Iacocca Backs Off On Bush

Lee Iacocca raised money for George W. Bush, and he's also close to his parents.

But in a lengthy interview with Ward's on the eve of the Iraqi war, the former Ford Motor Co. president who later rescued the former Chrysler Corp. from bankruptcy parts company with the President.

“I've got to support him because I voted for him,” says Iacocca, who himself was a potential presidential candidate in the 1980s.

However, as “CEO” of the U.S., Iacocca says Bush first should have moved to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, followed by working on homeland security and the North Korean nuclear threat, with Iraq fourth on his list.

Fit and trim at 78, Iacocca says he is worried about the fallout on the U.S. economy from the Iraqi war. Costs of defeating, and rebuilding, Iraq also are cause for concern.

“They're talking $100 billion (for Iraq reconstruction) just for openers.” Is he sorry he voted for Bush? “I'd be outspoken if I had a kid who was 16,” he says.

Although he retired as Chrysler's chairman in 1992, Iacocca quietly keeps up with automotive developments and maintains a busy schedule even as he phases out of some pet projects.