The induction of George W. Bush into the Texas crony network can be traced to a precise date: June 6, 1962. On that date, the gregarious 15-year-old went to work in the mailroom of Houston's oldest and most prestigious law firm, Baker Botts.

Four decades later, the financial/political symbiosis between the Bushes and Baker Botts is stronger than ever. Indeed, no law firm in America has profited more from its association with the two Bush Administrations than Baker Botts. Much of that influence stems from the firm's patriarch, the silver-maned, silver-tongued former Secretary of State, James A. Baker III. And now that Baker has joined George W. Bush's campaign--he is leading the negotiations with the Kerry campaign on the presidential debates--it's assured that he and a battalion of Baker Botts barristers are ready to man the ramparts in the event of another Florida recount scenario.

Nearly four years have passed since Baker stridently proclaimed that "the vote in Florida has been counted and then recounted. Governor George W. Bush was the winner of the vote. He was also the winner of the recount." It scarcely matters now that Baker's statement wasn't true: When Baker made that pronouncement, on November 11, 2000, the recount had not even begun in two of the four counties the Gore campaign had targeted. The important thing was that Baker stuck to the script. He also kept the entire Bush legal team--which included several Baker Botts lawyers--focused and determined to win at all costs. Shortly after Bush prevailed at the US Supreme Court in 2000, Baker told an interviewer, "I think all this talk about legitimacy is way overblown."

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