George W. Bush

Trenchju

Description

Bringing together presidential scholars, leading voices on the presidency, and former White House aides, this book provides a timely and thorough assessment of George W. Bush at the historic midpoint of his presidency. The book covers Bush's character and leadership style, domestic policy, foreign policy and the War on Terror, and the Bush administration. It concludes with a report card on the Bush presidency, whereby the President, his staff, and his legislative record are graded.

Preface

Introduction
Robert P. Watson, Bryan Hilliard, and Tom Lansford

Part 1: Leadership and Character

1. The Arbiter of Fate: The Presidential Character of George W. Bush
Bill Kirtley

2. Compassionate Conservativism Meets Communitarianism
W. W. Riggs

3. The Embryonic Stem Cell Debate and the Battle between Politics and Ethics
Bryan Hilliard

Part 2: Domestic Policy

4. An Early Assessment of President George W. Bush and the Environment
Glen Sussman and Byron W. Daynes

5. Vigor and Vacillation: An Early Assessment of Bush's Economic Policy
Chris J. Dolan

6. Ironing Out Reelection: George W. Bush and the Politics of Steel
Douglas M. Brattebo

7. The Politics behind Bush's No Child Left Behind Initiative: Ideas, Elections, and Top-Down
Education Reform
Robert Maranto, with Laura Coppeto

Part 3: Foreign Policy and the War on Terror

8. The Bush Doctrine: Redefining the U.S. Role in World Politics for the Twenty-first Century?
Cameron G. Thies

9. A United Front? The Bush Administration, Coalition Diplomacy, and the Military Campaign in Afghanistan
Tom Lansford

10. The Bush Military Tribunal: Relying on the Nazi Saboteur Case
Louis Fisher

11. The War on Terrorism and Homeland Security: Presidential and Congressional Challenges
Richard S. Conley

Part 4: The Bush Administration

12. The Bush White House: Comparisons with Previous White Houses
Bradley H. Patterson Jr.

13. Vice President Dick Cheney: Trendsetter or Just Your Typical Veep?
Jack Lechelt

14. "Comforter in Chief": The Transformation of First Lady Laura Bush
Robert P. Watson

Conclusion
Robert P. Watson, Tom Lansford, and Bryan Hilliard

Appendix

About the Contributors

Index

Sujets

• USA
• United States of America
• Central government
• Central
• États-Unis
• National

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791484845
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

George W. Bush

Evaluating the President at Midterm

EDITED BY Bryan Hilliard Tom Lansford Robert P. Watson

George W. Bush

SUNY series on the Presidency: Contemporary Issues

John Kenneth White, editor

George W. Bush

Evaluating the President at Midterm

Edited By Bryan Hilliard, Tom Lansford, Robert P. Watson

State University of New York Press

Published by

State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2004 State University of New York All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of Amer ica

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

Production by Michael Haggett Marketing by Susan M. Petrie

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George W. Bush: evaluating the president at midterm/edited by Bryan Hilliard, Tom Lansford, and Robert P. Watson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-6133-5 (hardcover: alk. paper—ISBN 0-7914-6134-3 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946– 2. United States—Politics and government—2001. I. Hilliard, Bryan, 1957– II. Lansford, Tom. III. Watson, Robert P., 1963– E903.G465 2005 973.931092—dc22 2004008538

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Brenda, Amber, and Claudia— With all our love and admiration

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Contents

Preface Introduction Robert P. Watson, Bryan Hilliard, and Tom Lansford

Part 1 Leadership and Character Chapter 1 The Arbiter of Fate: The Presidential Character of George W. Bush Bill Kirtley Chapter 2 Compassionate Conservativism Meets Communitarianism W. W. Riggs Chapter 3 The Embryonic Stem Cell Debate and the Battle between Politics and Ethics Bryan Hilliard

Part 2 Domestic Policy Chapter 4 An Early Assessment of President George W. Bush and the Environment Glen Sussman and Byron W. Daynes Chapter 5 Vigor and Vacillation: An Early Assessment of Bush’s Economic Policy Chris J. Dolan

ix 1

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Chapter 6

Chapter 7

C ONTENTS

Ironing Out Reelection: George W. Bush and the Politics of Steel Douglas M. Brattebo The Politics behind Bush’s No Child Left Behind Initiative: Ideas, Elections, and Top-Down Education Reform Robert Maranto, with Laura Coppeto

Part 3 Foreign Policy and the War on Terror Chapter 8 The Bush Doctrine: Redefining the U.S. Role in World Politics for the Twenty-first Century? Cameron G. Thies Chapter 9 A United Front? The Bush Administration, Coalition Diplomacy, and the Military Campaign in Afghanistan Tom Lansford Chapter 10 The Bush Military Tribunal: Relying on the Nazi Saboteur Case Louis Fisher Chapter 11 The War on Terrorism and Homeland Security: Presidential and Congressional Challenges Richard S. Conley

Part 4 The Bush Administration Chapter 12 The Bush White House: Comparisons with Previous White Houses Bradley H. Patterson Jr. Chapter 13 Vice President Dick Cheney: Trendsetter or Just Your Typical Veep? Jack Lechelt Chapter 14 “Comforter in Chief ”: The Transformation of First Lady Laura Bush Robert P. Watson Conclusion Robert P. Watson, Tom Lansford, and Bryan Hilliard Appendix About the Contributors Index

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Preface

Evaluating presidents is a compelling and an important exercise. Whether it occurs on political talk shows, among colleagues standing around the office water cooler, by the political cartoonist’s pen, or through the act of voting, eval- uation is something we all do on a regular basis. The process of rating and evaluating presidents by presidential pollsters or scholars has far-reaching con- sequences. Presidents and members of Congress watch the presidential approval ratings closely, with an eye to how changes in popularity impact the commander in chief ’s ability to govern. Such polls are now taken on an almost daily basis, and any change in one direction or the other may have dramatic consequences. Indeed, the news media devotes considerable attention to the opinion polls and the periodic presidential rankings by scholars. It is natural to want to know how the president has performed, and it is unavoidable to compare the per- formance of presidents. So too do the stakes remain high even after a president leaves office. A president’s standing is then subject to frequent reevaluations by historians, whose hindsight benefits from the release of documents, new inter- pretations of events, and the passing of time. This book is dedicated to evaluating the presidency of George W. Bush. Presidential assessment is an exciting and a challenging enterprise, made all the more difficult by the fact that, as we write, the president is still in office. The evaluation contained herein was conducted at midpoint in an effort to provide one of the earliest scholarly assessments of President George W. Bush. However, this evaluation does not pretend to provide an exhaustive and a conclusive assessment of Bush’s presidency. It only begins what will be a long process. The utility of this early rating is that it provides us with an important analysis of his first two years in office—the time of the key transition to governing and first “100 days,” the period of greatest appointment and nomination activity, and his initial attempt to set the legislative agenda—and the momentous events that surrounded Bush’s first two years. This early assessment further allows us to