The New Civility?

The reviews of Bush the Sequel, Week I are in – and the critics loved it.

Mr. Bush "has presided over one of the most orderly and politically nimble transitions in at least 20 years," gushed The New York Times.

"Bush and his team have already shown a deftness that has surprised veterans in both parties," The Washington Post grudgingly declared.

"George W. Bush is off to a good start … give the man credit," said CBS News' Bob Schieffer.

Washington is a tough town to open in. That’s doubly true when you’re the president and the guy you ran against got more votes. But all those "legitimacy" issues that loomed so large and heavy in November seem like rehearsal glitches now that the show has opened – at least for the moment. And moments don't last long in Washington.

But getting the premiere so right is an extraordinary piece of political choreography that many fine politicians have not been able to pull off. It was apparently very thoroughly researched and carefully scripted. The hard part is sticking to the script; political consultants call that "staying on message" – and Bush did it.

On his first business day in office, Mr. Bush threw a bone to his right and banned U.S. aid to organizations that may provide abortion counseling overseas. The uproar from the left was muted and then forgotten as the week filled up with bipartisan photo-ops and "inclusive" events (meaning Republicans pictured with minorities).

Mr. Bush held White House meetings about his education proposals with top Democrats, who then said nice things to the cameras about the President and his plans. He toured the Education Department, an agency congressional Republicans have persistently tried to exterminate, with Roderick Paige, his black secretary of education. He lunched with D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and went to services at a black Washington church. He generated nice stories in the papers.

All this stagecraft was secondary to one genuine substantive development: Fed Chair Alan Greenspan endorsed tax cuts. This not only legitimized a large part of the Bush platform, it made the cuts a whole lot easier to sell.

But what was truly striking about Week I was how everyone is talking about what good manners Mr. Bush and his guys have; especially how punctual the new president is.

After his first White House meeting with the new president, Senator Majority Leader Trent Lott giggled, “What I really liked is we started on time and we ended on time.” A Democrat, Rep. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, added, “I don’t remember that happening in my eight years with President Clinton.”

Aides were told to return phone calls promptly and write thank you notes after meetings. Sit up straight, elbows off the table at Cabinet meetings, and stay away from the interns.

Treating people with courtesy is actually a time-hnored way of accomplishing things – like passing legislation, for instance. Nice manners, as your mother told you, are intended to show that you respect other people, even senators. Mr. Bush talked about "changing the tone" in Washington, and in this, perhaps small way, that may have started.

The contrast, of course, is with Bill Clinton. He was notoriously late, and politicians, foreign officials, top government officials, audiences, even reporters (but probably not donors) were constantly feeling dissed.

Indeed, much of what made Mr. Bush’s first week seem so successful was the comparison to his predecessor. Mr. Clinton’s vulgar departure couldn’t help but make Mr. Bush’s arrival seem classy. And Mr. Clinton’s own arrival eight years earlier is now a prototype of a bad beginning.

While Mr. Clinton had gays in the military, Mr. Bush had Greenspan. Mr. Clinton hired an Arkansas decorator with the Arkansas name, Kaki Hockersmith, to spend seven months and $400,000 from private donors redoing the Oval Office. Mr. Bush had it repainted and redecorated in a day.

After eight years of that kind of civic rudeness, a little Emily Post is refreshing.

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