Rocky and Rummy: Getting Organized

Through most of his young Administration, Gerald Ford has sometimes seemed like a mechanic trying to assemble a complicated gadget by using some new parts and a few old ones. Yet crucial elements turn up missing. Firm policies have been in short supply, timely decisions difficult to make, and a new White House organization to suit the new boss slow in building.

Last week, however, White House Staff Chief Donald Rumsfeld observed: "I think the President has put his house in order." Events seemed to support that judgment. Ford returned from a conference with French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing in an upbeat mood. While reducing differences on their approaches to dealing with the oil cartel, the two leaders also defrosted Franco-American relations a bit. At home, the Administration's energy experts finally completed the package of options from which Ford must select hard choices (see ECONOMY & BUSINESS). Rumsfeld finished work on a White House staff overhaul ("It's pure Jerry Ford," he said). And, at long last, a glaring void was filled when Nelson Rockefeller was confirmed and sworn in as Vice President.

For a while, in the early stages of the committee hearings on his nomination, Rockefeller had almost seemed to be a liability. But he held up so well under congressional fire that he managed to win over many of his opponents. In the House debate last week, Minority Leader John Rhodes said that Rocky had been "probed, provoked, tried, tested and observed from virtually every conceivable angle and perspective." Yet nothing had come out to impugn his character. While acknowledging that he still had reservations about Rocky's lavish gifts to public officeholders, Judiciary Committee Chairman Peter Rodino argued that such misgivings were outweighed by the "totality of this man's experience, the totality of his dedication and talents."

Rocky easily prevailed, winning confirmation by a vote of 287-128 in the House. At his swearing-in, Rocky obviously relished his triumph. Outfitted in a bright striped shirt, waving, winking and blowing kisses as jauntily as ever, he had the look of a man more than ready to assume the burdens of office and frankly enjoy them. In his brief speech, he paid tribute to the "thoroughness with which the Congress exercised its responsibility" in scrutinizing his nomination. Then he declared: "There is nothing wrong with America that Americans cannot right."

Cautious Moves. It is this zest for tackling problems that appealed to Ford, who also needed Rockefeller's experience with urban problems and identification with the moderate-to-liberal wing of the Republican Party. Ford is modest enough to know that he needs help. "I've had a lot of experience with people smarter than I am," he once said. The two met last Saturday to discuss Rockefeller's role in the Administration. Ford plans to put Rockefeller in general charge of the Domestic Council. Rocky fans think that eventually he will become the Kissinger of the home front. If so, he could emerge as the most important Vice President in U.S. history.

But then, other Presidents have made similar promises to their Vice Presidents and subsequently reneged. Last week Rumsfeld was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying that "heavy involvement" by the Vice President in policymaking is "not so simple as it sounds." Well aware of the pitfalls that lie ahead, Rocky has moved with considerable caution. To play down his own dynamic image, he takes every occasion to praise the President's character and forcefulness. He has gone slow in organizing a staff, so as not to seem too aggressive. No one doubts that Rockefeller will seek to acquire power, but it will be at a judicious pace.

His confirmation coincides with the overdue reorganization of the White House staff. Rumsfeld's goal was a middle way between the Nixon system, which created a narrow funnel in the person of H.R. Haldeman, and the genial chaos of Ford's early days in office.

Nine staffers will see the President on a regular basis, though the door will not be closed to some others. Cabinet members, Congressmen and other outsiders who want to talk to Ford must usually clear their appointments with Rumsfeld, who prefers to be called coordinator rather than chief of staff but acts much like the latter. He was brought into the White House to ration the President's time and energy, and he is succeeding. When Ken Cole, the departing executive director of the Domestic Council, tried to get a decision from Ford without clearance, he was sharply reprimanded by Rumsfeld. "It's hard to make a machine like this work," says a top aide. "There are a lot of strong-minded people here, and the President wants it that way. What Don has been able to do is make the process orderly and eliminate the process itself as a source of irritation."

From the first staff meeting at 8 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room, it is clear who is boss in procedural matters. Rumsfeld presides, calling on his colleagues one by one to speak and addressing them by nicknames of his own devising. Congressional Liaison Man John Marsh is "Jackson," Press Secretary Ron Nessen is "Tiger." Rumsfeld himself is called "Rummy." When the meeting ends, Rumsfeld consults with the President and may see him several more times in the course of a day.

The rest of the time--well into the evening--he prods paper work through the executive offices, chats with other staffers and members of Congress and needles when necessary. He recently silenced a dispute among aides with the curt command: "Come back when you've got something to say."

So far, Rumsfeld has been careful to stick to organizational matters and not intrude on policymaking. But he is young (42), ambitious and energetic. As a former Illinois Congressman, head of the Office of Economic Opportunity, and Ambassador to NATO, he is accustomed to moving along and up. Rumsfeld is obviously having an influence on major appointments. Edward Levi, president of the University of Chicago, who is slated to be named Attorney General, is a friend of Rumsfeld's. So is Chicago Attorney John Robson, who is being considered for Secretary of Transportation to replace Claude Brinegar, who resigned last week.

Power clashes are inevitable in so high-powered an atmosphere as the White House; eventually Rumsfeld could collide with Rockefeller--and that would be a spark-producing encounter. But Rumsfeld is more likely to run afoul of Bob Hartmann, Presidential Counsellor and chief speechwriter. Alternately genial and abrasive, Hartmann perfectly reflects his boss's Grand Rapids conservatism. In time, Jerry Ford may be forced to choose between his past politics as represented by Hartmann and the national outlook represented by Rockefeller and Rumsfeld.

The Ford Staff

Of the nine White House staffers with regular access to the Oval Office, only Henry Kissinger, 51, serves in the same post he held under Nixon: Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. He does double duty by also running the State Department. Along with Kissinger, four other aides have Cabinet rank: Donald Rumsfeld, 42, who replaced Alexander Haig as chief of staff; Robert Hartmann, 57, who handles speechwriting chores as Ray Price did under Nixon; Philip W. Buchen, 59, who has assumed Leonard Garment's legal duties; and John O. Marsh Jr., 48, who succeeds William Timmons as chief liaison with Congress. These four, in addition to their specific assignments, also serve as "floaters" for the President; that is, they advise Ford on a variety of issues.

Of the remaining four White House posts, just one is yet to be filled. James Lynn, 47, Nixon's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is soon to replace Roy Ash as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Ron Nessen, 40, has taken over Ron Ziegler's post as press secretary. L. William Seidman, 53, as Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs, succeeds Kenneth Rush. Kenneth Cole has submitted his resignation as executive director of the Domestic Council, but is continuing to serve until a successor is chosen.

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