Defying Helms, Clinton Names Weld To Mexico Post

Washington

President Clinton defied Senator Jesse Helms, RN.C., yesterday by
following through on his promise to nominate Massachusetts Governor
William Weld as ambassador to Mexico, a selection that started as a
gesture of bipartisanship but now looks like an exercise in futility.

Clinton once hoped that picking one of the nation's highest profile
Republicans for a prominent diplomatic posting would build an important
bridge to the GOP leadership in Congress and help usher in an era no
longer dominated by party politics. Yet even before the nomination
papers ~ signed, the president discovered that internal Republican
divisions can thwart his desires just as easily as partisan combat.

Rarely has a presidential nomination arrived in the Senate in worse
shape. Few senators of either party are volunteering to lead the charge
for Weld, and the White House, while promising a fight, privately
harbors little hope for what one administration official acknowledged
looks like a "hopeless mission."

Although seasoned votecounters believe Weld would handily win a
confirmation vote on the Senate floor, Helms has vowed to block any such
vote; as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee he has the power to
carry out that threat. The GOP leadership has indicated that it has no
appetite for intervening.
Yet even if the appointment is loomed, it has developed into one of the
more engaging bits of political theater in Washington this summer, a
spectacle pitting two largerthanlife personalities.

On the one side is the crusty Senator from North Carolina, the longtime
keeper of the conservative flame. On the other is the colorful Brahmin
from Boston, the Libertarian who cuts taxes but also supports abortion
and gay rights.

Helms has said that Weld is not 'ambassador quality," singling out what
he considers the governor's weak record on combating illegal drugs, a
sensitive issue for the Mexico post. A combative Weld fired back in an
extraordinary news conference last week, accusing Helms of "ideological
extortion" and declaring "I am not Senator Helms' kind of Republican ...
nor do I want to" be.

In Washington, many Republicans believe Weld squandered what little
chance he had when he attacked Helms, and the White House tried‹without
success‹ to persuade the governor to keep quiet. "Governor Weld did
himself a disservice," said Senator Arlen Specter, RPa., a leading
moderate. "These are the kinds of matters that are resolved only one
way‹ quietly."

Republicans this week made clear that they have no interest in offending
the prickly and powerful Helms.