A shot in the arm for Bush

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MAY 10. In the ``coming together'' of Mr. George Bush and Senator John McCain, the Republican party has moved forward on the road to party unity but it has still a long way to go. On the face of it, the reconciliation meeting in Pittsburgh on Tuesday is a positive step as the two Republicans appear to have patched up after a rocky period of about three months.

The fact that Mr. Bush asked Mr. McCain for ``advice'' on the Vice-Presidential nomination proves two things though the Arizona Senator rejected it. First, it shows that the Texas Governor did indeed broach the idea with his one-time opponent and secondly, it now clears the way for Mr. Bush to look beyond Mr. McCain. But in the realm of Presidential politics in America, the last word on the subject cannot be said till the time of the nomination process.

Mr. McCain's argument that he and Mr. Bush have more areas of agreement than disagreement is, on the one hand, intended to assuage fears in Republican quarters that the two do not see eye to eye on issues dear to the conservative cause. But at the same time, the Arizona Senator, who is pretty persistent on subjects such as campaign finance reform, has not given in easily. Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain will have to work for a consensus on the subject in the next few weeks.

After the ``reconciliation'' Mr. McCain could campaign for the Texas Governor but then would he do it enthusiastically? The substantive differences apart, the two politicians have to get past the personal remarks uttered against each other during the course of the primaries. Without doubt, Mr. McCain on a ticket with Mr. Bush would have been a major advantage for the Republicans. In fact, after Gen. Colin Powell, a good many Americans in opinion polls indicated their preference for Mr. McCain as a running mate to the Texas Governor. This was because of the perception that Mr. McCain, apart from his personal standing, was solid on defence and foreign policy issues. If Mr. McCain is firm in his refusal to contest the Number Two slot, then he may play a major part if a Bush administration comes to power.

The Republican leadership will now have to see how the offer of cooperation by Mr. McCain is going to be put to work. In fact, the focus now is on sifting through what has been achieved at the Pittsburgh meeting. It is being said that Mr. McCain, in endorsing the candidacy of Mr. Bush, was only following a routine expected of him by fellow Republicans. It is not clear at the moment if there are to be ``trade-offs'' from the Bush camp for the endorsement by Mr. McCain.

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