|
By Kent Larsen
Why Senator Bennett Can Be Trusted
WASHINGTON, DC -- Bob Bennett, Republican senator from Utah is a man who
really knows how to keep a secret. He never names names. Some people have
speculated over the years that Bennett knows one of the most tantalizing
political secret of the last half of the 20th century: the true identity of
the Watergate scandal's Deep Throat.
Although Bennett has repeatedly denied being the mysterious source for Bob
Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post, he is a worthy candidate
of speculation for many reasons, including his skill in keeping
his mouth shut at the right time. That rare talent for secrecy has gotten
him a long way in politics.
The son of Wallace F. Bennett, a former four-term Utah Senator, Bob Bennett
has an uncanny feel for knowing where to draw a line with his lips. Steeped
in politics and government from the time he was a gawky teen, Bennett, now
67, once did covert jobs for eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes and fronted
for the CIA.
"He can be counted on. He can be trusted," says former political rival Joe
Cannon, who spent $6 million of his own money in an attempt to win the
Republican nomination from Bennett. "That's why he commands the trust of
people in the Senate. They can depend on him to keep confidences and not to
go off and do some crazy thing."
But Conservative GOP activist Tom Draschil says Bennett's plan for a third
term may not go over well with the growing right wing in the Republican
party. Bob Bennett talks a great line, but he's on the wrong side on
many issues, including international trade, relations with China and
education, Draschil said.
Bennett also made a 'Beaut' of a Mistake in August 1999 when he made a
remark some people considered to be racially discriminatory. In his single
glaring act of indiscretion in office, Bennett remarked that the only thing
that could block then candidate George W. Bush's election would be a fatal
accident or a lethal scandal, like "some woman comes forward, let's say some
black woman comes forward, with an illegitimate child that he fathered
within the last 18 months."
Source:
Utah Senator Wins Trust by Keeping His Own Counsel
Salt Lake Tribune 18Jun01 T2
By Dan Harrie: Salt Lake Tribune
|
