McCain Allies Join Bush Campaign as Advisors

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, has been broadening his stable of campaign advisors, recently adding three men allied with his fiercest rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Rick Davis, McCain’s former campaign advisor, will assist in planning for the Republican National Convention this summer. The Bush camp is also reaching out to lobbyists Vin Weber and Kenneth M. Duberstein, who informally advised McCain during his Republican primary bid.

The three men will be “helping out in a wide variety of ways,” said Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer. “These are all informal advisory roles. This is part of a reaching out we’re doing, recognizing that our party has many good minds and we want to tap as many of them as possible.”

Todd Harris, spokesman for McCain’s political action committee, said that Davis “has been and continues to be a very close advisor to Sen. McCain. He will consult “not as an advisor to Gov. Bush but as an advocate for Sen. McCain and a smooth and successful convention.”

Neither Davis, Weber nor Duberstein could be reached for comment.

Although the Bush campaign has been criticized for its Texas orientation, Bush’s three longtime Austin-based advisors--campaign manager Joe Allbaugh, strategist Karl Rove and communications director Karen Hughes--will continue to run the operation.

Still, Bush will continue to consult with more than a score of prominent Washington-based Republicans, including Mary Matalin, deputy manager of the 1992 campaign of Bush’s father; Charles Black, who advised the White House bids of Bob Dole and Phil Gramm; former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour; former Rep. Bill Paxon of New York; and Ed Gillespie, former senior advisor to House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas.

The group will meet ad hoc, giving input on everything from “how to rebut [Vice President] Al Gore’s attacks to preparing for the convention to advancing our events,” Fleischer said. “It’s going to cover a very wide variety of advice.”

Fleischer would not confirm speculation that former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney could lead Bush’s efforts to find a running mate. “The governor has made no decision on who will lead his VP effort,” Fleischer said.