Bush's day: a little work, a little workout

George W. Bush is "cautiously optimistic'' about his legal case.

By DAVID KARP

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 12, 2000

AUSTIN, Texas -- As campaign staffers listened Monday to arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, Texas Gov. George W. Bush didn't stay fixed to a television set.

Instead, he went to work out at a gym.

Bush spent Monday discussing transition plans with top aides, working in the governor's office and exercising at a field house at the University of Texas.

"I am keeping my emotions in check," Bush said Monday morning.

Bush smiled broadly as he strolled up to the state Capitol for work around 9:25 (8:25 EST), about a half hour before arguments got under way in Washington. He teased a reporter who asked if there would be a victory party Monday night.

"You have a party every night, don't you?" he said.

Bush said he had spoken Monday morning to vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney, chief of the transition team, and James A. Baker III, his envoy in Florida. Bush also tried to call his father, who is recovering from hip-replacement surgery, to ask about his health and "get his legal advice," he said.

While Bush projected an image of quiet confidence, his campaign aides downplayed the idea that Bush had wrapped up the election dispute with Vice President Al Gore. Bush plans to make a statement after the Supreme Court's ruling, but his aides have not drafted a victory speech yet, as reported by the New York Times on Monday, spokesman Ray Sullivan said.

"We'll see what happens," Bush said Monday about the Supreme Court case that could determine the outcome of the presidential election.

About 30 minutes after the Supreme Court arguments ended, Bush waded into a crowd of about 200 tourists and schoolchildren as he left the state Capitol.

Bush said he had spoken to his legal team about the high court's arguments. "They are cautiously optimistic," Bush said, adding that he shared their view.

At the transition office in Virginia, campaign chairman Don Evans said he had spoken to Bush after the Supreme Court hearing.

"He's like all of us," Evans said. "We felt very good about our arguments, very good about our presentations."

Later, as Bush returned to the Governor's Mansion to wait for the Supreme Court's ruling, the temperature in Austin began dropping fast. A bitter wind began blowing as a cold front moved in, recreating the gusty conditions that existed in Austin on election night.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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