The George W. Bush Campaigns
In 1994, Allbaugh was brought to Texas by George W. Bush to manage his campaign for governor. After Bush's victory, Allbaugh worked as gubernatorial chief of staff, serving until 1999 when he shifted posts to become campaign manager in Bush's run for the presidency. In this capacity Allbaugh was a key member of a tight circle of aides, together with Karl Rove and Karen Hughes, that the media dubbed the "Iron Triangle". Allbaugh called the trio "the brain, the brawn and the bite", with himself as the brawn at 6 feet 4 inches and 275 pounds.
After Bush secured the Republican nomination, he chose Dick Cheney to lead the process of screening and selecting a running mate. Allbaugh ended up with the responsibility of vetting Cheney himself when Bush focused directly on Cheney as his choice for Vice President, rather than as the man to simply help with the choice. The screening process was subsequently called into question when Cheney's Halliburton stock options, along with his sparse voting record in state and local elections, came to light. A Cheney spokeswoman defended Allbaugh's vetting process, saying it "was as thorough, if not more thorough than what other candidates went through." It remained unclear whether Cheney had filled out a questionnaire he had given the other potential running mates, which dealt with these issues among other topics.
When the election results turned into a dispute over Florida ballot counts, Allbaugh went to Florida to run the post-election operation there while other advisers remained behind in Texas. After the legal maneuverings played out with Bush prevailing, he named Allbaugh as his nominee to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency on January 4, 2001.
Read more about this topic: Joe Allbaugh
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