Bush's Bad Cop

George Bush takes pains to overcome what he calls "the intimidation factor" by encouraging visitors to speak freely. Bush's good-cop demeanor, however, is balanced by his combative chief of staff John Sununu, whose role is to keep discussions pointed, to make people defend their positions -- and occasionally just to cut through the bull.

A group of bankers found that out the hard way recently after telling the President that they supported his efforts to rescue the savings-and-loan industry. Sununu pulled out an ad the bankers were running trying to scare depositors away from S & Ls and into banks. "I take it, then," he growled, "this sort of thing will stop." When a utility boss complained that Bush's clean-air proposals would drive up his electricity rates, Sununu retorted that the utility already enjoyed rates below the national average, which the Government subsidized.

Sununu puckishly allows, "I have been known to ask provocative questions." His bad-cop act has the President's support, but Sununu has drawn fire from Congress and has left some staffers afraid to voice unpopular advice in his presence. Many consult more easily with Sununu's own good cop, deputy to chief of staff Andrew Card. Colleagues were relieved when Card decided to stay at the White House rather than run for Governor of Massachusetts.