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December 7, 2000 

AUSTIN, Texas-- (AP) - George W. Bush, anxious to assemble a White House staff even as he awaits a final court decree on the election, is conferring with his choice for national security adviser: Stanford University scholar Condoleezza Rice.

Rice was meeting with Bush on Wednesday at the governor's mansion, the latest in a series of high-profile sessions the Texas governor has held with members of a prospective Bush administration.

Bush said he won't announce any Cabinet appointments until legal challenges are resolved. But aides held out the possibility that Bush would announce further top White House staff positions by week's end.

He already has selected Andrew Card as his chief of staff and was all-but-certain to name Rice as his national security adviser.

Rice, 45, was a Russia expert on the National Security Council for two years during Bush's father's presidency and has been Bush's top foreign policy adviser during the campaign.

"I think we'll be ready to make some announcements; I do," Bush told reporters on Tuesday.

Bush's national security team is also expected to include retired Gen. Colin Powell as secretary of state. Powell met with Bush last week.

Bush, in an interview on Wednesday with CBS television, called Powell "an extraordinary American" who "would make a great addition to anybody's administration."

"Hopefully, the (legal) issue will be resolved quickly, so that we can start," Bush told reporters earlier in the day. He said he was encouraged by recent court rulings.

Bush's running mate, Dick Cheney, in charge of transition planning, made the rounds on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, meeting with various groups of Republicans in both the House and the Senate.

Cheney planned to travel to Dallas on Wednesday to attend his retirement party at Halliburton Co., the oil-services company he ran for five years.

In an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes II" Tuesday night, Bush was asked if Cheney's active work in overseeing transition planning might lead anyone to be confused about who was in charge.

"No, they shouldn't be," Bush said. "Make no mistake about it. I'm integrally involved," he said.

Bush, who taped the interview earlier in the day in the living room of the governor's mansion, decorated for Christmas, smiled frequently and appeared relaxed during the session

In the interview, his first since the Nov. 7 election, Bush said he's ready to name a Cabinet, but declined to reveal any choices. Asked if there was any role for Jeb Bush, his brother and the governor of Florida, in a Bush Cabinet, Bush said flatly, "No."

"He needs to be in Florida doing the job of governor," Bush said, adding, "He'll be happy to hear his name mentioned on national TV."

Bush said he does not view Gore as a sore loser. "We both put our heart and soul into the campaign. ... I think he's doing what he thinks is right."

The Bush-Cheney team, meanwhile, also launched a new Web site on the Internet, which offers visitors a chance to contribute up to dlrs 5,000 to help finance the transition or to apply online for a Bush administration job.

On the Net: Bush-Cheney transition site: http://www.bushcheneytransition.com

Bush campaign site: http://www.georgewbush.com