Bush To Meet With Clinton, Gore

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” President-elect Bush, who pledged in campaign speeches to restore ``honor and dignity'' to the White House, spoke congenially as he prepared to meet with President Clinton,

Tuesday, December 19th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” President-elect Bush, who pledged in campaign speeches to restore ``honor and dignity'' to the White House, spoke congenially as he prepared to meet with President Clinton, a frequent target of his criticism.

Bush's first visit to Washington since the election has been met by overtures of cooperation and expressions of good will from both parties. And the meeting Tuesday between the outgoing Democratic president and his Republican successor also seemed likely to be friendly.

``We can come together to heal whatever wounds may exist, whatever residuals there may be,'' Bush said Monday as he stood with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.

Clinton recently told reporters that he believed Democrats ``will give him a honeymoon and an opportunity to get on his feet.''

Wrapping up a three-day visit to Washington, Bush was also to meet later Tuesday with Vice President Al Gore and at least one Cabinet prospect before returning to Austin, Texas.

Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, the front-runner for secretary of Health and Human Services, was meeting Tuesday with Bush to discuss the job, advisers said.

On Wednesday, Bush was to huddle with about 20 religious leaders in Austin to discuss how religious groups can help the government solve social issues, a theme he focused on during the campaign.

The meeting will include Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders, about one-third of whom will be black, said Bush transition spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Fleischer said Bush called the meeting because ``he views this as the next step to welfare reform.''

During his trip to Washington, Bush also attended several meetings on Capitol Hill and had breakfast with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Bush planned to meet with Clinton at the White House for about 90 minutes, including lunch.

``The principal purpose is to offer our assistance in making this an orderly and professional transition,'' said White House Chief of Staff John Podesta.

``I'm sure that they'll want to get to substance, especially in the foreign policy world,'' he added.

Podesta said he expected they would also ``go over the issues that are confronting us in the last days of the administration and the issues that will be confronting the new president as he's inaugurated.''

While in Washington, Bush was meeting with prospective Cabinet members. On Monday, he had private sessions with former Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., the current front-runner for defense secretary; Paul O'Neill, chairman of aluminum maker Alcoa, a prospect for treasury secretary; and Ann Veneman, former California agriculture director, a candidate for secretary of agriculture.

New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman also was in town. She has been mentioned for U.S. trade representative or director of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Bush met with the entire Republican House leadership, then held a meeting with the four top congressional leaders â€” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.; Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss.; Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo.

``This is a time for a new beginning, a new atmosphere, a new tone,'' Lott said.

After the meeting with all GOP leaders, Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., secretary of the GOP conference, was optimistic. ``His congeniality is remarkable. If anyone will be able to breach the chasm between the two parties, he will be the one,'' she said.

Democrats appeared ready to give Bush the benefit of the doubt.

``It's an opportunity for us to wipe the slate clean, to begin anew,'' Daschle said.

But despite his overture to bipartisanship, Bush showed little interest in backing down from his $1.3 trillion, 10-year tax cut proposal.

``I campaigned on a clear view of tax relief, and that's what I'm going to bring to the floor of the House,'' he said.

Democrats have said the tax break is too large and benefits mostly the wealthy. And even some prominent Republicans, including Hastert, have expressed reservations about trying to move the entire package at once.

Meanwhile, public expectations for Bush's presidency are lower than they were for past presidents-elect, says a new CBS News poll.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed, or 60 percent, expressed optimism about the next four years, compared with about seven in 10 who felt the same just before presidents Clinton, Bush, Reagan and Carter took office, according to the poll.

About 42 percent expect Bush will be a good president, and 38 percent predict he will be average. By comparison, in 1988, 38 percent predicted Bush's father would be a good president, and 47 percent expected him to be average, the poll said.

The survey 1,048 adults was conducted Dec. 14-16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points