First Impressions, Lasting Influence; O'Neill Has More Pull Than Meets the Eye
Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill loves tossing out ideas, some half-baked or even alarming to his foes, just to gauge the reaction. He revels in speaking bluntly, sometimes rattling markets and members of Congress. Wit and sarcasm, along with a little profanity in private, are essential tools in his verbal arsenal.</br></br>But last week, sitting in his office, which had been recently redecorated in a vivid blue, O'Neill seemed almost wistful as he considered the battering his image has taken in the press. "When it's portrayed that you're out of the loop and all that kind of stuff, I think it really does have some impact on your effectiveness," he said.</br></br>The conventional wisdom in Washington is that O'Neill is some sort of supernova, a spectacular, doomed explosion. The truth is more fascinating and complex -- and also revealing about the Bush White House.</br></br>Within the Bush administration, O'Neill appears to have not only survived, but thrived. His zest for combative language and his zeal for new ideas has made him a favorite of President Bush, though his style has rankled some officials. The president meets with him privately for a half-hour about once a week, a privilege that President Bill Clinton did not grant his Treasury secretaries for fear it would give them an unfair advantage in interagency discussions. O'Neill is also a key member of the president's war cabinet.</br></br>"The president likes his big thinking, even when it's way out of his realm of responsibility," said a senior White House official directly involved in policymaking. "The chemistry between him and the president is very good."