Bush appears to have learned of the Rollins memo in an NBC news broadcast on October
- According to one source, Bush then told a group of GOP Congressional leaders that
while he could not control all Republican political consultants, he "did control Rollins,"
and wanted him fired immediately. Rollins's immediate boss, Rep. Guy Vander Jagt, a
Republican wheelhorse from Michigan, complained that he had come out of this meeting
with Bush "black and blue" from the president's punishment. [fn 54] The answer from
Rollins was, "I don't plan to resign." Incredibly, Bush was unable to secure the ouster of
Rollins, who, one must conclude, enjoyed more support from rank and file Republican
Congressmen at this point than Bush himself. Some consultants suggested that Bush
should simply back off: "If the November 6 results are as bad as they appear, the
consensus will be that George Bush blew it," said one. Bush "is the George Steinbrenner
of politics," said another perception-monger. "He just booted away the best franchise in
the sport." Dreams of taking House seats were vanishing with each new poll; the GOP
now hoped for damage control measures to keep the loss to ten seats if they could.
On the campaign trail, Bush was finally receiving treatment commensurate with his
merits. October 23 was a day he will never forget. George had gotten up before dawn to
make a day of it on the hustings, only to find that he was being shunned as the new
Typhoid Mary of American politics.
The first stop was an early-morning fund raiser in Burlington, Vermont, designed to
benefit Rep. Peter Smith, a freshman Congressman. Smith was supposed to give Bush a
rousing introduction and then bask in the warmth of Bush's support. But instead, Smith
astounded Bush and his handlers by launching into a tortured monologue on all the points
of disagreement that divided him from Bush. Smith told of how he had been loyal to
Bush on October 5, and of how his constituents had then rebelled, with the result that he
caught political hell for his pro-Bush vote. Smith demanded that Bush now raise taxes on
the wealthy. Smith also menmtioned the civil rights bill: "My specific disagreements with
this administration are a matter of record," Smith stressed. Poor Smith: his pro-Bush vote
on October 5 had doomed him to defeat in his close race with Bernie Sanders, the former
socialist mayor of Burlington.
Bush stewed, raged, and squirmed. He looked around to see if anyone would come to his
aid. Sitting next to Bush was GOP Senator James M. Jeffords, who had voted in favor of
the civil rights bill Bush had vetoed. He had made an emotional speech in the Senate
lambasting Bush for trying to punch giant "loopholes" in the civil rights of citizens.
Jeffords sat staring straight ahead, doing a fair imitation of Bush at the Nashua Telegraph
debate. When Bush got up, he was dissociated and tongue-tied. He stumbled through his
speech, improvising a few lines in which he praised the independent-mindedness of
Vermonters like Smith, but whined that he wished it would not come at his expense.
Bush then asserted that
we have a sluggish economy out there nationally. That's one of the reasons why I favor
this deficit so much. [fn 55]