'The President on Line 1'

Newsweek, April, 2005 by Daniel McGinn

When NEWSWEEK last sat down with Jack Welch, in December 2000, he'd just picked Jeff Immelt as his successor, and the U.S. Supreme Court had just cemented George W. Bush's presidential victory. At one point, Welch interrupted the interview to take a call from the president-elect. In an interview this month, Welch told NEWSWEEK's Daniel McGinn what they discussed--and why he didn't think an affair would cost Suzy her job. Edited excerpts:

Did the president talk to you about a cabinet post?

I've had opportunities to be considered.

You weren't interested?

They're brutally hard jobs. You have to understand, the reason CEOs don't often make great cabinet officers is they've been the chief executive for the last, in my case, 21 years. Going to be a...

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