George Bush was a member of the Council On Foreign Relations in the 1970's, when he served in a succession of appointed positions under President Nixon and President Ford. He was director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Chairman of the Republican National Committee; head of the Liaison Office in the Peoples Republic of China; and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Bush remained in the Council even after leaving public office. He ended his membership during his campaign for the Republican nomination for President in 1980, when his CFR connection started to become an issue among conservatives.

George Bush was among the founding members of the Tri-lateral Commission, retaining his connections even while officially "on leave of absence in government service."

Bill Clinton is a late-comer to both organizations, being invited to join only in the past couple of years. Nonetheless, he is the third member of the Trilateral Commission to be elected President since the Commission was founded in 1973.

George Bush and Bill Clinton are not alone among high public officials in their CFR/Trilateral connections. Outgoing Secretary of State James Baker is a long-time member of the Council On Foreign Relations, as is Acting Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger. Secretary Baker's predecessors at the State Department have included George Shultz and Cyrus Vance, members of the Council On Foreign Relations; and Alexander Haig as well as Henry Kissinger, both CFR members and founding members of the Trilateral Commission. Clinton's Secretary of State is Warren Christopher, Vice-Chairman of the Council On Foreign Relations, and a long-time member of the Trilateral Commission.

Harold Brown and Caspar Weinberger, Secretaries of Defense under President Carter and President Reagan, respectively, are both CFR members and again, founding members of the Trilateral Commission. Outgoing Defense Secretary Richard Cheney is a CFR member, as is the new Defense Secretary, Les Aspin.

Other founding members of the Trilateral Commission include Paul Volcker, former head of the Federal Reserve System, and Alan Greenspan, current Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Both are also CFR members.

We don't have the space to list the literally hundreds of additional CFR members and dozens of Trilateralists who have held policy positions in just the recent administrations. Such a record would be impressive for any organization, let alone a Council with only 2500 members, and a Commission with fewer than 100 members from the United States.

By contrast, the National Taxpayers Union has over 200,000 members nation-wide, including Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Yet since its founding in 1971, it has not had a single member appointed to the Cabinet. Perhaps this would change if the National Taxpayers Union were to give up its commitment to lower taxes and less government.

President-elect Clinton in late December announced his choices for the Cabinet and other top administration positions. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, his choice for Secretary of the Treasury, as well as Bruce Babbit, Interior Secretary nominee, are members of both the Trilateral Commission and the Council On Foreign Relations. Other CFR members headed for positions in the new administration include Anthony Lake, named as National Security Advisor; Andrea Tyson, who will head the Council of Economic Advisors. Clinton has announced that he will appoint CFR member Madeleine Albright as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and and that he will make the U.N. Ambassador a full member of the Cabinet.

Jaijui....you may be right....but, I shall stick with the "audacity of hope"- that things can be different (for now at least!)

 
Amerasian,
*They were just examples...I kind of know- what is going on with the "mainstream republicans" too...but, so many things about this election is unpredictable!

Vish,
Thanks, I am sure you are very objective and very smart man:-))

M