Scrtry's Role Eclipses His Title; Commerce Chief Is Close Friend of Bush

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

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Evans, one of President Bush's oldest and closest friends and chairman of his 2000 campaign, has used his post to develop a broad portfolio that includes occasional diplomatic assignments from national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. Visits from Evans have been used to reward Central and Eastern European countries that backed the administration's Iraq policy, and to encourage continuing assistance with the war on terrorism.

But if the Democratic presidential nominee gets any traction with claims that Bush was negligent in preserving jobs during the economic downturn, Evans is one of the administration officials who will be most directly answerable. Evans acquiesced to Bush's imposition of tariffs on imported steel in 2002, then helped steer the president to a reversal last month when the policy threatened to start an international trade war that would bring retaliation in Florida and other crucial states.

Administration officials said that beginning this month, Evans will be among the first Cabinet members to switch into an overtly political mode as the reelection campaign heats up, with Evans planning to focus his appearances on, among other groups, Hispanic business audiences that the White House believes will be receptive to his efforts to promote trade throughout the hemisphere.

Evans, a Houston native who at 57 is three weeks younger than Bush, traveled to 25 states last year, almost all of them targets of Bush's campaign. He has visited 24 countries since he took office at the outset of the administration, including recent tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. Wayne Berman, a Commerce Department official under Bush's father, called Evans "the president's personal back channel to foreign leaders."

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57170-2004Jan5.html