TURNS out the “new normalcy” doesn’t just mean Veep Dick Cheney hides out in what he jokes about as his “cave” – he’s got company to make sure there’s someone to serve as president no matter what happens.
The veep’s senior staff is spending quality time with the boss in the “cave” – his unidentified secure location – and the White House refuses to say if other Cabinet members also hide out from time to time.
When asked if other Cabinet members – all also in the line of succession to the presidency – take turns in the secure location, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer would only say that “security arrangements to protect the continuity of government have been beefed up since Sept. 11.”
On his latest out-of-sight stint, Cheney brought along Chief of Staff I. Lewis Libby and counselor Mary Matalin, as well as three or four support staffers.
“We’re totally fine. The vice president has been talking about the new normalcy and in that context the new normalcy will include evolving work environments,” Matalin said yesterday from — wherever.
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Election Day is drawing near and New York GOP mayoral contender Mike Bloomberg’s chief strategist, Bill Cunningham, insists that President Bush will do something to help out, but he’s coy about what.
But the White House also hints something could be coming – perhaps along the lines of the letters and pre-recorded phone calls that Bush is doing for Republican governor candidates in Maryland and Virginia.
“The president supports Bloomberg. He believes he’s a strong candidate. Unfortunately, the president’s schedule is subject to quick changes and we’ve been unable to put a political stop on it,” said a White House official.
Bloomberg got a brief moment with Bush at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, after the president threw out the first pitch, Cunningham says.
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Coincidence? Color analysts say blue is the color that best creates a sense of calm. And Bush is wearing a lot of blue ties these days in the middle of the tensest national crisis in generations.
It’s not exclusively blue by any means- for Halloween yesterday the president sported a yellow tie. But Bush does seem to sport a lot more calming blue than, say, power red ties.
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Maybe Yankee Derek Jeter deserves an assist on the impressive strike that Bush threw as Tuesday’s first pitch at the game (a big step up from his dirt-bouncer last spring at the Milwaukee Brewers’ new stadium).
Word is that as Bush was waiting pre-game to practice his throw, Jeter came by the indoor hitting cage and switched the radio from pop to hard-driving rap-style funk. That had to give a little jolt to Bush’s throw.