NEWSWEEK: Let’s talk about tax cuts, let’s talk about some of the agenda issues that are coming up. Will tax cuts be your first order of business? BUSH: No, I think the education bill will. But I think the tax-relief package needs to happen quickly because it’s really an economic-relief package. Now, there’s a lot of talk in our society about debt. People talk about public debt, the debt our government owes, and that’s important. But as well, we gotta be concerned about the debt the people owe. If the economy were to slow down, and there are some signs that it is, one big concern has got to be, how do we help the working people get out [from] under their debt load? The only way to do that, in my judgment, is give some of the surplus back to the people who pay the bills.

Specifically, do you have a time frame for presenting your tax package? Soon. I’m not exactly sure. But I’ll tell you, the sooner the better. I mean, those are the signals I’ve been sending. And those are things that some in the business community, both large and small, are interested in hearing me say because they realize it’s got to be part of an overall strategy to get the economy going.

You have probably the most diverse cabinet ever. And yet the other day on the Hill the Congressional Black Caucus was complaining. Politics.

Is that all it is? I got whipped in the African-American community. I got 9 percent of the vote. Interestingly enough, I got 9 percent of the African-American community against Governor [Ann] Richards [in the 1994 race for the Texas Statehouse].

Is it because guys like Jesse Jackson stir it up? Oh, I’m not sure about that. I haven’t had a chance to hear them out. I hear them on TV occasionally. I think that there was an image they painted on me that was an unfair image. But my job is not to complain, my job is to lead. My job is to remind people that I’m going to be everybody’s president.

Are vouchers still a priority for you? You can call it whatever you want to call it. I call it accountability. There has to be a moment where somebody’s held accountable, and there has to be a consequence, and I think a very powerful consequence, to the extent that the federal government spends money, that money follows a child. It’s the parents’ choice if a school won’t show improvement toward a standard of excellence.

Before you selected him to be attorney general, were you aware of Sen. John Ashcroft’s controversial views and the honorary degree from Bob Jones University? Yes, I knew that. I went to Bob Jones. I obviously took a lot of grief for [going to Bob Jones University]. But… no, it didn’t bother me. Because I know John Ashcroft. I know he’ll be a fine attorney general.

Did you know he is a guy who supported a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion in the case of rape and incest? I knew that, but I disagree with him on that position. I did disagree with him on that. I think you’ll find that members of my cabinet and I don’t agree 100 percent. What they will agree on is who the boss is, and they will agree that their job is not to politicize their departments but to do their jobs all the time on every issue.

What about other controversies in your cabinet selection? What happens in Washington is, special interests get ahold of the candidacy. I understand that. But that’s part of the process… I welcome [Interior Secretary-designee] Gale Norton getting to talk about the same things she and I have talked about, the need for us to have a balanced approach when it comes to public land.

During the campaign you talked about bipartisanship. Do you feel like you’re still going to be able to achieve that? Yes. I think there’s some people that aren’t interested in bipartisanship. And there are going to be some in both parties that aren’t interested in bipartisanship. One of the things people will learn about me is, I’m the kind of person that likes to get things done. Bipartisanship doesn’t mean that I abandon my philosophies, nor does it mean that I forgo picking very competent people for positions because some voices that might be raised don’t like them.

Are there any things you’ve learned from your father’s mistakes? Yeah, absolutely, and that’s how to spend capital to earn capital. I felt that he didn’t spend his capital wisely coming out of the… Gulf War [and] going into the ‘92 election. I understand how to earn capital. That’s what good governors are able to do.