White House aide declares himself 'homesick,' joins Perdue's team

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dylan Glenn was sitting in the West Wing of the White House, attending a routine staff meeting of President Bush&#39;s economic advisers, when a co-worker rushed in with some devastating news. <br> <br> A commercial plane had struck the World Trade Center. <br> <br> As it became clear this was no accident but the beginning of the most deadly act of terrorism on American soil, Glenn and the rest of the president&#39;s economic team went to work. Although they grieved the human tragedy as much as anyone else, they knew the terrorists&#39; real aim was to destroy America&#39;s system of commerce, and it was their job to prevent that. <br> <br> ``Average citizens don&#39;t think about the economic disruption that took place on that day,&#39;&#39; said the 33-year-old Georgia native, reflecting on the darkest hours of his two years as a National Economic Council adviser a post he&#39;s leaving next month to become a deputy chief-of-staff for the state&#39;s new governor, Sonny Perdue. <br> <br> It&#39;s been a whirlwind two years for Glenn, who last emerged on the Georgia political scene in 2000 as the Republican candidate against Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop. It was the second of his two unsuccessful congressional bids, and Glenn acknowledges a third would be even more difficult now that the south Georgia district has been drawn safer for the incumbent. <br> <br> Back then, Glenn was making history as part of a campaign between two blacks for the right to represent a majority-white territory. But on Sept. 11, in a far more behind-the-scenes role, the Columbus native got a taste of what this American government, which he had always wanted to serve in some capacity, is all about. <br> <br> ``When you have capital markets closed down for six days, when you ground the airplanes, where 80 percent of first class mail is delivered that&#39;s commerce in this country, not just a business traveler going from point A to point B,&#39;&#39; said Glenn from his office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, just steps from the White House. ``It&#39;s the overall net impact of an absolutely unprecedented event in this country that rippled throughout the economy.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Although Glenn has had several opportunities to brief Bush directly, particularly on farm and small business policy, his immediate boss was Larry Lindsey, the chief economic adviser who worked with Glenn when he was a more junior staffer for the first President Bush. <br> <br> Bush fired Lindsey and Treasury Secretary Paul O&#39;Neill earlier this month in what was viewed as an attempt to repair the political damage from a still-ailing economy. Glenn said he wasn&#39;t asked to leave but chose to as a way to get back to Georgia and work for the first Republican governor since Reconstruction. <br> <br> ``Everybody in this building serves at the pleasure of the guy in the funny shaped office,&#39;&#39; said Glenn, referring to the oval one. ``We all had a wonderful two years, but now it&#39;s time for the next step. I&#39;m a little homesick country boy in a big city. It&#39;s time for me to get back to the state.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Ever the loyalist, Glenn touts the record of Bush&#39;s economic team, arguing his boss inherited an economy in recession not to mention how Sept. 11 reopened those wounds. Yet, he points out, Bush was able to get a 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut through Congress in record time, and the economy seems to be on the upswing. <br> <br> Glenn insists those are the facts, and that he doesn&#39;t get too frustrated if the public perception is otherwise. <br> <br> ``Listen, democracy is frustration,&#39;&#39; he said. ``There are 250 million individuals out there. The challenge for us, and I think we&#39;ve done a pretty good job, is communicating a message and also being good stewards of this economy.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Lindsey, who is finishing his last few days at the White House, has great fondness for Glenn, who he largely took under his wing. <br> <br> ``He really learned the ropes of politics,&#39;&#39; said Lindsey from the same White House conference table where he and Glenn learned of the tragedy on Sept. 11. ``Dylan&#39;s a guy who knows how to get a system, which is sometimes kind of creaky in doing what people need, to respond.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> That will also be Glenn&#39;s task for Perdue as he&#39;ll concentrate on relations among the federal, state and local governments. More trips to Washington are likely in order, he figures. <br> <br> ``Georgia receives a substantial amount of resources from the federal government,&#39;&#39; said Eric Tanenblatt, Perdue&#39;s chief-of-staff who also was Bush&#39;s Georgia campaign chairman in 2000. ``This administration has demonstrated a real commitment to making things more flexible for states, and having someone with Dylan&#39;s background will be very helpful.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Glenn hasn&#39;t ruled out a future run for Congress, but at 33, he figures he&#39;s got plenty of time to worry about his next move. Right now, he&#39;s just concentrating on this one. <br> <br> Lindsey, however, has bigger plans for his protege and isn&#39;t afraid to share them. <br> <br> ``Maybe one day when he&#39;s president, I can be his economic adviser,&#39;&#39; Lindsey jokes.