The Insider says those who would succeed Chris Cox in the House will have a wait

Missed in the publicity over Dick Sim’s ascension to the new post of chairman of the investment properties group was the real power shift underway at The Irvine Company,toward Mike McKee and Clarence Barker (see page 35) George W. Bush has been declared the presidential winner, which the Insider supposes should get him the best table in any restaurant where Scott Boras or Jeff Moorad isn’t dining. The Newport Beach sports agents have emerged as the most powerful figures in baseball. Boras just got Alex Rodriguez $252 million over 10 years and Darren Dreifort $55 million over five, while Moorad landed $160 million over eight years for Manny Ramirez. The standard agent cut, in case you’re curious, is 4% Leading the Miami Herald’s publicized effort to inspect Florida’s “undercount” ballots: Executive Editor Marty Barron, former editor of the Times OC The Insider advises those who are lining up for Chris Cox’ congressional seat to forget it. Rumors to the contrary, there’s little chance he’s leaving for a post in the new Bush administration. And why should he? After 12 years of struggling to craft bipartisan legislation, Cox is salivating at his first chance to do so with friendly (albeit nominal) majorities in both houses and with a same-party president who is professing bipartisanship. ” No president on the Republican side, at least since I was two years old, has had this opportunity. So, I think there is a great chance to do solid work,” Cox said. As head of the House GOP policy committee and as veep-elect and former congressman Dick Cheney’s fellow trench fighter, Cox is expected to be one of President Bush’s go-to guys, particularly on Social Security reform, tax relief, the Internet and FDA and FCC matters. Indeed, when Cheney visited Capitol Hill last week, he met privately with Cox. Businessman Mark Johnson declared his interest in succeeding Cox in this column last week, and other names being mentioned are OC supe Todd Spitzer, OC treasurer John Moorlach, talk show host Hugh Hewitt, state senators Bill Morrow and Dick Ackerman, former Assemblyman John Lewis and recent U.S. Senate candidate J.P. Gough. But guys, more bad news,Cox just filed FEC Form 2, Declaration of Candidacy, for 2002 Amy Leinen had a brush with history when she was approved to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Leinen was among a group of lawyers sworn in by the nine justices just minutes before they heard the oral arguments in Gore v. Bush. It was “an amazing thrill, one I will never forget,” said Leinen, who recently moved to Snell & Wilmer’s Irvine office from its Phoenix office.