The Man in Schwarzenegger's Corner
AArnold Schwarzenegger was still on the set of the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno when, having just declared himself a candidate for governor of California, he telephoned a Washington politician. The politician was Representative David E. Dreier, who says Mr. Schwarzenegger opened the conversation with five simple words: "David, I need your help."
With his natty suits and penchant for quoting the Federalist papers in public and smoking cigars in private, Mr. Dreier, a California Republican, holds one of the most powerful - and partisan - jobs on Capitol Hill. As chairman of the House Rules Committee, he controls the procedures for voting on legislation, doing the bidding of Republican leaders to ensure on the House floor.
Now, after being co-chairman of the Schwarzenegger campaign, Mr. Dreier is taking on another big job, that of running the governor-elect's transition. But instead of iron-fist partisanship, this position will require a gentle reach across party lines. Even Mr. Dreier's bitterest opponents say he is up to the task.
"If he runs the transition team in the same way that he runs the Rules Committee, then I think it's going to be a rocky transition," said Representative Jim, Democrat of Massachusetts. "But I don't expect that to be the case. On a personal level, Dreier is a very likeable guy. Even those who fight with him on a daily basis in the Rules Committee like him as an individual."
Thursday afternoon, still glowing, Mr. Dreier and Mr. Schwarzenegger stood side by side to detail their plans. In a brief telephone conversation beforehand, Mr. Dreier said he viewed the transition job, which may last only five or six weeks, as constituent service. "My first responsibilities," he said, "are the people of California, whom I represent."
At 51, Mr. Dreier has spent 23 years in Congress. He was elected in 1980 on Ronald Reagan's coattails after spending a decade at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif., where he studied political science and then worked as administrator. He made his first bid for Congress in 1978, but lost. That same year, he became friends with another losing candidate for Congress, George W. Bush.
Representative Thomas M. Reynolds, Democrat of New York, calls Mr. Dreier "a consummate student of government and politics."
John J. Pitney Jr., a professor of government at Claremont McKenna, calls him "Mr. Inside, Mr. Outside, a conservative who has good connections with liberals and Democrats."
For the transition, Mr. Dreier must act almost as a shadow governor, pulling together a team to govern a vast and varied state. At a news conference on Thursday, he promised a "very, very diverse group of people philosophically, geographically, demographically."
Smooth talking and telegenic, Mr. Dreier appeared on countless television talk shows during the campaign, emerging as an omnipresent advocate for recalling Gov. Gray Davis and sending Mr. Schwarzenegger to Sacramento.
Though Mr. Dreier's voting record is strictly conservative, those who know him say that he does not come across as hard line and that he projects the same kind of moderation Mr. Schwarzenegger needs to display as a Republican in a heavily Democratic state.
"David has a very good sense of the media and a very good sense of how to stay positive and how to attract voters in a way that broadens the party," said Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.
Mr. Dreier did not initially support the recall; an aide said he did not think it "fit within the Madisonian ideal of representative democracy." But when the movement picked up steam, Mr. Dreier got on board - a decision that drew criticism from Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of Manhattan, who says he counts Mr. Dreier as a friend.
"I never would have thought that conservatives would find that they could hypocritically wrap themselves around Schwarzenegger," Mr. Rangel said. "And you don't get more conservative than David Dreier."
But Mr. Dreier's conservative ties will help Mr. Schwarzenegger in Washington, where he can serve as a bridge between the new governor, Congress and the White House
"He's a natural choice," Mr. Pitney said, adding: "Machiavelli says the first impression one gets of a prince is from the men he has around him. Schwarzenegger may not be an expert on the details of governing, but he has a shrewd eye for people."
