Description
Campbell (U. of British Columbia), Rockman (Purdue U.), and Rudalevige (Dickinson College) present the latest in a series of texts analyzing presidential legacies. The 14 articles contained here provide varied views on the legacy of George Walker Bush, who has by almost all accounts headed a consequential presidency. Among the key themes examined are the responsiveness or lack thereof of the Bush presidency to public opinion, political polarization and the war in Iraq, Bush's expansive conception of executive power, administrative centralization and politicization and its impact on policy formulation, judiciary appointments and executive authority, passivity in foreign policy, ideological entrepreneurship within the administration in the realms of regime change and military transformation, Bush's winner-take-all style in legislative relations, and administration management of organized interests. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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". . . The George W. Bush Legacy is important, foundational reading for scholars who seek to understand how Bush will be understood in coming years and the lasting effects of his presidency on the office of the president."--Excerpt from a review in Presidential Studies Quarterly, Volume 38, Issue 3, Pages 551-553, written by Caroline Heldman, Occidental CollegeThe George W. Bush Legacy assesses the current president’s political strategy as well as his administration’s policies. With his two terms marked by global tension and intense partisanship, chapter authors look at the Bush administration’s efforts to influence the direction of the judiciary, expand executive power, institutionalize the 2001 tax cuts, deliver policies and appointments for favored “base” constituencies, and increase the size and reach of the national security state. Contributors also offer perspectives on the responses to the events of September 11, 2001—including the fateful decision to go to war in Iraq that has perhaps become the defining action of this presidency.Making the volume easy to use throughout a presidency course, each chapter focuses on one aspect of the Bush administration, ranging from the president’s leadership style and the influence of interest groups, to the effects of public opinion and the role of the courts. This authoritative book provides measured and nuanced appraisals of the short- and long-term impact of Bush’s accomplishments and failures at a particularly pivotal time in American history.
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