Traditional Appearance Before Congress Dates to Powdered-Wig Days : Bush Follows Ancient Ritual, Declares Himself Victor

By a quirk of antiquated American law, George Bush Wednesday became the first vice president since Martin Van Buren 150 years ago to inform Congress officially that he had won the presidential election.

Responding to this two-month-old “news” and the formal counting of electoral votes, members of the House and Senate erupted into cheers and gave Bush a standing ovation as he declared himself and his running mate, Dan Quayle, the victors over Democratic foes Michael S. Dukakis and Sen. Lloyd M. Bentsen (D-Tex.).

While the tradition, dating back to the days of powdered wigs, is regarded as laughable by many lawmakers, Bush’s role as presiding officer for the Electoral College announcement was required by the Constitution.

In the past, for example, Vice President Richard M. Nixon had to certify that John F. Kennedy had defeated him for the White House in 1960. In 1837, Van Buren announced that he had won a lopsided race against William Henry Harrison.

Arriving in a half-empty chamber for the quadrennial ritual, Bush was pounded on the back and his hand was pumped steadily by the applauding members of Congress, especially the Republicans lining the center aisle of the House chamber.

He was preceded by two teen-aged pages carrying leather-trimmed mahogany boxes with leather straps--suitable for stagecoach travel or the pony express--that contained the formal certifications of electoral votes from the 50 states.

Wielding a mean left-handed gavel, Bush called the rather raucous audience to order and instructed the four tellers, two from the Senate and two from the House, to begin reading the results that were first flashed to the nation by television on the evening of Nov. 8.

A comic note was introduced into the droning roll call by Rep. Frank Annunzio (D-Ill.), one of the House tellers, who forgot to identify Bush and Quayle as the winners in Arkansas.

“Six votes for President and six votes for vice president,” pronounced Annunzio, ignoring the script he had been handed.

Bush himself leaned over from the Speaker’s chair to ask: “Who won that election?”

As the audience broke into laughter, Annunzio had the last word: “Obviously, they all knew the answer anyway,” he said with a flourish. The rest of the call of states went off without incident.

During the recital of the stale election returns, Bush made small talk with Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.)about the Electoral College, quail-hunting in Texas and life as a President-in-waiting.

“We talked about the procedure,” Wright told reporters afterward. “It’s kind of an antiquated process, from the day of powdered wigs and snuff boxes. Of course, if I lose any more hair, I could use a powdered wig myself.

“We observed that it is the first time since Martin Van Buren that a vice president announced his own election,” the Speaker said. “We discussed how this is a frill, in a sense, but a nice frill.”

Hunting Chat

As for quail, Bush noted that lack of ground cover prevented him from bagging as many birds as he would have liked during a hunting trip to Beeville, Tex., and the two men compared notes on shotguns as the electoral count proceeded.

As for Quayle, he did not attend the Capitol Hill ritual where his election as vice president was proclaimed formally. Neither did Dukakis or Bentsen.

During their rambling talk, Wright said, Bush indicated that he would deliver his State of the Union message to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 8 or Feb. 9, about three weeks after his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Bush thanked Wright for his promise of bipartisanship made Tuesday during Congress’ opening day ceremonies and said that there have been “no surprises” during his weeks of preparation for his Oval Office responsibilities, the Speaker added.

Computer Print-Outs

Meanwhile, in a step never imagined by the Founding Fathers who created the Electoral College in the 18th Century, the tellers signed computer print-outs showing the 1988 election totals.

Bush became the focus of attention again when he rose to announce that he had received 426 electoral votes to 111 for Dukakis, and, because of a West Virginia elector’s independent mood, a single presidential vote for Bentsen. Quayle’s total was the same as Bush’s.

“This announcement shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the election of the President and vice president for the term beginning Jan. 20, 1989,” the President-elect solemnly intoned. Then, with another sharp left-handed bang of the gavel, Bush declared the joint session dissolved and received a resounding cheer. Meanwhile, Bush continued to mull over the choices for his two remaining Cabinet-level appointments, amid indications that he could name a secretary of energy this week, perhaps as early as today. A decision on the other remaining post, the newly created Cabinet-level drug czar, appears to be further away as Bush aides continue to argue over what sort of person is best suited to the job.

For the energy post, a leading candidate is James R. Schlesinger, secretary of energy under President Jimmy Carter, secretary of defense under President Gerald R. Ford and a Bush campaign surrogate during this year’s presidential race. Bush also has been considering Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee M. Thomas for the job as well as former Rep. Henson Moore of Louisiana and Peter Johnson, the head of the federal Bonneville Power Administration and a protege of Sen. James A. McClure (R-Ida.).