POLITICIAN WATCH : Trusty Aide

For a governor whose state is in a drought, and something like $14 billion in the red, Pete Wilson has a surprisingly good image.

Otto Bos, who died at 47 on a San Diego soccer field of what appears to have been a heart attack, had a hand in Wilson’s ability to handle trouble in a charismatic age without having much charisma. Bos did it with an old-school style that is rare in these days of hardball, manipulative politics. He put Wilson’s best foot forward, gave his boss good solid advice and always returned phone calls. He dealt in straightforward answers, even when the boss said something that caused problems.

Bos might sound like someone above the political game, but he reveled in it. He just played by rules that are slightly unusual: By trying to be as straight as possible with the press and the public while putting Wilson in the best possible light, he won respect the old-fashioned way--he earned it.

Serving as a go-between for a politician and the press isn’t always easy; doing so without confusing the role of speaker with spokesman is a talent rare enough that it gained Bos the healthy respect of most of the reporters he dealt with.

Wilson was stunned by the death because he and his press secretary had worked together for a long time; “Bos was like a younger brother of mine,” he said. His bereavement also reflects his knowing that finding another Otto Bos won’t be easy, but try he must, for his own political future and for his troubled state, which needs to trust that what it hears is indeed happening.