Principle Over Politics?
The Domestic Policy of the George H. W. Bush Presidency
Published on 30. March 2004
Book
Hardback
472 pages
978-0-313-32132-0 (ISBN)
Description
Cabinet members, journalists who covered Washington in the 1980s, and scholars who have been reassessing the George H. W. Bush presidency detail his domestic policy. The key areas covered include the economy, the budget, the disabled, civil rights, health, science and technology. In addition, the volume examines his emphasis on volunteerism.
As the essays make clear, Bush's domestic policy stands in vivid contrast to his foreign policy. While his stewardship in the latter area won him praise and popularity, many of his decisions in the domestic sphere brought criticism from both the left and right and proved politically disastrous, playing a key role in his 1992 election defeat.Although some accuse Bush of disengagement and disinterest in domestic affairs, the prevailing opinion voiced at the Bush Presidency Conference, which provided the basis for this and other companion volumes, was that the president's domestic policies were characterized by a deep commitment to principle and pursuit of the public interest, even at the expense of political considerations. Indeed, many argue that the Bush administration pursued policies that were both well intentioned and ultimately successful, but failed to communicate them successfully to the public. While some of the blame for this lies with a hostile news media and simple bad luck-especially the economic downturn beginning in 1991-much of the responsibility appears to rest with President Bush himself, a man reluctant to tout his successes and sully himself in partisan political combat. Thus, the picture that emerges of George H. W. Bush in this volume is that of a decent, principled man whose accomplishments in the domestic arena were unfairly devalued and widely misunderstood.
As the essays make clear, Bush's domestic policy stands in vivid contrast to his foreign policy. While his stewardship in the latter area won him praise and popularity, many of his decisions in the domestic sphere brought criticism from both the left and right and proved politically disastrous, playing a key role in his 1992 election defeat.Although some accuse Bush of disengagement and disinterest in domestic affairs, the prevailing opinion voiced at the Bush Presidency Conference, which provided the basis for this and other companion volumes, was that the president's domestic policies were characterized by a deep commitment to principle and pursuit of the public interest, even at the expense of political considerations. Indeed, many argue that the Bush administration pursued policies that were both well intentioned and ultimately successful, but failed to communicate them successfully to the public. While some of the blame for this lies with a hostile news media and simple bad luck-especially the economic downturn beginning in 1991-much of the responsibility appears to rest with President Bush himself, a man reluctant to tout his successes and sully himself in partisan political combat. Thus, the picture that emerges of George H. W. Bush in this volume is that of a decent, principled man whose accomplishments in the domestic arena were unfairly devalued and widely misunderstood.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
ISBN-13
978-0-313-32132-0 (9780313321320)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2004
1st Edition
Praeger Publishers Inc
€78.49
Available for download
Person
RICHARD HIMELFARB is Associate Professor of Political Science at Hofstra University. He has written extensively on issues revolving around the modern American presidency.
ROSANNA PEROTTI is Assocaite Professor of Political Science at Hofstra University and general editor of the Bush proceedings project.
ROSANNA PEROTTI is Assocaite Professor of Political Science at Hofstra University and general editor of the Bush proceedings project.
Content
Introduction Budget and Deficits Governance vs. Politics: The Budgetary Policy Legacy of the Bush Administration by Dennis S. Ippolito The 1990 Deficit Reduction Deal by Duane Windsor The Economy The Bush Stagnation, Its Etiology, and the Keynesian Prescription by Timothy A. Canova and E. Lynn Turgeon The Antitrust Record of the Bush Administration By Theodore P. Kovaleff The Burden of the Reagan Legacy on the Bush Presidency by John W. Sloan Americans with Disabilities Act by Edward D. Berkowitz Civil Rights, Drugs, Housing, and Education Symbolic Politics Revisited: The Bush Administration and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 by W. Gary Fowler, Donald W. Jackson, and James W. Riddlesperger, Jr. Beyond Saying No: Domestic Drug Policy and Its Effects during the Bush Administration, 1989-1992 by Charles F. Levinthal America 2000, Goals 2000: Educational Reform for the Next Century? by Martin W. Sharp Health Issues and Problems Major Initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services during the Bush Years by Louis W. Sullivan Presidential Transition and Public Policy: The Repeal of Medicare Catastrophic Coverage by Carolyn Rinkus Thompson Opportunity of a Generation Lost: Abortion Policy in the Bush Administration by Steven R. Valentine Family Values and Public Policy during the Bush Years: The Case of the Family and Medical Leave Act by Steven K Wisensale Volunteerism: A Kinder Gentler Society George Bush and the New Deal Order by Donald K. Pickens George Bush and the Last Whig Presidency by Michael P. Riccards Science and Technology Energy and Environment Crisis and Opportunity: American Energy Policy during the Bush Years and Beyond by Larry Michlin Index About the Editors and Contributors