Could Cox be in line for the Cabinet?

Alex Coolman

As a tight presidential race grows tighter, the political landscape

could be changing for one man who isn’t in the race at all: Rep.

Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), whose name has been mentioned as a

possible Cabinet appointee for Texas Gov. George W. Bush, should he win

the election.

Cox snuck onto some pundits’ short lists of possible running mates for

Bush earlier this year. And though Dick Cheney got the nod instead of

Cox, the Republican congressman is still prominent on the party’s radar.

“I know that George W. Bush personally highly esteems Chris Cox for

his intelligence,” said Tom Fuentes, chairman of Orange County’s

Republican Party.

“Chris’ leadership in the Congress, now serving as the fifth-ranking

member of the Republican Congress, is clearly a credential for national

leadership at the level of the Cabinet,” Fuentes said.

What position Cox would be appointed to is tough to say. Secretary of

State might seem like a possibility, given Cox’s interest in foreign

policy. But Colin Powell is seen by most commentators as being Bush’s

ever-so-likely choice.

Cox said Wednesday that if Bush were to win, he would find staying in

Congress satisfying.

“Serving in the leadership of the House with a president of your own

party, with the exception of just a few Cabinet positions, is the

superior choice,” Cox said.

Cox did not rule out the possibility of serving in the Cabinet, but

said it was too speculative to discuss the possibility before the

election.

“I’d rather focus on the things over which I have control,” he said.

Other than Secretary of State, Cox also would fit nicely into the

position of national security advisor. But Mark Petracca, chairman of

UCI’s political science department, argued that Stanford University Prof.

Condoleezza Rice, who advised Bush’s father when he was president, is the

likely Bush choice to fill that slot.

In fact, in Petracca’s view, any Cabinet appointment for Cox would be

a longshot at best.

“Every time something happens out there, Cox’s name comes up,’

Petracca said. “Nothing ever seems to manifest itself.”

He argued that Cox didn’t seem interested in moving from his current

role, in any case.

“His behavior up to this point seems to indicate that he really likes

just being a member of Congress,” Petracca said.If Cox were to manage to

win his congressional race and then be picked for a Cabinet post, a

special election would fill his spot in the 47th District.

“The Republican primary [would be] essentially the election” under

such circumstances, Fuentes said.

There is no set time for when such an election would occur, Fuentes

added.

“It is scheduled by the governor if and when the seat is vacated,” he

said.

Petracca said there would be plenty of political players who would be

eager for a shot at the position.

“They’d be tripping all over each other. It’d be like an elephant

stampede,” he said.

So far, no specific names are being circulated as replacements for

Cox, Fuentes said.

“I think everyone is concentrating on the getting out the vote,” he

said. “That’s where our focus is.”