George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

Republican National Committee members had to report their choices through Chairman
George. Many of them, fearing the price they might have to pay for lese majeste,
indicated Bush as their first choice. This matter was the subject of a complaint by Tom
Evans of the RNC, who talked to the press and also wrote letters to the Ford White
House, as we will see.
By August 14, the Washington Post was reporting a "full scale campaign" on behalf of
Bush, with an "impressive array of support" against Rockefeller. Bush's campaign
manager and chief boiler room operator Richard L. Herman of Nebraska summed up his
talking points: Bush, said Herman, "is the only one in the race with no opposition. He
may not be the first choice in all cases, but he's not lower than second with anyone."
Herman said he was "assisting" a broader organization on the Hill and of course at the
RNC itself that was mobilized for Bush. Bush "can do more to help the Republican Party
than anyone else and is totally acceptable throughout the country," blathered Herman.
Bush was "obviously aware of what we're doing," said Herman. The old Prescott Bush
networks were still a big plus, he stressed. A group of House conservatives came out for
Goldwater, with Bush in second place.
Support for Goldwater was apt to turn into support for Bush at any time, so Bush was
gaining mightily, running second to Rocky alone. Taking note of the situation, even
Bush's old allies at the Washington Post had to register some qualms. In an editorial
published on August 15, 1974 on the subject of "The Vice Presidency," Post
commentators quoted the ubiquitous Richard Herman on Bush's qualifications. The Post
found that Bush's "background and abilities would appear to qualify him for the vice
presidency in just about all respects, except for the one that seems to us to really matter:
What is conspicuously lacking is any compelling or demonstrable evidence that he is
qualified to be President." Nelson might be better, suggested the Post. In any case, "we
have the recent example of Mr. Agnew to remind us of the pitfalls in the choice of Vice
Presidents by the application of irrelevant criteria."
But despite these darts, Chairman George continued to surge ahead. The big break came
when Barry Goldwater, speaking in Columbia, South Carolina, told a Republican fundraiser
that he had a "gut feeling" that Ford was going to select Bush for the vice
presidency. Barry, we recall, had been very cozy with father Prescott in the old days.
Goldwater portrayed Bush and Rockefeller as the two competing front-runners. This was
precisely where Bush wanted to position himself so that he could benefit from the
widespread and vocal opposition to Rockefeller. On August 15, a source close to Ford
told David Broder and Lou Cannon that Bush now had the "inside track" for the vice
presidency. Rockefeller's spokesman Hugh Morrow retorted that "we're not running a
boiler shop or calling anyone or doing anything," unlike the strong-arm Bush team. [fn 3]
Inside the Ford White House, responses to Ford's sollicitaton were coming in. Among the
top White House councillors, Bush got the support of Kenneth Rush, who had almost
become Nixon's Secretary of State and who asserted that Bush "would have a broader
appeal to all segments of the political spectrum than any other qualified choice. His
relative youth, Texas residence with a New England background, wide popularity in