Mr. Bush had selected Mr. Tower after several weeks of scrutiny that focused on his personal and professional backgrounds.

Mr. Bush selected two people for the panel who were favored by Enron and some other energy companies.

But the family had little influence on the papers' coverage when Mr. Bush selected Mr. Quayle to be his running mate.

Some advisers speculate that Mr. Bush might select neither, but choose someone else, perhaps a journalist, for the highly visible position.

They hint that Mr. Bush selected Judge Thomas because he was black and not because he was the best man.

Why did Mr. Bush select the two-term Indiana Senator?

As prime ministers often do, Mr. Bush has selected his appointees from a small pool of professionals with experience in earlier administraations.

Mr. Bush selected Donald H. Rumsfeld as his secretary of defense, the job he held in the Ford administration.

Mr. Bush selected an 11-member board in a Congressional recess last January, skirting the need for confirmation by the Senate.

The cabinet took on an even more conservative cast today when Mr. Bush selected Spencer Abraham to run the Energy Department.