Weld throws away Mexico with a political
'Hail Mary' pass

By John Ellis, 07/19/97

Governor William Weld's nomination to be the next US
ambassador to Mexico has been dead as a smelt for two months now, a
nonstarter in need of an elegant solution.

Said solution emerged Monday in the form of news
stories suggesting that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's
Republican chairman, Jesse Helms of North Carolina, would not object to
Weld serving as ambassador to another country (just not Mexico) and that
President Clinton would soon offer Weld an alternative posting. Ambassadorial
assignments to India, Great Britain, and Canada were ``mentioned'' as
real possibilities.

Weld's press conference Tuesday effectively scuttled
the elegant solution and any future appointment. ``I'm here to say that I
would not accept another assignment,'' said Weld, ``and that, more to the
point, I intend to stand and fight for the Mexican ambassadorship.''
Reading from a prepared statement, Weld went on implicitly to accuse
President Clinton of spinelessness and explicitly to accuse Senator Helms of
``ideological extortion.''

The choice of those last two words immediately caused
Republican senators to close ranks behind Helms, leaving Weld without
support among members of his own party.

``You can't accuse the chairman of extortion,'' said
one GOP Senator Thursday. Weld ``blew his brains out when he said that.''

Helms dispatched an aide to administer Weld's Foreign
Service career its last rites.

``If the governor wants a fight, I guess he is prepared
to lose,'' said Helms spokesman Marc Thiessen. ``It is unfortunate,
because there could have been a friendly solution to all of this.
Instead, the governor decides to go off and attack the president and the
chairman's motives. ... To impugn the motives of the chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee is not the way to get confirmed.''

Incredibly, the White House responded to Weld's thinly
veiled attack by announcing it would redouble its efforts on his behalf.
White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles telephoned Weld Wednesday to
assure him that President Clinton remained committed to his nomination.
Clinton, of course, is committed to nothing except political advantage.
His only interest in Weld's nomination now is in the divisiveness it creates
within the Republican Party.

Nevertheless, Clinton's willingness to grin and bear
Weld's verbal assault (``I hope and expect that the president does not
plan to give in to ideological extortion. I hope and expect that the
president will join me in a fight worth fighting. If he does not, then
let the president himself say so.'') was remarkable. Thursday, the White
House finally reasserted itself, shutting down Weld's plans for a public
relations blitz that included appearances on network news programs and
chat shows.

Weld's kamikaze attack garnered considerable national
attention, and his arguments were not without merit. His charge that
Clinton is essentially spineless was borne out by the president's
initially pathetic response. His charge that Helms is an ideological
extortionist ensured that Helms would never hold a hearing on Weld's
nomination, thus confirming, to some degree, the governor's basic thrust.

Since Weld is an unusually intelligent man, he knew
what effect his words would have on each of the key players. The question
is: Why did he do what he did?

The answer is probably many answers. First, there is no
harm in throwing a kind of political ``Hail Mary'' pass if you're behind
on points and the clock is running down. It might work. If it doesn't, at
least you've let your fans know you tried everything.

Second, Weld had to redefine his second major defeat in
eight months as something other than his second major defeat. Calling it
``a battle for the future of the Republican Party'' is far better than
having it said his record on drugs was softer than Dairy Queen ice cream.

Third, Weld has national ambitions. He needs a national
profile. The suspicion lingers that he spoke to his old political
consultant, Dick Morris, about how to make the most of a bad situation.
Whether he did or not, his press conference had all the earmarks of
Morris's strategic trademark:

``triangulation.'' Positioning himself between and above the
intransigence of Helms and the inconstancy of Clinton, Weld
``triangulated'' Mexico to maximum effect.

Fourth, Weld protected his base at home. By attacking
Clinton, he endeared himself to the Republican faithful. By attacking
Helms, he endeared himself to the independents and Democrats who twice
elected him governor.

The facts are these: Weld is never going to be the US
ambassador to Mexico and will soon resign his corner office. He is
leaving public life, at least for the time being. Better to do so with a
bang than a whimper. His big bang press conference Tuesday made his exit
memorable. One looks forward to his return.

John Ellis is a consultant at Rasky & Co. in
Boston.

This story ran on page A15 of the Boston Globe on
07/19/97.

© Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.