George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography

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dangerously undermining George Bush," complained Texas GOP chairman O'Donnell. A personal
friend of Buschief of staff H.R. Haldeman with the notation: "Connah on the White House staff named Peter Flanigan, generated a memo to White Houselly is an implacable enemy tof the
Republican party in Texas, and, therefore, attractive as he may be to the President, we should avoid
using him again." Nixon found Connally an attractive political property, and had soon appointed
him to the main Wite House panel for intelligence evaulations: "On November 30, when Connally's


appointment to the Foreign Intelligence Advisory BoaTexas, John Tower, and George Bush were instantly in touch with the White House to express theirrd was announced, the senior senator from (^)
'extreme' distress over the appointment. [fn 2] Tower was indigant because he had been promised
by Ehrlichman some time before that Connally was not going to receive an important post. Bush's
personal plight was even more poignant: "He was out of work, and he wanted a job. As a defeated
senatorial candidate, he hoped and fully expected to get a major job in the administration. Yet theadministration seemed to be paying more attention to the very Democrat who had put him on the
job market What gives? Bush was justified in asking." [fn 3]
The appointment of Connally to replace David Kennedy as Secretary of the Treasury was concluded
during the first week of December, 1970. Butupheaval among the Texas Republicans until something had been done for lame duck George. On it could not be announced without causing an (^)
December 7, Nixon retainer H.R. Haldemann was writing memos to himself in the White House.
The first was: "Connally set." Then came: "Have to do something for Bush right away." Could Bush
become the Director of NASA? How about the Small Business Administration? Or the Republican
National Committee? Or then again, he might like to be White House Congreperhaps undersecretary of commerce. As one account puts it, "since no job immediately came tossional liaison, or (^)
mind, Bush was assured that he would come to the White House as a top presidential adviser on
something or other, until another fitting job opened up." Bush was called to the White House on
December 9, 1970 to meet with Nixon and talk about a post as Assistant to the President "with a
wide range of unspecified general responsibilities," according to a White House memo initialed byH.R. Haldemann. Bush accepted such a post at one point in his haggling with the Nixon White
House. But Bush also sought the UN job, arguing that there "was a dirth [sic] of Nixon advocacy in
New York City and the general New York area that he could fill that need in the New York social
circles he would be moving in as Ambassador. [fn 4] Nixon's UN Ambassador had been Charles
Yost, a Democrat who was now leaving. But the White House had already offered that job to DanielPatrick Moynihan, who had accepted. But, apparently a few hours after the Bush-Nixon meeting,
word came in that Moynihan was not interested.
But then Moynihan decided that he did not want the UN ambassador post after all, and, with a sigh
of relief, the White House offered it to Bush. Bush's appointment was announced on December 11,Connally's on December 14." [fn 5] In offering the post to Bush, Haldemann had been brutally
frank, telling him that the job, although of cabinet rank, would have no power attached to it. Bush,
stressed Haldemann, would be taking orders directly from Kissinger. "I commented that even if
somebody who took the job didn't understand that, Henry Kissinger would give him a twenty-four
hour crash course on the subject," Bush says he replied. [fn 6]
Nixon told his cabinet and the Republican Congressional leadership on December 14, 1970 what
had been in the works for some time, that Connally was "coming not only as a Democrat but as
Secretary of the Treasury for the next two full years." [fn 7] Even more humiliating for Bush was
the fact that our hero had been on the receiving end of Connacabinet: "Connally said he wouldn't take it until George Bush got whatever he was entitled to. Illy's assistance. As Nixon told the (^)
don't know why George wanted the UN appointment, but he wanted it so he got it." Only this
precondition from Connally,by implication, had finally prompted Nixon to take care of poor
George. Nixon turned to Senator Tower, who was in the meeting: "This is hard for you. I am for
every Republican running. We need John Tower back in 1972." Tower replied: "I'm a pragmatic

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