ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 10, 1996 TAG: 9611110049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
ERSKINE BOWLES may not have Capitol Hill experience, but the self-made millionaire's efficiency has made him an invaluable asset to his new boss, the president.
Erskine Bowles never met Bill Clinton before 1992. But in the past four years, the no-nonsense business executive and self-made millionaire has become a close friend and golfing partner of the president, who turned to Bowles on Friday to run the White House in his second term. G Named to replace Leon Panetta as White House chief of staff, Bowles enjoys the unqualified trust and admiration of Clinton, and even of Republicans in his home state, North Carolina.
His biggest challenge may be winning the trust of the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, who enjoyed working with former House colleague Panetta and worry that Bowles may not have the political savvy for the demanding post.
Said one senior Democratic member of the House, who spoke only on condition of anonymity: ``Bowles does not understand the Hill. He is untested, and he will lose credibility the first time the president undercuts anything that he tells us that the White House is going to do.''
Clinton, however, said Friday, ``I have absolute faith in his ability to do this job.'' Noting that Bowles served in the White House before as deputy chief of staff, Clinton said Bowles ``was one of those most responsible for bringing focus and direction to our efforts.''
A Charlotte investment banker, the 51-year-old Bowles is returning to his second tour of duty in Washington.
Bowles served as head of the Small Business Administration at the start of Clinton's first term, then was brought to the White House in 1994 to help bring order and discipline to the operation. He returned to Charlotte last December to form an investment banking company and spend more time with his wife and three children.
Even after leaving the White House, Bowles continued to act as a trouble-shooter for Clinton. When political adviser Dick Morris was caught in a sex scandal in August, Bowles was the president's man sent to grease Morris' departure.
When Clinton wanted help preparing for his debates with Bob Dole, Bowles joined him in Washington and then in upstate New York. When Clinton sat down in Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday night to watch the election returns, Bowles was there.
Charlotte developer Mark Erwin recalled talking to Clinton about Bowles at a black-tie dinner in 1995. ``Erskine's my best friend in the White House,'' Erwin remembers Clinton saying.
The two men met during the 1992 campaign. Sitting with Clinton in the back seat of a car one night in North Carolina, Bowles confided that his son suffered from diabetes and that he was frustrated that one hope for a cure, fetal tissue research, had been blocked by President Bush. When Clinton on his second day as president signed an order allowing the research, he gave the pen to Bowles to give to his son.
During his stint as deputy chief of staff, Bowles was known for his quiet efficiency. One former White House aide recalled how Panetta led Cabinet meetings that easily lasted an hour. When Bowles filled in once, the meeting was over in 10 minutes.
Even conservative Republicans from North Carolina have praised Bowles. Before Friday's announcement, Sen. Jesse Helms said, ``I love Erskine Bowles.'' Sen. Lauch Faircloth called Bowles' first stint in Washington ``by far the best appointment in the Clinton administration.''
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Bowlesby CNB