| Todd J. Gillman: Can-do spirit pulled off GOP fete 01/30/2001 By / The Dallas Morning News The galas are history. The new president has been sworn in, moved in and unpacked.
And Jeanne Johnson Phillips, the Republican fund-raiser from Dallas who put the inaugural show together in just 32 days, has one word.
"Relieved," she said by phone Saturday.
Ms. Phillips heads back to Washington on Tuesday, the first in a series of wrap-up trips. She spent last week writing thank-yous and finding jobs for members of her inaugural committee staff. A couple of days were devoted to helping Commerce Secretary Don Evans of Midland, a longtime friend and mentor, settle into his new post.
And, she began preparing an archive of how she did what she did, something that's never been done before: Because the Florida vote dispute kept the outcome of the election in doubt for weeks, Ms. Phillips had to put together the inaugural celebration in half the usual time.
"We will leave a complete road map," she said. "You have to be organized. Have a plan. Be positive. And you have to see opportunities, not problems. Anything can be done if you have the right attitude."
Ms. Phillips helped run the inauguration of George W. Bush's father in 1989. She oversaw the younger Mr. Bush's gala when he became Texas governor in 1995.
After helping the Republicans raise $300 million this year, she signed on as executive director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Ms. Phillips ended up with a staff of 600, half of them paid, half volunteers.
"It would sound very conceited on my part to say that nothing horrible went wrong, but it really didn't," she said. "I was really lucky to get people who had almost no learning curve." For example, a former ambassador was brought in to handle the diplomatic corps. Several other key players had previous inaugural experience.
The inaugural committee raised about $40 million. The final tab for the celebrations is expected to be a little less than that amount. Any leftover funds will go into an endowment that first lady Laura Bush can use to make charitable donations, Ms. Phillips said.
Campaign-reform advocates have criticized what they called the high cost of the GOP fete and the fact that most donors ponied up $100,000 each. Many of the celebrations proceeded on two tracks, one for the public and one for big contributors.
For instance, the opening ceremony, which cost about $1.5 million to produce, featured singing sensation Ricky Martin. CNN's Larry King was emcee. The public got in free, but average joes were kept hundreds of yards back. VIPs got close-up seats on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Ms. Phillips defended the preferential treatment for those whose dollars make the celebrations possible.
"The underwriters are the backbone of how something like this gets done," she said. "A hundred thousand dollars is an enormous amount of money, it's true, but by having them, we can have the glitzy fireworks" and other entertainment.
So with all the details and deadlines, the pressures and crises, did Ms. Phillips get to have any fun herself? Of course. One thrill was tooling around Washington in a motorcade with husband David, a Dallas psychotherapist, joining the first couple as they flitted from ball to ball to ball. The highlight, though, was the oath of office.
"We've added all these events as it's become a big to-do in Washington," she said. "But the magic of it all is that moment at 12 noon when he puts his hand on the Bible ... and in 60 seconds everything's different."
Todd J. Gillman can be reached at 214-977-8027 or .
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