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Fitzgerald, 50, is a prim, efficient Englishwoman who has worked with Bush since he was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Aides say Bush trusts her judgment completely. But her overprotectiveness and flashes of anger in public toward other staff members alienated Bush's top aides even before he became Vice President. Baker, who is Bush's close friend, in 1980 threatened to resign as campaign manager unless Bush dumped Fitzgerald. Baker felt that she had more influence over the candidate than he did. After serious reflection, Bush did drop her temporarily, but then paid her out of his own pocket for a while.
The relationship puzzles a number of Bush's intimates. "She has a strange hold on him, and he has a total blind spot about it," says a Bush aide who deeply admires him. Adds a former aide: "The sad thing is he doesn't see what it's doing to him. People who have been with him a long time are losing respect."
Bush admits there are personality clashes on his staff. "I'm not saying she's Miss Popularity," he concedes. "Maybe I need to get more input from others." But he strongly denies Fitzgerald is a problem: "She's doing what I want done. When you have to say no, particularly to friends, there's bound to be some level of frustration."
Overall, it is difficult even for Administration insiders to judge the impact Bush has on White House decisions. According to Reagan advisers and Cabinet secretaries, the deferential Bush keeps such a low profile during meetings that he is often invisible. As a result, they do not regard him as a player who has a major influence on decisions made by the President. There are some noteworthy exceptions, however. Bush argued against upgrading the jet fighters sold to Taiwan, a position that Reagan eventually adopted. And he firmly urged Reagan to adopt sanctions against Poland and the Soviets soon after the imposition of martial law.
Bush insists that he does have influence but will not discuss his role. He says he offers his advice to the President privately, out of the view of Cabinet members and White House aides. Says Bush: "I don't ever discuss what I talk to the President about, because if I did, I would undermine the one thing that matters—the confidentiality and the trust that I think exist between us." His reticence grows from fears of being shut out. "I don't want to end up like Nelson Rockefeller, miserable in the job because the staff cut him off at the knees."
For a number of his activities Bush deserves high marks. He is a star Republican fund raiser who since taking office has traveled to 35 states collecting $4.5 million for the party. He heads three special task forces, including one that has had substantial impact on reducing the number of federal regulations. He sees nearly everything that goes to the President. His crisp conduct of National Security Council meetings during the initial weeks of the crackdown in Poland earned him praise from other top Administration officials. But most important, from Bush's point of view, he has won the confidence of his boss. "He is the most loyal team member that anybody could want," Reagan recently told a conservative friend.