Rabinovitch 1
Ben Rabinovitch
Mr. Cotey
Honours Thesis (IDP4U)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Legacy of George W. Bush
Governor George Walker Bush of Texas became the Republican Presidential Candidate on August 3, 2000, after a lengthy campaign against the United States Senator from Arizona: John McCain. Despite being the son of a former governor, vice president, and president (George H.W. Bush), George W. Bush was considered the underdog in the 2000 Presidential Election, as he ran against the Democratic Candidate and then Vice President Al Gore. However after a lengthy and highly controversial election involving an official recount, the Supreme Court decided that although Gore won the popular vote, Bush won the 25 electoral votes from Florida, making his total 271, one more than needed to win the Electoral College and thus the Presidency. Gore conceded on December 13, 2000, 36 days after the actual election. George W. Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001. During his two terms in office, the world witnessed dramatic changes in World Politics such as the rise of Global Terrorism, neoconservative shaping of American domestic policies, and the near collapse of the American economy. George W. Bush's two terms as president were unsuccessful because he obstructed justice, introduced domestic policies that negatively affected America and made foreign policy decisions that damaged America's image abroad.
When reflecting on the presidency of George W. Bush, one immediately notices the radical differences in opinion between those who supported him, and those who criticized him. The ones who say he was healthy for America (mostly Conservatives and Republicans) would argue that his intentions were honourable, as he was pursuing a “Freedom Agenda” designed to bring democracy to all nations, including those in the Middle East. They insist that although Bush’s approval rating is low, he will be proven correct by history; much like Harry S. Truman was when he left office.[1] However the opposition (mostly Liberals and Democrats) would argue that Bush was more detrimental to the United States than perhaps any other president, mainly due to the comparison of America’s status before and after his presidency. When Bush left office, the U.S. found itself in two wars, an economic recession, and stuck with a government responsible for introducing controlling domestic policies.
The major difference between the two arguments is whether or not the measures Bush took as president were necessary to maintaining a healthy America. The conclusion will be found by determining whether or not they worked. The ones who say his actions were necessary would argue that in circumstances such as the Invasion of Iraq, Bush overthrew a dictator who was found guilty of murdering his own people and violating international law. However the opposition would argue that Bush risked the lives of thousands of American soldiers, lied to the American public, and violated international law on his own accord to do so. This paper will examine both sides of these arguments under several different circumstances in an attempt to draw an unbiased conclusion.
In summary, the raw analysis of several different events that occurred during the Bush presidency and the review of established academic opinions about these events must be used to draw a successful and unbiased conclusion as to whether or not the presidency of George W. Bush was a failure.
When evaluating Bush’s presidency and deciding whether or not he obstructed justice, one must begin at the events leading up to his election. The 2000 Republican South Carolina Primary was considered the turning point in Bush’s nomination. At this time Bush had won the caucus in Iowa and the primary Delaware, whereas McCain had won New Hampshire’s primary. With few substantive differences between Bush and McCain, the victor of the South Carolina Primary would most likely win the Republican Presidential Nomination. It was here that “pollsters” working for “push polling” companies called McCain supporters and suggested that his Bangladeshi born child was his own illegitimate black child in an attempt to change the voter’s opinion. It is still unknown who made the phone calls, who paid for them, or how many calls were made. Karl Rove, Bush’s Senior Political Consultant and later Deputy Chief of Staff, denied any involvement in the calls from the Bush Campaign, but nevertheless Bush won the South Carolina primary, defeating McCain with 53% of the popular vote.[2] Bush would later win the nomination carrying 43 states and D.C. with 62% of the popular vote. Accordingly, George W. Bush officially became the 2000 Republican Presidential Nominee on August 3, 2000 at the conclusion of the Republican National Convention. However, Bush would face a far more formidable opponent in the general election against then Vice President Al Gore. Gore was favoured to win, as he was part of the outgoing administration of President Bill Clinton, who served two terms as president and had a final approval rating of 66%, one of the highest in American history.[3] Despite this, it was generally believed that for either candidate to win the election they would also need to win the swing state of Florida, which held a critical 25 electoral votes. Coincidentally Bush’s brother Jeb Bush had been elected as Governor of Florida just a year previous to the election. When George and Jeb were asked in an interview if they believed they could win the state, George responded “You know something, we are gonna win Florida. Mark my words. You can write it down,” in a tone so serious that it was almost foreshadowing the outcome.[4] On Election Night the race to win the 270 electoral votes necessary to secure the presidency was closer than anyone could have imagined. At 7:50 p.m. Gore was declared the projected winner of Florida based on exit polls. At this time Bush had 68 electoral votes while Gore had 28 (including Florida). However as the night went on and more states were called, the number of counted votes in Florida became increasingly close. This forced the news networks to retract Florida from Gore at 9:54 p.m. At this time Bush had 185 electoral votes while Gore had 167 (including the retraction of Florida). At 12:09 a.m. Bush had 246 electoral votes while Gore had 241. With only 51 undecided electoral votes, the winner of Florida would most likely win the election. When asked about Florida’s retraction from Gore, Bush stated “The networks are calling this thing awfully early, but the people counting the votes have a different perspective.”[5] What Bush did not say about the networks was that his first cousin John Ellis was responsible for approving all projections released from the Fox News Channel that night. At 2:16 a.m. Fox News became the first network to project Bush as the winner of Florida, giving him 271 electoral votes and thus the presidency. Within minutes ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC all blindly followed suit and called Florida for Bush.[6] Gore conceded to Bush shortly thereafter. However the number of counted votes in the state drew closer once more and at 3:58 a.m. Florida was retracted again, this time from Bush.[7] Accordingly, Gore called Bush to retract his concession at approximately 4:00 a.m. Shortly thereafter, Gore Campaign Chairman William Daley stated, “I've been in politics a long time, and I don't think there's ever been a night like this one.”[8] That morning the election was declared too close to call with the votes counted from the previous night. On November 9, Bush’s lead was less than 2,000 votes, automatically triggering a machine recount. On November 10, the first recount showed Bush ahead by 327 votes without counting absentee ballots. The Democrats appealed the decision to not count the absentee ballots and requested manual recounts in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Voulusia counties. On November 11, the counties announced they would conduct a recount. In response, Bush appealed to a Federal Court to stop the recount. After several appeals by both sides, on November 21 the Florida High Court ruled that the recount could continue, but must conclude and should be certified by November 26 at 3:00 p.m. The next day (November 22) Bush appealed to the Supreme Court to stop the recount. At the November 26 deadline, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified George W. Bush as the victor of the election by 537 votes without including the recount from Palm Beach or Miami-Dade. The next day (November 27) Gore immediately contested the results and requested a contest trial to extend the recounts. The contest trial began on December 2 before Judge N. Sander Sauls, but Sauls would eventually rule against Gore three days later on December 5. The next day (December 6) Gore appealed Judge Sauls’ decision to the Florida Supreme Court. Two days later on December 8, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the recounts would be extended for the entire state where no votes were recorded. However at 10:00 p.m. on December 12 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favour of Bush and stated that no further recounts could take place, effectively declaring Bush as the winner. The next day, December 13, 36 days after the actual election, Gore conceded stating, “While I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it.”[9] On January 6, 2001 a joint session of congress was called to certify to electoral vote. Twenty members of the House of Representatives, mostly Democrats from the Black Congressional Caucus, each filed objections to the electoral votes of Florida citing disenfranchisement of voters, especially those from the African American community. However any such objection required the sponsorship of both a representative and a senator. No senator would sponsor these objections due to the Supreme Court’s ruling. Therefore Gore, who was the incumbent President of the Senate, was forced to rule each of these objections out of order and the vote was certified. The final results of the Electoral College had Bush with 271 electoral votes and Gore with 266. Bush won the election despite the fact Gore won the popular vote with the approval of 48.4% of votes to Bush’s 47.9%. This was the first time a president won the general election without winning the popular vote since Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover Cleveland in the 1888 U.S. Presidential Election. The day that George W. Bush was to be inaugurated saw the largest protests at an inauguration since Richard Nixon was inaugurated in 1973. Thousands of protesters futilely marched, chanted, and booed in almost every major U.S. city. One protester in Washington went so far as to throw an egg at Bush’s motorcade.[10] Despite this, George W. Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001. In his inaugural address Bush discussed his agenda to lower taxes and increase defence spending by declaring, “We will build our defences beyond challenge.”[11] However America’s defences would be challenged beyond imagination less than eight months later.
On the morning of September 11, 2001 the United States witnessed the largest foreign attack on domestic soil in the country’s history when four American passenger airliners, American Airlines Flights 11 and 77 and United Airlines Flights 93 and 175 were hijacked. The hijackers crashed flights 11 and 175 into Towers 1 and 2 (respectively) of the World Trade Center in New York City, which eventually caused the collapse of both towers. The hijackers of Flight 77 crashed it into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. shortly thereafter. Flight 93 was also believed to be heading for Washington, but experienced a passenger uprising. The hijacker pilot was incapacitated and the plane consequently crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was one of the largest terrorist attacks in history killing over 3,000 people in an open declaration of war on the United States. In an address to the nation that evening, Bush vowed to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice and increase security and anti-terrorism in the United States.[12] With this in mind and an overwhelming number of Americans rallying in support of Bush, his administration introduced the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. Abbreviated the “USA PATRIOT Act,” it was designed “To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes.”[13] But in doing so, the act also effectively enabled the government to increase the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expanded the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and enhanced the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act’s law enforcement powers can be applied.[14] Despite this, the bill was passed quickly through both the House and Senate, being ratified on October 25, just 44 days after the attacks, with a vote of 98 yays to 1 nay in the Senate.[15]
In the following months the United States invaded Afghanistan to seek justice for those murdered during the September 11 Terrorist Attacks. In 2003 the Bush Administration also decided to go to war with Iraq. Both governments fell swiftly and were replaced by democratic ones approved by the United States. Meanwhile, America and her allies continued to seek out members of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and members of Saddam Hussein’s former regime in Iraq. Although the American public was generally satisfied with the capture of terrorists and restructuring of the two Middle-Eastern nations, not much was heard about Afghani and Iraqi detainees after their capture. That is until May 2004, when The New Yorker published an article about a report they had obtained that was not intended for public release, written by Major General Antonio M. Taguba, about the state of the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. The report cited there were numerous instances of “sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses” to detainees including:[16]