Hightower Lowdown

George W. Bush is campaigning as just a regular guy-the kind of fellow who could be your good buddy. Over the years he has shown again and again that he can be a good buddy ... to his political cronies.

As the Texas legislative session convened in 1999, George W. blurted out: "People are hurting." Wow, we thought maybe he's a "compassionate conservative" after all, maybe he's realized that Texas ranks last in number of children with health coverage. But no, it wasn't children he felt for-it was oil producers.

Oil prices were low back then, and Bush said he wanted to help out small owners. He designated a $45 million oil tax break as his number one legislative priority and rammed it through, sayinng it wasn't for Exxon, but for Elmer and Earline-the little guys. Exxon ended up with way more than Elmer and Earline, but the big winner turned out to be Richard.

Richard Rainwater is his name, a Ft. Worth billionaire-and a big Bush buddy. Indeed, he made George rich, too, having brought him into the Texas Rangers baseball deal in 1989, then giving him a sweetheart payoff of $15 million when the team was sold while Bush was governor (see The Lowdown, March 1999).

Governor Bush paid off with a gusher of tax dollars for Rainwater, whose company ended up being the top recipient of the tax break, getting $1 million as a result of his buddy Bush's compassion for "little people."