Silent George Bush May Be a Model for Vice Presidents, Fitzwater Says

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Friday that he suspected Vice President George Bush’s silence at Cabinet meetings would be a model for future vice presidents.

Fitzwater commended Bush for indicating that he remained mute at Cabinet meetings to avoid having his comments in “kiss-and-tell” books and reserved his opinions for the ears of the President alone.

Asked at a press briefing about Bush’s reticence on the stands he has taken in the White House on critical issues, Fitzwater said, “The vice president has taken the position from day to day that he is a private adviser and often doesn’t voice his opinions.

“The vice president has long felt that his role is that of a confidential adviser.

“He has defined an appropriate role for a vice president. He has defined a position of confidential adviser to the President, and I suspect future vice presidents will want to follow that mold.”

Bush has refused to make public his advice to the President during the period of secret dealings that became known as the Iran-Contra affair, although he says he approved the arms sales to Iran that were deemed by investigators to have been a trade for the American hostages in Lebanon.

The vice president also says he did not know the profits from the sales were being funneled to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels at a time when such aid was banned by law.