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The Texas governor also tells 60 Minutes II that Gov. Jeb Bush won't be offered a Cabinet post.
©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 2000
AUSTIN, Texas -- Keeping busy while awaiting a "clear verdict" from the courts, George W. Bush received his first regular national security briefing from the CIA on Tuesday and inched closer to announcing appointments. Dick Cheney reached out to Republicans in Congress.
"Hopefully, the (legal) issue will be resolved quickly, so that we can start," Bush told reporters. He said he was encouraged by recent court rulings.
Cheney, in charge of transition planning, made the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting GOP House members, lunching with senators and huddling individually with some GOP leaders.
The Bush-Cheney team also launched a new Web site:www.BushCheneyTransition.com. It offers visitors a chance to contribute as much as $5,000 to help finance the transition or to apply online for a Bush administration job.
Bush worked on transition planning at both the Texas Capitol and the Governor's Mansion and taped an interview that aired Tuesday night on CBS' 60 Minutes II.
In an excerpt released by CBS, Bush said he does not view Gore as a sore loser. "Not at all. I mean, listen, he and I share something: We both put our heart and soul into the campaign, and he gave it his all, and I darn sure gave it my all because I do understand what it means to have put your all into a campaign and hope that it comes out the way you want it come out.
"I think he's doing what he thinks is right."
Bush also said that he would reach out to Democrats and Republicans alike and work to heal the nation's partisan wounds if declared the presidential winner.
But one person who won't be offered a Cabinet job, Bush said, is his younger brother Jeb.
"He needs to be in Florida doing the job of governor," the elder Bush said, adding, "He'll be happy to hear his name mentioned on national TV."
The Texas governor also got his first regular national security briefing from a Central Intelligence Agency representative.
Bush called it "a good briefing. . . . I appreciate the administration's willingness to send a member of the intelligence community over."