When George W. Bush's oil endeavors were faltering in the eighties one of the people that helped the young oilman out of his quandary was James Baker III. When the matter of the presidency in 2000 went to the courts George W. Bush turned to James Baker to lead the legal team that argued the case before the courts. The list of ties between the Bush family and Baker is a long one. It is a link that was apparently severed following the 2000 election, to the point that Baker argued against unilateralism against Iraq in 2002. This background of acting as the Bush Family consiglieri, and the break from that role after the 2000 election should bring an interesting twist to the announcement this week that Baker has been named by Bush to strong arm other nations on Iraqi debt.
Baker is Mr. Fixit for Dubya Bush, the go-to guy when things start to unravel. His arrival on the current Iraq scene should raise eyebrows in the political community. Have things gotten so bad in Iraq or the 2004 Campaign that Baker needs to be brought off the bench again to set Dubya's house in order? If one thinks that Baker is back to merely perform the duties laid out in recent press releases they're rather short sighted. The return of Baker should be seen in the same light as Clark Clifford stalking through the Johnson White House, a veteran advisor come to shake things up and change attitudes.
Baker does not fall into the neo-conservative pantheon. If anything Baker represents a throw back to the 'country club conservatives' of Bush the Elder's day. Can his return be seen as the beginning of a shift away from the far right as the 2004 election cycle heats up and Rove sees moderate Republicans seriously looking at Wesley Clark (or even Howard Dean) like doe-eyed school girls? To be sure Baker represents a more moderate, pragmatic position, one which, if cultivated properly could bolster the views of his old stomping grounds at State.
Baker's reappearance on the stage should not be seen as a good thing for any of the Democratic contenders. Most of the Democrat's gravitas originates from being the anti-Bush, the anti-right, the anti-screwups. With Baker resuming his position as consiglieri a draw back to the center for Bush seems inevitable. The possibility that a saner approach to Iraq will flourish is also a distinct possibility. Baker can provide a counterbalance to the Cheney/Rummsfeld side of the Iraq equation. Baker is closer to Bush than either Cheney or Rummsfeld, he represents a fresh look from an established player. It's obvious that something has to be done in Iraq, something different. Placing Iraqi operations in the lap of Condi Rice, blind-siding Rummsfeld does not seem to have worked to change things to any great degree, perhaps what was called for were heavier guns in the internal squabbles in the NSC. Baker could be those guns.
Baker is also a crafty politician though. Rove initially worked for Baker in Texas as part of Bush the Elder's PAC. Baker also acted as George the Eldar's Campaign Manager. The more I think about Baker's return the more I want to compare him to Clark Clifford, the man who advised LBJ and eventually replaced McNamara as SecDef. Seen in this light Baker has to present a threat to the neocon power base in the administration.
Perhaps I'm just choosing to look at Bush's current predicament through the lens of LBJ's White House. I have been reading a bit lately on McNamara and the early stages of Vietnam. Perhaps Baker has been called back to help the administration strong-arm other nations into Iraqi debt relief. However if I were George W. Bush, with problems in my house between the hawks and slightly-less hawkish hawks, the perceived loss of the American moderate, and issues in the Middle East, letting James Baker pinch-hit would seem like a terrible waste. The man should be taking over as first-base coach at least, an even better place would be at the President's right hand. The question to be answered now is who is this stalking horse stalking?