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GEORGE W. BUSH: CHALLENGES OF A WARTIME PRESIDENT
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The Bush Administration Prior To September 11, 2001
In prosecuting the war against terrorism, the administration of George W. Bush
found a mission, a sense of purpose that had eluded its operations for most of its first year. Overcoming widespread doubts about the new president’s competence and legitimacy hindered the development of a purposeful focus. Having taken office after the bitterly contested 2000 presidential election, Bush faced substantial obstacles during his first months in office. Not only had he lost the popular vote to his Democratic opponent Al Gore in the election, but he launched the administration with the highest disapproval rating recorded for any incoming president since polling began (25 percent).
1
Despite
Republican control of the House and (through Vice President Dick Cheney’s tie breaking vote) nominal control of the evenly divided Senate, he failed to secure congressional passage of any of his major proposals during his first 100 days in office. He then lostcontrol of the Senate to the Democrats when – at least partly due to treatment by the White House and the Republican leadership – Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party to become an independent. Programs such as “Saturday Night Live” lampooned Bush as inept and unprepared to be president, and even serious political observers publicly speculated that Vice President Dick Cheney was the power behind the throne. For example, Ronald Reagan’s former chief of staff, Ken Duberstein, said that it was “the first time in our history we’ve had a president and a prime minister” – a pointed suggestion that Bush was the titular head, but Cheney exercised real power.
2
Bush also
proved to be an especially polarizing figure as Democrats were slow to forget the 2000 election outcome. In an analysis of the twenty-eight Gallup and CBS News/New York Times presidential approval polls of Bush taken before September 11, 2001, Gary Jacobson found that “Bush’s approval ratings averaged 88 percent among self-identified Republicans but only 31 percent among Democrats. This 57-point differential marked Bush as an even more polarizing figure than the former record holder, Bill Clinton (with an average partisan difference in approval of 52 points for the comparable period of his administration).”
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Prior to September 11, 2001, the administration had cautiously sought its footing.
Like most other administrations, its early identity was defined largely in terms of its predecessor—in this case, “un-Clinton.”
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This self-conscious attitude spanned items
small and large; from establishing new norms for White House dress and decorum to discontinuing international negotiations, the new administration asserted its distinctiveness and independence from the immediate past.
The president went to great lengths to undo a number of Clinton’s actions. Last-
minute regulations proposed by the outgoing administration across a wide range of environmental and occupational safety matters were put on hold and reviewed; a substantial number were ultimately rejected. Similarly, the president adopted a strikingly lower public profile, a seemingly calculated move. The president was more reluctant than his predecessor to monopolize the public sphere, speaking more softly and far less frequently, even passing up opportunities to enhance his public image. Well before it had articulated a new national strategy in foreign policy, the administration moved away from Clinton-era commitments and modes of conducting international relations. The U.S. withdrew from several proposed treaties, including the Kyoto Protocol on climate
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| | Authors: Maltese, John. and Pika, Joseph. |
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2
The Bush Administration Prior To September 11, 2001
In prosecuting the war against terrorism, the administration of George W. Bush
found a mission, a sense of purpose that had eluded its operations for most of its first
year. Overcoming widespread doubts about the new president’s competence and
legitimacy hindered the development of a purposeful focus. Having taken office after the
bitterly contested 2000 presidential election, Bush faced substantial obstacles during his
first months in office. Not only had he lost the popular vote to his Democratic opponent
Al Gore in the election, but he launched the administration with the highest disapproval
rating recorded for any incoming president since polling began (25 percent).
1
Despite
Republican control of the House and (through Vice President Dick Cheney’s tie breaking
vote) nominal control of the evenly divided Senate, he failed to secure congressional
passage of any of his major proposals during his first 100 days in office. He then lost
control of the Senate to the Democrats when – at least partly due to treatment by the
White House and the Republican leadership – Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont left the
Republican Party to become an independent. Programs such as “Saturday Night Live”
lampooned Bush as inept and unprepared to be president, and even serious political
observers publicly speculated that Vice President Dick Cheney was the power behind the
throne. For example, Ronald Reagan’s former chief of staff, Ken Duberstein, said that it
was “the first time in our history we’ve had a president and a prime minister” – a pointed
suggestion that Bush was the titular head, but Cheney exercised real power.
2
Bush also
proved to be an especially polarizing figure as Democrats were slow to forget the 2000
election outcome. In an analysis of the twenty-eight Gallup and CBS News/New York
Times presidential approval polls of Bush taken before September 11, 2001, Gary
Jacobson found that “Bush’s approval ratings averaged 88 percent among self-identified
Republicans but only 31 percent among Democrats. This 57-point differential marked
Bush as an even more polarizing figure than the former record holder, Bill Clinton (with
an average partisan difference in approval of 52 points for the comparable period of his
administration).”
3
Prior to September 11, 2001, the administration had cautiously sought its footing.
Like most other administrations, its early identity was defined largely in terms of its
predecessor—in this case, “un-Clinton.”
4
This self-conscious attitude spanned items
small and large; from establishing new norms for White House dress and decorum to
discontinuing international negotiations, the new administration asserted its
distinctiveness and independence from the immediate past.
The president went to great lengths to undo a number of Clinton’s actions. Last-
minute regulations proposed by the outgoing administration across a wide range of
environmental and occupational safety matters were put on hold and reviewed; a
substantial number were ultimately rejected. Similarly, the president adopted a strikingly
lower public profile, a seemingly calculated move. The president was more reluctant than
his predecessor to monopolize the public sphere, speaking more softly and far less
frequently, even passing up opportunities to enhance his public image. Well before it had
articulated a new national strategy in foreign policy, the administration moved away from
Clinton-era commitments and modes of conducting international relations. The U.S.
withdrew from several proposed treaties, including the Kyoto Protocol on climate
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