Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 7, 1994 TAG: 9412070118
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In fact, Robert Rubin just might be the quintessential Clinton Democrat - except that unlike Clinton he is highly organized and invariably successful.
On Tuesday, Clinton nominated Rubin, as expected, to succeed Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, who announced that he will leave government effective Dec. 22, confirming recent widespread reports.
Rubin's appointment was welcomed both on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill. Even Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas called Rubin ``a man of honesty and integrity'' and said he supports his nomination. Easy Senate confirmation is expected, not least because Rubin's leadership at Treasury is expected to mirror Bentsen's.
The treasury secretary exerts great influence over U.S. tax, trade, debt and financial policies.
Both men back cuts in the federal deficit, lower barriers to trade and spurs to private investment as keys to jobs, growth and prosperity. Both worked closely together on Clinton's major economic victories - drafting the 1993 economic plan and championing the big NAFTA and GATT market-opening trade agreements.
Rubin and Bentsen also both tried unsuccessfully to shrink Clinton's massive health-reform plan, failing in internal administration debates to overcome Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Bentsen acknowledged his closeness to Rubin when announcing his resignation at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
``Back in Arkansas when the president asked me, he said, `Who do you think I should appoint as secretary of the treasury?,''' Bentsen recalled. ``And I said, `Bob Rubin.' And he said, `That's funny. ... Bob Rubin told me you.'''
Bentsen, 73, and Rubin, 56, are old friends; Rubin once managed Bentsen's personal finances while working at Goldman Sachs, the big Wall Street investment bank. Rubin rose to be chairman of the firm and rolled up a net worth reported at more than $50 million in almost three decades work there.
After his 1992 election, Clinton drafted Rubin to head his National Economic Council. His success at coordinating economic policy formation there is recognized as one of the few organizational successes in an administration now infamous for sloppy work.
As council chairman, Rubin cultivated the role of ``honest broker,'' making sure all views were heard. He took pains to keep his own public profile low, letting Bentsen be the administration's primary economic spokesman.
For all the similarity of their economic views however, Rubin and Bentsen differ in two critical areas - political background and social policy views.
Bentsen was a 22-year veteran of the Senate, while Rubin's political experience has been limited primarily to fund-raising for Democrats. That could hamper Rubin's effectiveness in brokering deals on Capitol Hill with the new Republican-majority Congress, many analysts - though not all - believe.
``I'm not sure that really would be such a handicap. There really wasn't much evidence that Bentsen's background helped all that much,'' argued Dean Baker, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a union-backed liberal think tank.
In addition, Rubin's views on social policy are notably more liberal than the moderate Bentsen's. For example, Rubin rarely makes a speech without emphasizing that American civilization is endangered by untended social decay.
In an interview last year, Rubin explained how he reconciled his social liberalism and fiscal conservatism: ``I believe very strongly that the country has to have a vibrant economy, because if you have that, then you can do a lot of things, including many social programs.''
Rubin is a native of New York City, grew up in Miami Beach, and is a graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School.
by CNB