When Luce agreed to bow out, Bush lost no time telephoning Branch and asking if he would work for him. "I cannot remember who called first, Bush or Luce, but I remember I learned that Luce had quit and Bush wanted my help on the same day," Branch says.
When the Texas governor launched his presidential bid, Branch knew he would participate. He did not necessarily know what role he would play. "We talked about various positions," Branch says. "It was decided that I would be best as a fund-raiser in Dallas County." Branch served as a co-chair of the Dallas County Republican Party and became one of the pioneers.
AP/Wide World
The hotdog looks good, but lose the stiff shirt. Then-Gov. George W. Bush noshes at a Texas Rangers game with current team owner Tom Hicks in 1998.
Related Content
More About
At Salve!, between bites of a minuscule course of pasta ("It's OK--I like my lunches light," Branch insists when the waiter brings a serving that looks fit for an infant) the Dallas lawyer displays the same kind of deference about his prospects in Washington now. Even though it seemed clear he would love to--and very well might--get one of the 7,000 sub-cabinet-level appointments that the Bush camp still has to make, he makes no predictions.
"I was told everyone would be treated like everyone else, and to send in my résumé," Branch says. "I would say that I don't anticipate a position, but I'd be honored to be considered or asked."
The Bush-Cheney transition office is receiving some 2,000 résumés a day on its official Web site and expects to have received 200,000 by the end of the process, according to news reports. Clay Johnson, will be the bottleneck through which the vast majority of appointments must go. Johnson, as appointments secretary, served the same role for Bush in Austin. Branch knows Johnson and likes him. "He is very thoughtful and orderly," Branch says, echoing sentiments expressed by other Republicans about Johnson. "He brings a lot of private-sector experience to the job. That experience shall serve him well."
Perhaps Branch's experience with Bush will serve him well. Even though he would seem to have earned more points than many others in Dallas--"If he doesn't get something, then no one will," says another Republican who worked closely with the Bush inner circle--Branch is not yet packing his bags.
The suitcases may stay in the closet for a few more days. Says Bush spokesman Sullivan about appointments below the cabinet level, "There is no one that could tell you right now who would get what."
But for a guy like Branch, unlike Craig Keeland, the possibility still exists. "It would be difficult," he says about a move to Washington, making a reference to his two school-age children and his wife, a Dallas native. "I haven't thought that through. But if the president asks you to do something, you have to think about it."
Keeland, meanwhile, has already shifted his focus. New Texas governor Perry, as it happens, uses Youngevity's supplements. "If you meet him before lunch, he'll still have a little packet in his breast pocket."
