POLITICAL BRIEFING

WHITE HOUSE SHUFFLE: As James A. Baker III settles into his leadership roles at the White House and within Bush’s reelection campaign, some officials outside the former secretary of state’s inner circle have managed to retain key roles. And on at least one occasion, they played important roles in averting a political miscue. . . . As late as Labor Day eve, GOP strategists had no plan to counteract Bill Clinton’s visit to Harry S. Truman’s hometown of Independence, Mo., at which the Arkansas governor would scoff at Bush’s efforts to lay claim to the ex-President’s legacy. At the direction of Robert B. Zoellick, the intellectual White House deputy chief of staff, Bush’s main Labor Day speech was going to focus on legal reform. . . . Among those who made sure Bush switched gears and continued to invoke Truman’s name were three aides not closely aligned with Baker: deputy campaign manager Mary Matalin, White House speech writer Steve Provost and campaign spokeswoman Torie Clarke.