Bush gets down to business

WASHINGTON - President-elect George W. Bush, finally in Washington, was ready last night to reach out to the capital's powerful elite in meetings with the chairman of the Federal Reserve first and then congressional leaders.

Arriving at Dulles International Airport outside Washington nearly six weeks after Election Day, Bush was armed with a fledgling portfolio of cabinet and Administration officers, reflecting his desire to create a diverse team that will help overcome the bitter division of the 2000 presidential contest.

Asked how he felt returning to Washington for the first time as President-elect, Bush said he was looking forward to what surely would be "a series of unique moments."

"It will be special ... It's going to be, I'm confident, a memorable trip," he said, before leaving Austin, the Texas capital.

Fully expecting to face opposition over his proposed $US1.3 trillion ($3.09 trillion) tax cut, Bush was to meet briefly over breakfast with powerful Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Vice President-elect Dick Cheney said earlier: "We want to work very closely with the Fed chairman."

Greenspan is considered the architect of the present record United States economic expansion and has said he would prefer using future budget surpluses to pay down the national debt rather than cut taxes.

Bush then was headed to Capitol Hill to meet Republican and Democratic leaders of the US House of Representatives and Senate. Afterwards he planned to interview prospective employees at the Madison Hotel, where he is staying on the three-day trip.

While Bush was on his mission to mend fences, electors across the US were to carry out the traditional formality of meeting to officially cast ballots in the Electoral College.

While usually pro forma sessions in state capitals, the gatherings were more noteworthy following Bush's razor-thin victory by just one more than the 270 Electoral College votes he needed to clinch the presidency.

In Florida, where the contest for the state's critical 25 electoral votes prolonged the election for an astonishing 36 days, electors were to cast ballots at noon Eastern Standard Time (6 am New Zealand time).

The Bush camp was confident the slates would be pledged as promised.

With a new CBS poll showing that more Americans are satisfied with the outcome of the election than dissatisfied, although narrowly, Bush will meet the man he defeated, Vice-President Al Gore, and President Bill Clinton tomorrow.

"I look forward to making my case, and visiting with as many members of both parties as I can," Bush said. "It's the beginning of a dialogue that is crucial in order to get some positive things done ... I'm very optimistic."

The trip to Washington is the first in six months for Bush, who campaigned as an "outsider" and often criticised Washington ways on the stump.

The CBS News poll found just 50 per cent of those interviewed were satisfied with the election outcome, while 45 per cent were not. A majority agreed the victor would never be known with complete certainty.

Before leaving Texas, Bush was quick to name the beginning lineup of his foreign policy team, adding Condoleezza Rice as his White House national security adviser, the first woman to hold the post.

Rice, 46, joined former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired General Colin Powell, whom Bush has nominated for Secretary of State. Powell and Rice will be the first blacks to serve in their respective posts.

Bush also chose a Hispanic, Texas Supreme Court Justice Al Gonzales, as White House counsel, and another woman, his communications director Karen Hughes, as counsellor to the President.

While his message was one of outreach, his emissaries insisted Bush had no intention of abandoning the conservative policy agenda outlined on the campaign trail, including, the hotly debated $US1.3 trillion, 10-year tax cut.

"It's his programme, his agenda and we have no intention at all of backing off of it," Cheney told CBS.

In a sign of possible clashes to come, the President-elect said he was unwilling to give ground, stating, "I campaigned on a tax relief package that I firmly believe ... is important.

"I look forward to discussing my vision of tax relief with the parties. I mean, it doesn't seem to make much sense for people to be drawing lines in the sands until we've had a chance to discuss things."

Democrats say the proposal favours the wealthy and some Republicans say it might be better to move ahead with piecemeal tax cuts.

"I can't think of anything that would divide this nation more quickly, right off the bat, than to impress upon the Congress the importance of passing a tax cut of that magnitude," said Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat who was to meet Bush today.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri were to have individual sessions with Bush as well.

It was the Texas Governor's wife, Laura, who was to get to the White House first, meeting First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for tea this morning.

- REUTERS

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