In Transition

With the transition now in full swing for President-elect Bush, we now have people from the Bush camp hurrying and scurrying about trying to get things ready for the inaugural which is just 33 days away – less than half the time that is normally set aside for the transition from one president to another. The reason for this of course was the court battle for the Presidency of the United States that was waged by Al Gore, and which lasted for five weeks before Al Gore threw in the towel last week with a gracious concession speech.

It seems clear to me that we have a nation divided, and while I am not one to gush undying devotion to George W., I do believe that he can more effectively heal and reconcile the nation than Al Gore ever could. Part of the reason for this is that the President-elect is in some ways like my political hero Ronald Reagan; he surrounds himself with the best and the brightest he can find and he lets them tell him like it is – what they think and not what he wants them to think. That alone is a huge departure from the outgoing administration. Like Clinton, Bush (or as I prefer to call him Baby Bush) has a certain charisma to him and a folksy appeal that I also saw in Reagan. His father didn’t have it; neither does Al Gore. Bush the younger may not be the brightest president America will ever have; yet he is sufficiently ‘with-it’ to surround himself with the best and brightest talent that is out there.

The tragedy of this court battle stems from the fact that everyone wanted to get in on the action. I feel it is well within the right of every citizen to petition for redress of grievances – particularly as they apply to the voting process. That is provided for in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. But what I find abhorrent is when professional agitators and troublemakers such as Jesse Jackson threaten to disrupt the inaugural activities.

Let’s put niceties aside for a moment. The fact of the matter is that the real tragedy in 1968 was that Jesse Jackson did not take the bullet instead of Martin Luther King. King accomplished much good in advancing the cause of all people of color, whereas Jackson (much like feminist attorney Gloria Allred out of Los Angeles) is always looking for a parade or cause to jump in front of for the sake of seeing his mug on television. It’s not enough that he has his own show on CNN. He, along with Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan among others continue to stir up the pot of racial hatred and bigotry in this country. If black America is being oppressed, it seems to be coming more from within their own ranks than from the white community or government. This matter was touched on in a column I wrote a few months earlier called “Still Slaves to their own: America’s Black Pharaohs”. Perhaps it was best put in an episode of “Law & Order” a number of years ago when Richard Brooks, who played ADA Paul Robinette told the black congressman “King walked with the angels; you slide and slither on your belly to get what you want.” Such can be said for Jesse Jackson and others of his stripe who seek to undermine the legitimacy of the vote of the American people. Anyway, enough of this.

As for George W. Bush, he has not just one transition to be involved with, but two. He has not only the incoming transition as the president-elect, but also has the outgoing transition as the Governor of Texas as well. He will be a very busy man as will his staff, but I for one, will welcome him and his lovely wife Laura into the White House, for while I do not necessarily agree with their politics 100%, I do believe that he is a man of honor and integrity, especially in comparison to the outgoing occupants of the current White House. I am particularly fond of Laura Bush in that she is a darn sight better than Hillary Clinton, with whom I am now stuck for the next six years in light of the fact I am registered to vote in New York State.

So, as America waits to inaugurate its 43rd President, we will watch along with the rest of the world to see what is considered by many in the rest of the world as yet another miracle, and that is the peaceful transfer of power from one person to another – and that is the beauty of America which even still today makes her the envy of the rest of the world.

• Photo of President-elect Bush in the Texas House of Representatives Chamber furnished by the Associated Press

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Copyright © 2000 by Timothy Rollins.
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-Published with permission