New leader of Black Caucus charts new course

Eddie Bernice Johnson

By Frank Sesno and Oliver Phillips
CNN Washington Bureau

Eddie Bernice Johnson gets along with her fellow Texan in the White House -- she just can't stand his policies.

As the new leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, Johnson leads a group now on the outskirts of political pull after eight years of influence. She must now decide how best to work with or against the new administration.

So far she hasn't gone out her way to charm the new president.

When Congress met to certify Bush’s victory in January she led the caucus out of the joint session in protest at what she still believes was an illegitimate election. In a candid interview, Johnson told CNN that the Bush administration heralds "a second reconstruction."

VIDEO CNN's Frank Sesno speaks with Congressional Black Caucus leader Eddie Bernice Johnson on President Bush Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

At her first official meeting with the president, she made clear that his choice of John Ashcroft for attorney general was wrong. She thinks Bush’s school voucher plans will rob the public school system.

But Johnson hasn't closed the door on working with the Bush administration to overhaul the voting system to ensure fair representation for black voters.

Growing up in segregation-era Texas, Johnson never dreamed she'd one day be in Congress. But now she is a canny politician with a tricky road to navigate: She has to try to do business with an administration on the opposite end of the political spectrum and juggle competing forces within the Caucus.

While some of her members oppose doing any business with this White House, a small group feels minorities might benefit from some of the president's ideas on education and taxes.

The Bush administration hopes it can build out from this moderate base to make inroads into a constituency that has yet to call the GOP home. A White House spokesman says: " We hope they give us time."

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