The Great G.O.P. Veepstakes Scoreboard

Bush orchestrates a careful search, looking at old friends and rivals

The publicity barrage choreographed last week by George Bush's strategists was designed to portray his Veep-selection process as dignified and judicious. Much to their satisfaction, that is precisely what front-page stories soon reported: discreet phone calls to 20 candidates, quiet background checks by Washington Lawyer Robert Kimmitt, and no public tryouts. "George Bush knows all these people well," said Campaign Manager Lee Atwater. "We don't have to run a political Gong Show." But the process may soon get bumpy; Bush tends to waffle when faced with conflicting advice because, as an aide puts it, "he hates to disappoint anybody, especially his...

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