor Mark Racicot's refusal to serve as attorney general. Racicot tells CNN it wasn't because conservatives complained or that he might not be confirmed. Racicot says he just wanted to make some money in the private sector -- Bernie.

SHAW: Major, what else can we expect now in terms of the Cabinet and nominees?

GARRETT: Well, we're not really sure if tomorrow is going to be the day that we'll actually meet Christie Whitman and Tommy Thompson as the new members of the Bush Cabinet. That's a possibility. No confirmation yet here in Austin on that. Then, the governor's going to take some days off, go to the ranch in Crawford for the holidays, come back mid-week next week. We expect some interviews and more announcements then -- Bernie.

SHAW: Major Garrett in Austin. Thank you -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: And now to Bush and the economy. Stocks closed higher today after concerns about the slowing economy helped to drive down prices yesterday to lows unseen in more than a year. The rally did not seem to take the heat off the president-elect, who has been speculating a good deal in public about the possibility of a recession.

That story from CNN's Eileen O'Connor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They keep talking about it. The president-elect:

BUSH: If there are warning signs on the horizon, we need to pay attention to them.

O'CONNOR: And his vice president-elect:

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: The economy has slowed down some. Whether or not this ultimately results in a recession -- that is negative real growth -- nobody knows at this time.

O'CONNOR: There it is. The "r" word. To the Clinton administration, those are fighting words.

SPERLING: To talk down your own economy just because you think it might help your political positioning, or put a little more blame on your predecessor, or try to give you a little more credit, is really a very short-term strategy.

O'CONNOR: So is president-elect Bush just trying to garner support for his tax cut?

JIM MILLER, CITIZENS FOR SOUND ECONOMY: They have an incentive, not only to have a tax cut as an inoculation against a recession, but also to have people recognize that the circumstances are not the best right now, and when they take over, it's not really on their watch that the economy was going down.

O'CONNOR: And don't president-elects traditionally talk down the economy?

ALICE RIVLIN, ECONOMIST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It is unusual for a president to talk about recession. I don't ever remember that. And it seems to me it's a dangerous thing for a president to do.

O'CONNOR: Dangerous because markets are influenced by psychology -- confidence -- which drives spending. And confidence can be quickly shattered when the word recession is used.

RIVLIN: People get nervous. They get worried. They don't buy. They don't invest. And then there are fewer jobs. And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

O'CONNOR: Faltering confidence is showing up on Main Street. Christmas sales are off 8 percent this year. The jitters are affecting Wall Street as well, with investors jumping ship on even the slightest bad news. The result: the Nasdaq at its lowest point in more than a year-and-a-half. But while some say talk of recession is worsening a slowing economy, others say it's simply being realistic and prudent.

MILLER: Look, I think they are getting a bum-rap over this. I mean, they'd have to be somnolent not to recognize that the numbers are not particularly optimistic for the economy.

O'CONNOR (on camera): And there is some irony in the fact that, while George Bush SR. spent his last months in office denying there a recession, his son's team is taking office talking about one.

Eileen O'Connor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHAW: As president-elect Bush deals with the economy and other challenges, he is likely to draw from his experience as the chief executive of Texas.

On this day of his resignation as governor, CNN's Kelly Wallace looks at the leadership style Bush has honed during his tenure in Austin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his emotional farewell, George W. Bush saluted Republicans and Democrats, pledging to take the lessons of his governorship to Washington.

BUSH: No one person can claim credit. It has been a record of shared success, a true tribute to bipartisan efforts.

WALLACE: Even before he officially takes over his next job, Mr. Bush tries to tout that bipartisanship, inviting Democratic and Republican lawmakers to Austin to discuss education reform.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So help me God.

BUSH: So help me God.

WALLACE: It was just six years ago when this son of a president won elected office for the very first time, defeating the popular Democratic governor, Ann Richards. And from the beginning, Republicans say he reached across the aisle.

STATE SEN. BILL RATLIFF (R), TEXAS: One Democrat told me back then that he had spent more time with George W. Bush in his first year than he spent with the former governor, Ann Richards, in four years. And this was a Democrat. WALLACE: One Democrat in particular he reached out to was the late Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock. The ice-breaker may have been sealed with a kiss.

TONY PROFFITT, FMR. BULLOCK POLITICAL DIRECTOR: There was an occasion where Lieutenant Governor Bullock was pretty irate in that, which was something he was very good at. And while he was more or less steaming off on some issue, Governor Bush just simply leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. It brought a lot of levity to it. And it closed down the intenseness of the situation.

WALLACE: Mr. Bush governed with a limited agenda and focused on the center. While that may have frustrated liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans at times, some political observers think the experience will help the incoming president in Washington.

HARVEY KRONBERG, QUORUM REPORT.COM: Because the Congress is so evenly divided that this -- the American public has pretty much taken a pass on the extreme right and extreme left, that they've given a vote of confidence to the center. And that's the ground -- the world in which George Bush is the most comfortable.

WALLACE: But the Texas legislature -- which meets every other year for 140 days -- is not the U.S. Congress. In Texas, Democrats and Republicans pretty much agree on less government and low taxes.

(on camera): As one observer said, what is a liberal agenda here is mainstream anywhere else. And so it remains to be seen whether that personal touch he believes worked for him in Texas will be as effective in ending the divisiveness in Washington.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Austin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Still ahead on INSIDE POLITICS: more on George W. Bush's style and whether he will be effective in Washington. We will talk with two Texas journalists who watched him at work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHAW: George W. Bush has promised that his administration will usher in an era of bipartisanship; but can he repeat his Texas success here in the nation's capitol?

Well, joining us now: Wayne Slater of "The Dallas Morning News," and Evan Smith of "The Texas Monthly."

Evan, first to you: What is this man's style of operation?

EVAN SMITH, "THE TEXAS MONTHLY": Well, I think this bipartisanship he's been talking about is pretty legitimate. He has spent the last six years as governor reaching out across the aisle to Democrats. He's had great success doing so in Texas. I actually think it's going to be much harder in Washington, but his Cabinet picks, so far, have seemed pretty reasonable and I think he'll probably try to do the same thing there.

SHAW: Wayne Slater, what do you notice about this man now -- has his demeanor changed?

WAYNE SLATER, "THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS": His demeanor has changed. I was struck by the George Bush who I saw the last couple of days; clearly the president-elect, and how, when he talks he seems to be measuring every word.

The guy I saw at the beginning of this campaign, his first news conference in New Hampshire, when he actually met the national press for the first time was an extraordinary event. He was nervous going in, but after a couple of questions he realized, I can play ball with these guys, I can do this. He was nimble, he was easygoing; and all those good things which benefited Bush showed through in that news conference.

I'm now seeing a guy who may not -- I'm not saying he's overwhelmed by the office, but seems to be much more in control, much more measured and much more reserved.

SHAW: What are you seeing, Wayne?

SLATER: You mean Evan?

SHAW: Evan, yes.

SMITH: Well, I completely agree with Wayne. I've actually been surprised the last couple days to see how -- I don't know that it's quite presidential, but much more serious, sober. He seems to have aged, actually -- strangely in the last week. His hair looks different to me. Everything about him, actually, seems very different from, say, two or three weeks ago.

Wayne and I just got back from the swearing in of the new governor of Texas, Rick Perry. And just to watch president-elect Bush on stage there with Governor Perry -- he just seems to be from a different universe than we're all used to. I think it's had a real effect on him.

SLATER: Bernie, let me say one other thing, though. We were at a party last night at the mansion -- at the governor's mansion; and for a while, for a moment there, I saw the sparkle of the same old George Bush who Evan and I have known for six years here in the statehouse.

He was talking about something or other in a rather serious way and then he turned to me, as if to give an aside and said, you know, this is really a really big deal. Kind of made a face as if, the presidency of the United States -- it's me!

SHAW: Evan, what about his selection of Dick Cheney as a running mate and the ability of Mr. Cheney to get a lot of things done over these past few weeks -- your thoughts on that; what it says about this executive's ability to delegate and share the spotlight? SMITH: Well, I have a couple thoughts about that. First of all, it's entirely keeping with George Bush's style as governor to appoint people he trusts and then to delegate the responsibilities of his office to a large degree to his experts. And, obviously, Dick Cheney is his greatest expert, his greatest exercise in delegating authority. And so it's not at all surprising to see Cheney having so much control.

I will say that Cheney has been even more in control, perhaps, than some of us thought he would be. We keep waiting to see Bush assert himself as much as Cheney has. It would be a great idea, many believe here believe, for Bush to be out before the camera a little bit more, to have a very early press conference, either as president- elect or right after he's sworn in -- to give no quarter to the idea that maybe Cheney is really running things.

It's definitely, though, in keeping with Bush's style to have somebody so strong alongside him.

SHAW: Wayne, starting first with you and then Evan, if you will chime in on this last question to both of you: How will this man govern?

SLATER: His style is not to go too deeply into the homework, but to surround himself with key people who know their issues and can come back and give him a summary and allow him to make those decisions. His style is an enormous confidence in winning over people.

Now whether this will work in Washington, I don't know, but he's won over legislators here and he will try to win you over first, try to bring you around, try to make you like him, and only then press you on policy issues.

SMITH: I think Wayne is exactly right about that Bernie; and I'll say one more thing. You know, Bush has had a hard time convincing people that he's serious about bipartisanship; the evidence in Texas suggests that he can reach out to Democrats.

In Washington, I think his challenge is going to be, not Democrats, but Republicans. I'd like to see the first time that Bush and Tom DeLay get into a scrap. I suspect that the Republicans, the far-right-wing quarter of the Republican Party is going to pose more of a challenge for Bush as he governs than, say, the Democrats he'd have to reach out to. That's what I expect, at least from this vantage point.

SHAW: Evan Smith, "Texas Monthly," wearing the gray tie; and Wayne Slater of "The Dallas Morning News," wearing the speckled, beige tie.

Gentlemen, happy holidays, thanks very much.

SMITH: Thanks Bernie.

SHAW: See you at the inauguration here.

SLATER: We'll see you there.

SHAW: OK; and there's much more ahead on this edition of INSIDE POLITICS.

Still to come: Are conservatives unhappy with the way the Bush Cabinet is shaping up? We will ask Gary Bauer. Plus, could protesters rain on George W. Bush's inaugural parade? A look at plans for January rallies. And later:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As members of Congress head home for the holidays, some are heading home for good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHAW: Chris Black on the members of Congress who have said goodbye to Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: We'll have more of the day's political news coming up, but now a look at some other top stories.

There are signs of optimism as well as suggestions of compromise in the Mid-East peace talks. A Palestinian negotiator says headway is being made in the quest for sovereignty over Arab Jerusalem, and the Israeli foreign minister calls the talks fruitful. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will join the discussions tonight, and talks will continue through Sunday at Bolling Air Force Base near Washington.

SHAW: Heading into the holiday weekend, travel in parts of the nation is risky business today. Snow and ice cover parts of the Plains states and the Northeast. It's also bitterly cold with wind chill factors plunging far below zero. In the Deep South, another winter storm is sweeping through northern Georgia and causing long delays for weary travelers at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport.

Meteorologist Chad Myers joins us now with the latest on the winter weather -- Chad.

(WEATHER BREAK)

SHAW: Thank you very much, Chad. And when INSIDE POLITICS returns, the potential downside of being nominated by the president- elect: the lengthy FBI background checks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: It's in the nature of the relationship I have with Dick Cheney and I hope the relationship that Democrats in Congress have with this administration that where we can find common ground, we should do so. And that's what people have sent us here for. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Senator Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney met on Capitol Hill today in the spirit of bipartisanship. They talked privately for less than 30 minutes, and pledged to work together when possible, to find common ground on the issues.

As George W. Bush assembles his Cabinet, conservatives are watching very closely. So far, Bush has chosen moderate Republicans like Colin Powell at State Department; Paul O'Neill at the Treasury, who supported the Clinton administration's gas tax. The likely choice of New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman angers some conservatives because of her stance on abortion.

Joining us now to talk more about the concerns of some party conservatives, former presidential candidate and the head of the Campaign for Working Families, Gary Bauer.

Gary Bauer, good to see you again.

GARY BAUER, CAMPAIGN FOR WORKING FAMILIES: Good to see you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: As somebody who keeps a very close eye on all of this, what do you make of George W. Bush's actions in the last week or so?

BAUER: Well, I'm finding myself -- I'm changing my position here. I think that my I might be in favor of bipartisanship if that means to get some conservatives in the Cabinet. I don't know, it's been a little disconcerting this first few weeks. Look, he's the president-elect. He can appoint anybody who he wants, obviously. He doesn't have to listen to my advice or anybody else's.

But I will guarantee, Judy, that there will be crisis in the Bush presidency. There always are in every president's administration, and when those crisis come up, the people that stand with him are not going to be the people telling him to go to the middle or to satisfy the liberals or satisfy the Democrats. It's going be the conservative base that elected him. Those are the folks he's going to have to count on. So, I'm looking forward to some better appointments over the next week or so.

WOODRUFF: But what's wrong with people like Paul O'Neill, like Christie Whitman, who we understand is going to be named to the Environmental Protection Agency?

BAUER: Well, it's not that there's something wrong them. I mean, I'm not the gatekeeper, but there's something a little unusual about some of these appointments. The treasure secretary has supported tax hikes on energy, on gasoline. Well, we clobbered Al Gore for being if in favor of that. He wrote that in his book. It became a big debating issue. Why would we say that's a terrible idea, Al Gore, and then put in as a treasury secretary someone that has favored increasing taxes on gasoline.

(CROSSTALK) WOODRUFF: But isn't that just one small piece of his background? I mean, he has headed a major company. He is...

BAUER: Sure.

WOODRUFF: He is a known quantity in Washington and Wall Street.

BAUER: And maybe he'll be a wonderful treasury secretary. But were there no heads of major companies that actually agree with the Republican agenda of cutting taxes? I mean, I think that there is plenty of qualified people of all of these posts. And my hope would be that you pick people that are very qualified and also share the governing agenda of the Republican Party -- just as Al Gore, if he would have won, would have not put pro-life people in his Cabinet, or people who wanted to cut taxes or make government smaller. That would have been silly. And nobody would have expected him to appoint some people.

WOODRUFF: But assuming Governor Whitman is placed at EPA: Now, that's not a position where her views on abortion will come into play, is it?

BAUER: Well, first of all, when you are in an administration at a high level, you get to weigh in on every issue. Folks don't just stick with their portfolio. If you have a seat at the table, you are going to have an opinion. But even beyond that, Judy, Christie Todd Whitman is not just -- as she would put it -- pro-choice. She has been aggressively pro-abortion during her time in the Republican Party. She has fought with all of us all around the country that wanted the Republican Party to the stay pro-life.

Appointing her is like waving a red flag in front of the people that stuffed the envelopes, rang the doorbells and made George Bush president. It would be like Al Gore giving, again, a pro-life governor a major position in this administration.

WOODRUFF: If George W. Bush were sitting here, I can hear he might be saying: But wait a minute, I'm sticking with my $1.3 trillion tax cut.

BAUER: Right.

WOODRUFF: I'm insisting on it to this day despite all the opposition. We don't know who he is going to put at Defense. But the prominent name is former Senator Dan Coats, a conservative.

BAUER: Yes. But you have raised a good point. There is some very important posts to be filled. Defense Secretary Dan Coats would be fantastic. And secretary of HHS could be Governor Thompson of Wisconsin -- would be an outstanding appointment. The attorney general's slot: I am hoping to hear that maybe a former Senator Ashcroft, or perhaps Governor Keating of Oklahoma.

Those would be solid appointments. And those would be names that conservatives around the country would recognize, and certainly would applaud, because we want George Bush to succeed. WOODRUFF: Realistically, Gary Bauer, isn't George W. Bush a whole lot better off politically being criticized by conservatives like you -- like Gary Bauer -- for being too moderate, than the other way around: being criticized by moderates for being too middle-of-the- road?

BAUER: I know that you didn't mean that as the insult, Judy. I'll take it as a fair question. No, he's not. It's never a good thing for a politician -- whether he's a president, a senator, or a congressman -- to be criticized by his base. Those are the people that make your political career.

WOODRUFF: But this was a 50-50 election. He lost the popular vote. Doesn't he have to reach out to the center?

BAUER: You know who also lost the popular vote, Judy? In 1992, Bill Clinton got 43 percent of the vote; 57 percent of the American people voted for somebody else.

WOODRUFF: But he still got more than his Republican

(CROSSTALK)

BAUER: Sure. But nobody said to him: Look, you've only got the support of four out of 10 Americans. You better go slow. You better run to the middle. Bill Clinton came into office. And he was out of the starting blocks right away, issuing the executive orders, trying to do everything he could to aggressively pursue his agenda. And I believe that the president-elect Bush and the honeymoon that every president gets, that's the time when it's the easiest to pass your agenda. And he ought to be bold.

WOODRUFF: Well, Gary Bauer, perhaps president-elect Bush is listening.

BAUER: I hope so.

WOODRUFF: Thank you very much.

BAUER: Thank you, Judy. Merry Christmas.

WOODRUFF: And to you -- Bernie.

SHAW: Conservative or moderate, Bush's Cabinet and staff choices will all have to undergo a lengthy background check.

CNN's Kathleen Koch checks out the process that begins after the announcements.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am honored and humbled to be asked to join your administration.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The announcement takes minutes, but dozens of FBI interviews with family, employers and neighbors must be completed before a new presidential appointee starts work.

Everything from facts to rumor ends up in raw FBI files, passed back to the administration, and sometimes to Senate committees and the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA HILL, CLARENCE THOMAS ACCUSER: This was difficult because...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: That's what exposed Anita Hill's harassment charges against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991. Then there is paperwork. The more than 1,000 appointees must fill out a financial disclosure report, listing income, assets, and liabilities. A national security form probes whether nominees have had mental health problems, criminal records or abused alcohol or drugs. It covers where they've lived, worked, gone to school and traveled abroad.

Former Clinton Cabinet member Alice Rivlin had to report where she'd been in the summer of 1952.

RIVLIN: I had been to Europe that summer. And they said: Can anybody verify that? Well, it was hard to find anybody. But I called my high school boyfriend, and said: "Can you tell the FBI what I was doing in the summer of '52?" And he said, "Sure, if you'll remind me." And I did. And he did. And that was fine.

KOCH: Finally, a White House data questionnaire: It quizzes appointees on their medical history, lobbying, dealings with foreign governments and any domestic help. That question was added after two people in line for the first Clinton Cabinet were withdrawn for not paying taxes on nannies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I can assure you that this incident in no way reflects on my ability to be attorney general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Some, though, wonder whether the questions added by each successive administration are necessary.

DR. ALVIN FELZENBERG, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: The forms get longer and longer. And the uses that have been made of them I think are somewhat questionable.

KOCH (on camera): It's such a lengthy process that it took President Clinton 10 months to staff his administration. With the late start, some predict it could take president-elect Bush more than a year.

Kathleen Koch, for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Come January 20, thousands will jam the National Mall to welcome George W. Bush to the White House. Thousands more, like these anti-Republican protesters, could turn out just to tell him to go home. Get the story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are optimists. And we are excited about the next 30 days. We know that the people of America deserve a great celebration. And we look forward to working together with the entire team to make that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHAW: The Republicans are planning a big party to celebrate George W. Bush's inauguration. The guest list is long and distinguished. However, thousands of uninvited guests are also expected to be on hand.

We're now joined by Brian Becker of the International Action Center, and the Reverend Walter Fauntroy, who's part of a so-called shadow inauguration.

Mr. Becker, first to you: Why you are coming to town?

BRIAN BECKER, INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER: Well, we will have thousands of people coming to Washington on January 20th to demonstrate against the death penalty, which George Bush is a fervent supporter of and George Bush, as you know, has on his watch executed more people than any of the governors of the states combined.

We'll also be demanding a new trial for the famed broadcast journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal and thirdly our demonstration will focus on what we believe was the racist disenfranchisement of mainly African- American and Haitian voters in the state of Florida, which we considered to be a conspiracy by the Republican Party to disenfranchise black people -- a tradition in the South that has been revealed not to have been from the ages past but lives on today.

SHAW: How are you are organizing this effort?

BECKER: We have car caravans, bus loads of people from unions, from civil rights groups, from student organizations coming from Maine to Florida, as far away as Chicago. On the Internet, passing out flyers, phone banking. We have in the last 10 days, a massive mobilization. We believe this will be the largest counter-inaugural demonstration since Richard Nixon was confronted by 100,000 demonstrators in 1973, when they demanded that he sign the treaty to end the war in Vietnam.

SHAW: Reverend Fauntroy, you live here in this capital. You've seen every inauguration, I think, since FDR, '45. What statement are you planning to make here, in effect, your home town? REV. WALTER FAUNTROY, "SHADOW" INAUGURATION ORGANIZER: Well, I'm going to lend my body to millions of Americans who are really outraged at what happened on November 7th in terms of the suppression of the votes first of African-Americans, and then the deprivation of the will of the people as expressed in the majority of the votes.

We're going to assemble at the scene of the crime, the Supreme Court, for a Shadow inauguration in which we're going to give an oath of office to people who will be deputized to protect voting rights over the course of the next four years. The fact is that we were there on the date the Supreme Court first considered an ill-considered decision to bring the Supreme Court decision out of the state of Maryland up to Washington.

We said then that this is more about Selma than it is about Florida or about Bush or Gore, and it is. We are embarrassed in the state of the world that before the very eyes of the world, it has listened to us espouse the virtues of democracy around the world. We've seen voter suppression tactics that take us back now as far as 1876.

SHAW: These people you call protectors of voters rights, who are they? What will they do?

FAUNTROY: They will be people who will do four things over the course of the next four years. First, we're going to turn on to politics and we're going to say to the young people who perhaps voted for the first time, register now as never before because you now know why they killed Medigabras (ph), why they beat Jamie Schwarnan Goodman (ph) to death, and therefore, we're going to choose the 15th of January, Dr. King's birthday, as the time when we're asking every person of conscience to give them a present, a birthday present by registering.

Then, we're going to go through litigation over the course of this time to bring to justice those who in governmental lawlessness denied hundreds of thousands of people their right to vote.

SHAW: I suppose that my summary question to both of you, starting with you, Mr. Becker, after you've come and gone, then what?

BECKER: Well, this demonstration is more than a single event. A movement started last year in Seattle; it was a movement for social justice. It was mainly young people and it went to Washington, D.C. for protests against the IMF and then to the conventions of the Republican and the Democratic Party.

Now, that movement is taking its next step. It's not only protesting globalization, it's protesting the war against poor and working people here and around the world. It's got a special focus on racism, which is alive and well in the United States. So we believe this will be, on January 20th, not the beginning of the Bush period of racist reaction, but the period of a new civil rights movement which this demonstration on January 20th will signify.

SHAW: And you, Reverend Fauntroy? FAUNTROY: Of course, it is a commencement. We're going to get people registered all year long beginning on the 15th of January. Secondly, we're going to see to it that court cases get the support of those who will be testifying at Civil Rights Commission hearings over the next few months.

Third, we're going to develop education programs designed to tell us where we need to register and where we need to vote in 2001 in states legislative races, and then finally, we're going to put together a voting rights reform package that will correct these things that happened on November 7th.

SHAW: And both of you intend your protests to be peaceful?

BECKER: Well, our demonstration will be peaceful. We demand that the police give us permits, that they not demonize and criminalize the demonstrators as they're attempting to do and we have you -- asked the media. Have the media ask the police, will there be violence because it's the police who have the guns and the clubs and the tear gas and who have acted lawlessly in the past demonstrations in the past year. For our part, our demonstration will be legal and orderly and disciplined and loud, but we insist that our First Amendments rights be upheld.

FAUNTROY: The Reverend Al Sharpton is in a tradition of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and it's movement for nonviolence and social change and for demonstrations that raise consciousness and prick the conscience of enough people in this country that I think they're going to join us in following the leadership of those who are inaugurated in the shadow inauguration before the Supreme Court on Inauguration Day.

SHAW: Reverend Walter Fauntroy, Brian Becker. Gentlemen. Thank you.

BECKER: Thank you.

SHAW: The Bush administration will mark a new chapter in America's political history, but it will also close the book on some very successful Congressional careers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's only four ways to leave the legislative body; there's only one good way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHAW: When we come back, some parting shots from some of the lawmakers saying so long to the hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHAW: We're looking at what's described as the world's largest Menorah. The lighting of this Menorah indicating the beginning of Hanukkah at sundown; Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. This is happening on the nation's ellipse behind the White House during this holiday season -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Well, as George W. Bush prepares to move to Washington, some seasoned lawmakers are saying their final farewells to the nation's capitol.

CNN Congressional correspondent Chris Black gives us an inside view of their final days on the Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chair declares the second session of the 106th Congress adjourned, sine die.

CHRIS BLACK, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As members of Congress head home for the holidays, some are heading home for good. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York is ending a Washington career that dates back to the Kennedy and Nixon administrations. It includes tours as ambassador to India and the United Nations.

SEN. DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN (D), NEW YORK: ... except this is a moment of rare opportunity for the Senate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there is, in fact, one man among those of us in the Senate who truly epitomizes Socrates' philosopher king...

BLACK: Bob Kerrey, a Vietnam War hero, Nebraska governor and one-time presidential candidate, closing a political chapter to become a university president. Senator Connie Mack of Florida, grandson and namesake of a major league baseball team player and owner, who dedicated his first campaign to the memory of a brother who died of cancer and then spent years increasing federal support for medical research.

And Mark Sanford of South Carolina, part of the 1994 Republican takeover of the House, delivering on a promise to leave after six years.

REP. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: You know, I don't take back money, so I don't have to be anybody's boy in Washington. I've been able to be independent, which has been very, very important to me. BLACK: Then there are the barons of Capitol Hill. Committee Chairman Bill Archer of Ways and Means, leaving after 30 years on Hill; John Kasich of the budget committee, each term limited as chairman by House rules.

REP. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: I'm going to take my ship and I'm going to sail it out into the high seas and let the wind kind of blow it in another direction.

BLACK: These seasoned politicians, five U.S. senators and 22 House members, came to Washington determined to make a difference.

REP. BILL ARCHER (R), TEXAS: I ran for Congress because I was concerned about the future of my children. At that time I had five children, now I have 16 grandchildren.

SEN. BOB KERREY (D), NEBRASKA: You can use this power and save a life, or improve a life, and change a life in some very positive ways.

BLACK: They have witnessed dramatic events. The Reagan revolution came and went. A century ended. A president was impeached by the House. Nothing, they say, can shake their faith in democracy.

REP. JOHN EDWARD PORTER (R), ILLINOIS: But if you're expecting not to have frustration with it, if you're expecting it to be efficient and be done exactly on time, it's not going to happen. It isn't our system.

KERREY: It's big; it's not small, no. Is it pretty? No. Is it hard? Yes. Is it frustrating? Yes. Do you sometimes have heartbreaks and setbacks and disappointments and losses? Yes. All that's -- you know, that's the game of life. All that's a part of life.

BLACK: Even a crusty Texan gets nostalgic, remembering when his team delivered on its promises in 1995, the so-called "Contract with America," and stood together on the steps of the Capitol.

ARCHER: ... looking out over the statue of Grant and the Washington Monument on to the Lincoln Memorial, and I heard our leaders speak what had been my philosophy for all of my life -- and continues to be my philosophy -- which is, liberty has never come from government.

BLACK: They have a higher tolerance for partisan battling than the public.

SEN. CONNIE MACK (R), FLORIDA: It seems like each generation thinks that it's more political, more partisan, more confrontational than in the past. I think human nature is human nature.

BLACK: But, like 21-year House veteran John Porter, share the public's disgust with nasty political campaigns.

PORTER: Many of our campaigns have degenerated into character assassination and running negative campaigns that, I think, turn the American people off -- turn them away from the process.

BLACK: They say they still believe in the same principles that first brought them here.

KASICH: I did not suck up. I stood my ground. A lot of times I walked a very lonely road, but I think that's what leadership is.

BLACK: Each followed a different path to the same decision: to walk away.

PORTER: There's only four ways to leave a legislative body. There's only one good way.

MACK: You know, tides come in and tides go out. And, you know, I felt that it's important to be in touch with who you are, and to just remain in the Senate when my heart said to me it was time to go.

KERREY: I love this place. I've learned a lot. I'm much more patriotic than I was when I came here.

BLACK: Chris Black, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Some wise and thoughtful voices there.

SHAW: Very much so.

WOODRUFF: And stay with us for another half hour of INSIDE POLITICS.

SHAW: Coming up, Bob Novak considers the conservative fallout as the president-elect fills out his cabinet.

Plus: partying with a Texas flair. How will the Bushes make their mark on Washington's social scene?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: My wish is, is that the new governor enjoys living in the mansion as much as we did. It won't be our home, but Texas always will be.

SHAW: Now that George W. Bush has turned over the reigns of power in Texas, we're going to profile his replacement and find out what is next for this president-elect.

WOODRUFF: The Bush cabinet nominations keep on coming. We'll focus on Republican reaction to the next round of announcements. Plus:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Not since Bill Clinton went from the White House to the doghouse after the Lewinsky affair has body language been so dissected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHAW: Jeanne Moos offering her take on those awkward postelection get-togethers.

ANNOUNCER: From Washington, this is INSIDE POLITICS, with Judy Woodruff and Bernard Shaw.

WOODRUFF: Welcome back to this extended edition of INSIDE POLITICS. Looking ahead to tomorrow, Republican sources say they expect President-elect Bush to make another announcement as he works to fill up the top jobs in his administration.

CNN's Major Garrett is in Austin with more on who's in and who's out of the new Bush White House -- Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

Yes, the Bush -- the president-elect's effort here in Austin has made clear that, at 10:30 tomorrow morning the president-elect will have an announcement. That's usually all the Bush people provide, is guidance that there will be an announcement, give you a time and a location -- never tell us what the announcement is going to be.

But CNN has confirmed that there are two new members of the Bush team; one a cabinet member, Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin has agreed to serve as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. And another governor in the Republican Party, New Jersey Governor Christy Whitman will serve as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency; not a full Cabinet position, but if the president- elect wanted to make in-roads with the environmental community, he might very well elevate that to a Cabinet position -- not a very difficult thing for a president to do.

We expect that announcement tomorrow at 10:30 -- whether or not governors Thompson and Whitman will be here, we're still trying to find out, but it wouldn't surprise any of us here in Austin -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Mark, we know -- I'm sorry, Major, we know that Governor Mark Racicot took his name out. He was reportedly offered the post of attorney general, decided not to take it. What happened there?

GARRETT: Well, I had a long telephone conversation with the governor today. He said the president-elect flew him down here to give one last chance to try to persuade him in person to overcome the objections that he had stated previously: that financially he and his family couldn't afford to move to Washington, take a government post. He wanted to try his luck in the private sector, see if he could earn some good money there for his family.

He has three children in college, plus an ailing mother he thinks he may need to care for in the not-too-distant future. He told me that there's no truth to the rumors currently circulating in Washington that a sort of conservative rumbling at the last minute scotched that potential attorney generalship. And he said he didn't think he would have any trouble being confirmed. That was another rumor floating around Washington today. He said it's all very simple: that he was never a pleader for a position in the president-elect's Cabinet.

He wanted to help him in Florida. He played a very high-profile role there, as you and many Americans may well remember. He just wanted to help someone he believes in, he says, and that he wanted to turn his attention now to raising money for family in the private sector. And, really, it's as simple as that -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, CNN's Major Garrett in Austin, thanks very much. And we'll see you tomorrow -- Bernie.

SHAW: And we're joined now by this fine gentleman: Robert Novak of the "Chicago Sun-times."

Bob, what are we hearing about conservatives, Christie Todd Whitman -- EPA chief -- and moderate Republicans?

ROBERT NOVAK, "CROSSFIRE": Bernie, I can't tell you how upset the conservatives are. They really -- they didn't have much time to celebrate the victory by George W. Bush, because they didn't expect to get all the Cabinet posts. They expected to get some. So far, this has been a very liberal Cabinet, from the basis of the Republican spectrum -- very upset by Paul O'Neill, secretary of the Treasury.

Conservatives with longer memories remember back when he was a OM&B -- Office of Management and Budget -- official in the Ford administration. He was always fighting on the liberal side. But the Christie Todd Whitman appointment really irritates them, because she has gone out of her way to be antagonistic to the conservative base of the Republican Party. The reason, they say, is that she fought very hard for Bush, particularly in the Florida recount. But they say -- and it has nothing to do with abortion on the Environmental Agency. But she's not that conservative on the environment either. So they are very unhappy.

SHAW: Well, tell our viewers what appointments might make conservatives feel better.

NOVAK: Well, it's very providential that Governor Racicot decided not to run, because he is no conservative, has a very bad record on some labor and tax issues in Montana, from a conservative view. And his getting out -- and I believe the reason he states -- opens it up for Governor Frank Keating of Oklahoma, who is a conservative, former Senator Dan Coats -- opens it up for attorney general for Keating.

Former Dan Coats of Indiana at the Pentagon would make the conservatives feel very happy on those very important posts. But they wonder: Why it is taking so long to name Coats? And will Keating get the job? Those are going to be very important to keeping the Republican base happy.

SHAW: Well, a short while ago here in I.P. -- INSIDE POLITICS -- when Judy interviewed Gary Bauer, he was bubbling over with enthusiasm when Coats' name was mentioned.

NOVAK: Coats would be -- and attorney general is a hugely important position for the things that the conservatives are interested in.

SHAW: Another thing: CNN has reported that Virginia's governor, Jim Gilmore, is the president-elect's choice to be -- leading choice to be the chair of the Republican National Committee. What is the story?

NOVAK: Well, what's going to happen, that's a done deal. Governor Gilmore will stay in Richmond, finish out the last year of his term as governor. So he'll be a sort of a general chairman. And they will have a middle-level functionary with the title of the Republican national chairman running day-to-day things at the National Committee. But everybody in this town knows who is really going to in charge.

SHAW: Who?

NOVAK: It is going to be Karl Rove. But he's not going to be tied up at the RNC. He is going to be at the White House near the Oval Office. He is going to be the most powerful Republican politician in America. And you can't influence what's going on in politics if you're in the governor's office in Richmond.

SHAW: Karl Rove, Bush's chief campaign strategist during the campaign.

And lastly, let's move over across the aisle: Joe Andrew is one the Democratic Party's tigers: out at the National Committee?

NOVAK: He is out at the National Committee, even though most of the members of the committee thought he did a terrific job. He was a fighter. They really liked the way he got in and stuck with Al Gore to the very end. He would have a majority. But the Clintons -- you know, I would put an "s" on the end of that -- didn't want him. They wanted their money man, Terry McAuliffe -- who is a Washington lobbyist -- to be the national chairman.

And so Mr. Andrew, always a very good party man, backed away from it. They will deny this story, but that's exactly what happened. Al Gore wanted Andrew, but he wasn't going to get in a fight with the Clintons. So it's going to Terry McAuliffe. You remember, he was the person who provided the up-front money for the house in Chappaqua, got involved in the Democratic Teamsters swap in the 1996 campaign. Very -- a lot of Democrats I have talked to, Bernie, are very unhappy about this.

I'm amazed that senator-elect Clinton and former President Clinton have that much power that they won't even make a fight on the Democratic National Committee. It's a different Democratic Party than it used to be.

SHAW: Do you know what you have just done?

NOVAK: Yes?

SHAW: You have confirmed why we call this segment "Novak's Notebook."

NOVAK: Thank you.

SHAW: Happy holidays.

NOVAK: Happy holiday to you.

SHAW: Thank you -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: And we learn a lot every time.

SHAW: All the time. WOODRUFF: You can call Mr. Bush president-elect. But he is not a governor anymore. He stepped down from that post today. And Texas Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry was sworn in as his successor.

CNN's Tony Clark has more from the Lone Star State on the man following in Bush's footsteps.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY CLARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Becoming governor of Texas is just the latest step of the rising political career of Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: Thank you.

CLARK: Perry is a rancher, a Democrat-turned-Republican who served in the state legislature. He gained statewide prominence when he ousted folksy Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower in 1990.

PERRY: I, Rick Perry, do solemnly swear...

CLARK: Eight years later, Perry effectively took the reins of state government, becoming lieutenant governor and president of the state Senate.

MAX SHERMAN, PROFESSOR, LBJ SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY: Most studies have said that it's the most powerful office in the state, especially in terms of legislation.

CLARK: Perry already has plenty of experience being governor of Texas. Over the past 18 months, he was often called on to be acting governor while Mr. Bush campaigned across the country for president.

BUSH: Thank you all for coming!

CLARK: And when the Republicans met in Philadelphia:

PERRY: I proudly place the name of the current governor of the great state of Texas and the next president of the United States into nomination: George W. Bush!

CLARK: On election night, Perry was there.

PERRY: W. is for winner!

CLARK: And when Mr. Bush took the mantle as president-elect, Perry was again by his side.

SHERMAN: I think it's been a very close relationship, not just between the two of them. But I think their wives were also very good friends.

CLARK: Now, as president-elect Bush takes his key aides to Washington, Perry prepares to put his own staff on Texas state government.

SHERMAN: It's an opportunity for him to move his own supporters into positions, who will increase his own political clout in the state.

CLARK: For Rick Perry, George W. Bush's move to Washington clears the road for his own political future her in Texas.

Tony Clark, CNN, Austin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHAW: And still ahead on this extended edition of INSIDE POLITICS: how the new White House occupants will shake up the Washington social scene. Plus, political politeness: Jeanne Moos on the transition meetings that captured America's attention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Just as the White House is bound to see some redecorating, the Washington social scene is about to get a makeover courtesy of George and Laura Bush.

For more on the change in the capitol's cultural climate, we turn to two insiders: Lloyd Grove of "The Washington Post" and Chuck Conconi of "Washingtonian" magazine.

Gentlemen, thank you for being here.

CHUCK CONCONI, "THE WASHINGTONIAN": Thank you, it's good to be here.

Lloyd Grove, will things change?

LLOYD GROVE, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes, they sure will. It's not going to be as exciting, frankly, as it has been under the Clintons. This is the end of the tabloid presidency and more a normal-people kind of presidency.

I mean, George and Laura Bush are not flashy people. Most of their friends are people they've known for years and years and -- from places like Midland, Texas. And, while they'll do all the obligatory things that presidents and first ladies do in terms of celebrities and glittery events, that's not where their heart is, I don't think.

I think, also, the social scene will, perhaps, move from Georgetown -- the salons of Georgetown -- to the suburban precincts of northern Virginia, where their friends will be living. So it's going to be something old, something new, something borrowed, something beige, I think.

WOODRUFF: Chuck Conconi, it will be more normal in the way they entertain?

CONCONI: Actually -- I don't want to disagree with Lloyd, we're old colleagues from "The Washington Post" -- may days there. But I -- what I think is, it's going to be much more interesting. I think that this group knows how to use the social power of the White House. They know, absolutely, how to get people and make friends, and one of the things that George W. Bush has to do is bring people together and he knows that. And you're going to see a lot more social events early on in this presidency and, I think, even more state dinners than you saw during the Clinton presidency.

WOODRUFF: Lloyd Grove, when you say the action is going to shift from Georgetown to northern Virginia, what do you mean by that?

GROVE: Well, I think that the socializing will be less flashy; that it's not going to be socializing surrounding ideas and themes and -- like Pamela Harman (ph) used to have huge dinners with prominent people and they used to talk out issues. I think it's going to be just more of a friendly and companionable socializing.

And I believe Chuck is right; surely, the White House will be used as a social vehicle to sort of grease the wheels for whatever legislative accomplishments can be had.

WOODRUFF: Chuck Conconi, when you say more -- you said that they'll use the social power of the White House. Talk a little bit about that. Who are the guests that they're going to want to have?

CONCONI: Well, there's nothing more significant than being invited to dinner or to a cocktail party or to a reception or whatever at the White House. And what you do is you bring opposing forces in; maybe you sit down with -- you have Trent Lott in, and somebody else from the democratic side.

You get these people together because, as Lloyd also knows and as you know, Judy, in Washington the workday doesn't end at 6:00. That's when some of the most significant things go on. And one of the things, like in the Carter administration and in the Clinton administration -- in the early days they didn't use, you know -- we don't need to be social in Washington. And every president, very early on in his presidency gets in some kind of trouble and he needs friends around town that he has made. And this president, because everything is so close in this election, really needs friends; and he's going to work at bringing people together if he wants to accomplish anything.

WOODRUFF: Lloyd Grove, how bipartisan do you think it will it get? I mean, there were those who noted, for the last eight years that, to a large degree Republicans stayed to themselves, Democrats stayed to themselves.

GROVE: Well, it's going to be totally bipartisan. I think one interesting aspect that we might note is that Hillary Clinton will be living in Washington and President Clinton will be there at times as well. And that's going to be a whole new social gravitational force in Washington that George W. Bush may have to contend with.

WOODRUFF: Well, what do you mean? What do you think she'll do? I mean, won't she be busy being a senator? GROVE: Well, yes she will. And she'll be busy at night throwing dinners and -- now that Terry McAuliffe is going to be chairman of the DNC she'll have lots of fund-raisers, I would assume, at her house, whenever she gets one.

So it's going to be two different gravitational poles, I think, for a while -- at least initially.

WOODRUFF: Chuck Conconi, what are we talking about here in terms of the type of entertaining? I mean, early on in this conversation Lloyd was saying it will be more normal, you won't see as many, maybe, Hollywood celebrities -- but will they bring in glitterati of any kind, do you think?

CONCONI: Well, there won't be as many Hollywood celebrities because there aren't as many Hollywood celebrities that are Democrats -- that are Republicans. I mean, you'll see some of Bo Derek, you'll see, you know, the obvious ones. And -- but I think you'll see the country-Western-type singers that were so popular during the elder Bush administration.

You know, I disagree with Lloyd to some extent on that. I think that it's going to be a very glittery time in this town and I think, again, the social power of the White House is such an incredible tool for a president if he uses it correctly. And there are a lot of people out there in the community that we've talked to, at "The Washingtonian" magazine, who understand this -- Republicans who have been waiting and are going to open their houses to major events and are going to be involved at the White House to help this president.

WOODRUFF: Lloyd, when you both talk about how the work doesn't end at 6:00 or 7:00, what do you all really suggest, here? I mean, for people who don't live in this city, what is such a big deal about these parties and these cocktail receptions and so forth?

GROVE: Well, it's a chance to get to know people on a personal level in an atmosphere where they're not tooth-and-nails at each other over some big issue. It's a chance to just see each other as human beings with, you know, problems and joys and -- just like everybody else.

WOODRUFF: But how much of it is real and how much of it is just wanting to make sure you've got somebody at your dinner table who's the ranking senator on the Commerce Committee or something?

GROVE: Well, that's very important, and look, social relationships in Washington tend to be transactional kind of relationships anyway. You know, but -- in other words, when you have social relationships it's always toward some other ends, some substantive end. I mean, not always, but often.

And I think that's where George Bush is going to be different, because he likes to spend time with his real friends and there's no other agenda for him.

WOODRUFF: All right, we will see. There's a lot to look at for here. Lloyd Grove, Chuck Conconi. Thank you very much.

GROVE: Thank you.

CONCONI: Thanks.

WOODRUFF: We appreciate your being with us -- Bernie.

SHAW: Observation: The campaign trail's a place for name- calling and mud-slinging, but now that the election's over, mending fences seems to be the order of the day. Jeanne Moos takes a look at Washington's unique way of peace-making when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHAW: Out on the campaign trail, Democrats and Republicans, they were at war. Now these days, reconciliation's the name of the game -- on the surface, at least.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos on former adversaries making the most of a peaceful transition.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not since Bill Clinton went from the White House to the dog house after the Lewinsky affair, has body language been so dissected. Take Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wouldn't stop holding hands. I thought that was funny. I was wondering who was gripping tighter.

MOOS: Gripping and gritting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, Gore is probably gritting his teeth every time he has to look at him. It's like he can't even say cheese.

MOOS: "The Late Show" even analyzed the body language of allies with its awkward "Hug of the Night" feature.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN")

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Ah. Ah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: And then there was the meeting between George Bush and Bill Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd liked to see what they're really thinking. It would be a hoot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you had one of those clouds over each one of their heads, it would probably be very funny.

MOOS: Folks at "The Tonight Show" agreed. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")

JAY LENO, HOST: Yes, here's what's Clinton was thinking. Show that clip.

BUSH: I'm humbled and honored. And I can't thank the president enough for his hospitality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Meetings between adversaries have that soap-opera quality.

BUSH: And I can't thank the president enough for his hospitality. He didn't need to do this.

HELEN THOMAS, REPORTER: Yes, he did.

MOOS: Reported Helen Thomas points to protocol: Victor and vanquished always meet. Etiquette expert Letitia Baldridge says it's a lesson in civility.

LETITIA BALDRIDGE, ETIQUETTE EXPERT: They've all acted beautifully. And what they are thinking inside is not shown out in front. I think it's been marvelous. They've been good actors. Bravo. Good performance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's ridiculous: fake and phony.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad to see them be so kind to one another. We need all to do that more.

MOOS: So which of the three meetings was toughest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think Mr. Clinton has shown he's comfortable in almost any position. So I think that the Gore-Bush meeting would be the more difficult meeting.

MOOS: Check out Jay Leno's replay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")

LENO: Ellen (ph), go in close on this hand shake, could you? Go in close. Look at that? You see?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: When it comes to hand-holding between first ladies, this wasn't a first, but it still strikes folks as odd.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm surprised. That's something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought this hand-holding was very strange. But then girls hold hands.

MOOS (on camera): But do they?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, girls hold hands. I think so.

MOOS: I don't see you two holding hands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we were. We were right before we...

MOOS (voice-over): And if these two can hold hands, anyone can. After all, they've both been married to the same man.

MOOS (on camera): This is your ex-wife and this is your current wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my ex-wife and this is my current wife.

MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Jeanne Moos.

SHAW: The camera doesn't lie, does it? That's all for this edition of INSIDE POLITICS, but, of course, you can go online all the time at CNN's allpolitics.com.

WOODRUFF: And this programming note: The pitfalls of holiday travel will be the discussion on "CROSSFIRE" tonight at 7:30 p.m. And at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Governor Marc Racicot of Montana will be the guest on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." I'm Judy Woodruff.

SHAW: And I'm Bernard Shaw. The "MONEYLINE NEWS HOUR" is next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

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