Letting George do It: George P. Schultz

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Reagan's new team member is calm, cool and Washington-wise

It was not so much what the witness said, but the way he said it that impressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In eleven hours of questioning over two days, he was outwardly calm, almost serene. His replies came quickly, in crisp, even tones. They were terse, sometimes merely a clipped "Yes" to senatorial inquiries that were often more speech than question. He had two bulging briefcases at his feet, but never once reached into them to search for a paper that would provide an answer. Confident, but with no hint of arrogance, George Pratt Shultz, 61, provided a reassuring display of his Washington-wise competence as he went about winning unanimous confirmation by the Senate as the 60th U.S. Secretary of State.

"George, welcome to the team," said President Ronald Reagan at a swearing-in ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House last Friday afternoon. Rea gan complimented the Senate on "its wisdom," described Shultz as "a man with character and common sense," and observed: "Today I am reminded of the old saying, 'Let George do it.' And George, from now on, I think I'll have a few things for you to do."

There are many Senators on both sides of the aisle who are critical of the Administration's foreign policy, but it was clear from the beginning that no one had any serious intention of blocking the nomination. In trying to cope with two battlefront confrontations in the Middle East, a clash with European allies on economic policy and an uncertain but distinctly cool relationship with the Soviet Union, the President urgently needs all the professional help he can get.

Even though he had a lock on Senate approval, Shultz took no chances. He let himself be grilled in rehearsal by what the State Department calls its "murder board," a cluster of top aides headed by Under Secretary Lawrence Eagleburger. He studied a thick pile of loose-leaf briefing binders from the department's regional experts. He wrote his own 13-page opening statement for the hearings. A former dean of the University of Chicago business school and still a tenured professor at Stanford University, Shultz was not satisfied with his statement until he had reworked it nearly a dozen times.

The substance of Shultz's testimony was unremarkable. Understandably, he finessed all attempts by Democratic Senators to draw him into criticizing the Administration foreign policy. In his letter of resignation to Reagan, Alexander Haig complained that this policy was losing its "consistency, clarity and steadiness of purpose." But Shultz told the committee that he found it "pretty clear and consistent." While a number of foreign diplomats have expressed dismay at what they see as too many Administration officials offering conflicting statements, Shultz declared: "We have one policy: the President's policy."