| Bush: Too harsh, too weak, just right? Leadership in standoff gets mixed reviews 04/12/2001 By David Jackson / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON – President Bush faced down his first foreign policy crisis by putting a new twist on an old slogan: "Lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way."
Mr. Bush led by staying out of the way, some analysts said. Applying his standard management style, he let his representatives patiently negotiate the painstaking details of the agreement to end the standoff with China.
"He took the diplomatic approach rather than go in the direction of bluster to resolve this," said Bates Gill, a Brookings Institution senior fellow. "There must have been temptation to take a much tougher line. But cooler heads prevailed."
Some analysts said the president was too bellicose early on, and critics also attacked his administration for what they called the weaker tone in the final agreement. That included members of Mr. Bush's Republican Party, some of whom noted that the administration twice used the words "very sorry" in a letter to the Chinese government.
"They paid no price for this, and they've still got the plane," said former GOP presidential candidate Gary Bauer.
White House aides said the president's only goal was the return of 24 American military personnel detained for 11 days after their plane and a Chinese fighter collided and the Americans landed on a Chinese island. Their return, the aides said, was accomplished through teamwork, with Mr. Bush as the captain.
"He has provided clear direction and guidance," one administration official said.
Aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, Mr. Bush listened to a CNN audio feed as a jetliner carrying the detainees left China, officials said. "Congratulations," he told National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. "Our team didn't turn the first incident into a crisis."
Mr. Bush approved the use of all official language during the negotiations, aides said, giving Secretary of State Colin Powell the go-ahead to carefully use the word "sorry" – a development credited with helping produce the breakthrough.
Mr. Bush already enjoyed strong public support for his stance toward China, and those poll numbers should rise with the crew's release, analysts said. He also received good reviews from members of Congress in both parties, including such China critics as Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C.
Another pleased Republican: the president's father, former President George Bush.
"We're very happy," the older Mr. Bush told CNN. "It's a great relief for everybody, including the president of the United States, who's handled this situation very well."
A Texas Democrat, Rep. Jim Turner of Crockett, also offered praise, saying, "They showed restraint when restraint was needed."
Some analysts said most people realized that Mr. Bush didn't have nearly as many options as his critics think, especially with 24 Americans in Chinese custody.
"If he had followed the instincts of the right wing and forced this into a real confrontation, it would have turned out badly for all sides," said Lawrence J. Korb, director of studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, an influential nonpartisan research center.
He and other analysts criticized Mr. Bush for his more aggressive statements in the first few days of the incident, saying his words may have prolonged the matter by painting the Chinese leadership into a corner.
Less than two days after the Chinese first detained the Americans, Mr. Bush demanded that U.S. officials be given access to the crew, which they were. The next day, a grim-faced president said, "It is time for our servicemen and -women to return home."
Mr. Korb said Mr. Bush faulted China too quickly, at a time when its leaders were being told by their military that the Americans were to blame. The analyst said things improved when Mr. Powell began expressing "regret" for the apparent death of the Chinese pilot and explored ways to cope with China's demand for a full apology.
"I think he did well by allowing the right people to handle it," Mr. Korb said of Mr. Bush.
Others called Mr. Bush's early demands on China the highlight of the standoff. They said the weaker attitude of more recent days enabled China to declare victory and could lead to future troubles with the growing Asian power.
"The United States is simply inviting a catastrophe if it pretends there's not a larger problem here," said Frank Gaffney, director of the Center for Security Policy, a conservative-leaning research organization.
The Bush administration will probably continue to be caught between those who regard China as a Communist adversary and others who see it as a vast market for American goods. Looming in the U.S.-China relationship is Beijing's attempt to enter the World Trade Organization and American military assistance to Taiwan.
Congressional Republicans said the president – grilled during the campaign for his lack of foreign policy experience – easily passed his first major test.
"The president exhibited mature and responsible leadership throughout this tense situation," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said the impasse "worked out exactly the way it should have."
Addressing critics who said the United States gave away too much, administration officials noted that the letter did not apologize for the collision nor the surveillance off the Chinese coast. They stressed that the letter expressed sorrow only for the death of the Chinese pilot and the fact that the crippled American plane landed on Chinese soil without explicit permission.
With the potential crisis settled, a more ebullient Mr. Bush headed for a scheduled trip to North Carolina to discuss education. At the White House – where officials were reluctant to talk openly until the U.S. crew members were back on U.S. soil – aides said people can draw their own conclusion about Mr. Bush's performance.
"Let's judge this by the results," one official said. "The president did everything he thought was productive in getting our people home."
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