Humor One of Chief Assets of ‘Fresh Face’ in White House : Fitzwater Puts Quick Wit to Good Use

Minutes after he was designated to succeed himself as chief spokesman for the President, Marlin Fitzwater demonstrated one of his chief assets in the job: humor.

Not usually hailed as a sex symbol, the balding 46-year-old with the well-fed body was kibitzing with reporters about how his appointment could represent a “fresh face” in the Bush Administration.

“I’m willing to take a new face if anyone could give me one,” he said, grinning. “I’ll take Tom Selleck’s.”

Since he assumed his role as presidential spokesman, Max Marlin Fitzwater has put his quickness with quips to good use. His humor--self-deprecating and otherwise--often has kept contentious news conferences from eroding into permanent wars with the press.

Fitzwater took over as presidential spokesman in February, 1987, after Larry Speakes resigned. Speakes had taken over the duties from James S. Brady, who was seriously wounded in an attempt on the President’s life in March, 1981.

George Bush said he had asked Fitzwater to assume the title of press secretary, the designation that normally goes with the position of presidential spokesman. In the Reagan Administration, that title had been reserved for Brady.

In choosing Fitzwater, Bush underscored his desire to fill key posts with experienced officials who can work with others and avoid inflammatory statements and unnecessary public confrontation. The appointment comes as Bush has been striving, in a series of private meetings, to defuse lingering animosity with his critics inside and outside of government before engaging the tough struggle with the Democratic Congress over the budget deficit.

One reporter recounted one of Fitzwater’s early White House news conferences, when Fitzwater was being severely grilled by reporters about an Administration policy. “Hey, whatever happened to foreplay?” Fitzwater reportedly griped.

A couple of years on the job have not changed his easygoing approach. Right after President-elect Bush made a rare appearance in the White House briefing room to announce his appointment of Fitzwater, the present and future White House spokesman was besieged with sharp complaints about the infrequency of presidential news conferences. “A two-minute honeymoon--amazing,” said Fitzwater, laughing along with reporters.

Some of Fitzwater’s success in maintaining generally good relations with the press stems from his good fortune in following Speakes, an often testy and combative spokesman whose name still evokes snarls from the White House press corps. But he also profits from a reputation for being both accessible and a “straight shooter.”

It will be put to the test amid a growing media restlessness for greater access to the President. In the last year, Reagan had few full question-and-answer sessions with the press and during the campaign Bush stuck firmly with an appearance agenda that kept reporters at a distance for weeks at a time.

Also, while humor can promote harmony, it also has a down side, according to some reporters. “He sometimes uses it to avoid telling you something that he knows,” said one veteran White House correspondent, who added that despite the humor, “Once you get on his bad side, you never get off.”

Fitzwater, a one-time Kansas newspaperman, is a veteran of Washington’s public affairs wars. In the early 1970s he wrote speeches for Transportation Secretary John Volpe. He worked in the office of public affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency from 1972 to 1981 and served as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1985 he was special assistant to President Reagan and deputy press secretary for domestic affairs.

When Reagan named Fitzwater to succeed Speakes, he was working as press secretary on Bush’s vice presidential staff.

In announcing that Fitzwater, whose current annual salary is $89,500, will once again speak for him, Bush said: “This is continuity in the best sense.”

Some political communications experts agree that Fitzwater has served Reagan well.

“Fitzwater’s style is very much in sync with Reagan’s,” said Robert S. Fortner, chairman of the department of communications at George Washington University. He said that both Reagan, a native of Illinois, and Fitzwater, born in Kansas, have an “aw, shucks” way of communicating, relying on anecdotes and humor as a way of “putting off tough questions. They tell people not to worry; we’re going to take care of that problem.”

But Fortner predicted that the press will pressure Bush to answer their questions more often and more directly than Reagan has. “If Bush is really going to make his mark as President, he is going to have to get out of the (press) avoidance mode.”

More pressure on Bush means more pressure on Fitzwater, Fortner pointed out, asserting that: “If he continues his style, he will not be nearly as effective as he was with Reagan.”

For now, Fitzwater shows no fear of pressure. He deftly brushed aside questions about how many news conferences Bush plans, saying that he thinks “there should be as much contact with the press as possible.”