Baker Professor of Economics Martin S. Feldstein '61 traveled to Austin Friday to meet with Texas Governor George W. Bush and to Join a braintrust of advisors backing the potential Republican presidential candidate.

Bush remains undecided as to whether or not he will run for the presidency in the upcoming election.

But if he does decide to run, Feldstein will be in his camp. His trip to Austin came only after his decision to support Bush in the election.

"He's a very attractive guy. Very engaged--we spent four hours talking about Social Security and Medicare," Feldstein said yesterday.

Feldstein, who is a critic of President Clinton's Social Security plan, has his own plan to improve Social Security, which he dubbed the "Feldstein Plan" when explaining it in a recent lecture to undergraduates in Social Analysis 10: "Principles of Economics."

He has received considerable media attention for the program in recent weeks.

Bush spokesperson Mindy Tucker said the meetings with Feldstein and others would help Bush decide whether to enter the campaign.

"These are meetings for him to become better informed, so that he can make an informed decision as to whether or not he should run," Tucker said.

A final decision will not be made until after the end of the legislature session at the end of May," Tucker said.

Feldstein said he believes Bush will run.

"I think he will become a candidate, and he will become a very attractive candidate," he said. "I expect there will be more of these [meetings between Feldstein and Bush]."

Many members of the Harvard community reacted positively to Feldstein's addition to the potential Bush campaign team.

"Governor Bush should be very, very complimented to have the support of someone like Dr. Feldstein. He doesn't go out of his way very often to urge people to run for office," said David Pryor, Fellow at the Institute of Politics and a former Arkansassenator.

"I love Martin Feldstein. He's one of myfavorite professors that I have had here," saidHarvard-Radcliffe Republican Club President AnneL. Berry '01.

"I think he'll put George Bush's economicproposals on better footing and make an excellentaddition to his team," Berry added.

Former Federal Reserve Governor LawrenceLindsey, who will have primary responsibility forassembling Bush's economic advisory team,recruited Feldstein for the team.

Lindsey is also a former colleague of Feldsteinat Harvard.

John P. Ellis, a Boston Globe columnist and aformer IOP fellow, said members of the braintrustassume Bush will run for the presidency as aRepublican candidate in 2000.

"They're acting as if he is going to run, soeverything they do is predicated on the fact thathe is going to run," he said.

"But he hasn't said he is going to run," Ellisadded.

Ellis is Bush's cousin, but he said he does notdiscuss politics with Bush since he became acolumnist.

"Bush is a brand, and George's task will be toshow what is distinctive about him as opposed towhat was distinctive about his father," Ellissaid.

"Being the son of George Bush is an advantage.It's 100 percent name recognition.