Reading Time: < 1 minute In a break with precedent, when asked at his final press conference to name his administration’s biggest mistake, President George W. Bush rattled off a short list instead. He included posting the “Mission Accomplished” banner on an aircraft carrier and not pushing for immigration reform, and he mentioned the government response to Hurricane Katrina, though he stopped short of calling it a mistake. He recognized, additionally: “There have been disappointments. Abu Ghraib obviously was a huge disappointment during the presidency. Not having weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment. I don’t know if you want to call those mistakes or not, but they were — things didn’t go according to plan, let’s put it that way.” Visitors to the Center’s Broken Government project are willing to call those mistakes, voting the response to Katrina, the false premise for going to war, and the sanctioning of the use of harsh interrogation techniques, like those used in Abu Ghraib, three of the 10 biggest failures of the Bush administration. The interactive ranking system allows users to choose 10 from a catalogue of 128 major failures of the executive branch over the past eight years. The Top 10 list to date: 1. False Premise for Going to War 2. 45 Million Americans Without Health Insurance 3. Controversial Assertion of Executive Power 4. Skyrocketing Deficit 5. Too close to the Edge on Torture 6. Politicization of the Department of Justice 7. No Robust, Sustained Alternative Energy Policy 8. Hurricanes Expose FEMA Woes 9. SEC Allows Investment Banks to Go Unregulated 10. No Child Left Behind: A Few Bumps in the Road Imagine trying to contextualize George H.W. Bush’s life in the form of a resume. Bush, who died Friday at 94, would certainly top his accomplishments with “Served as 41st president of the United States of America,” but his full biography is a singular mirror of the last century of America.
Consider ranking these benchmarks, any of which would be highlights on another resume: He was the first sitting vice president to earn a promotion in 152 years. Though he is often criticized for failing to win a second term, he represents the last time either major party remained in the Oval Office after an eight-year residency. He was the son of a U.S. senator and father of a president. He survived a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean theater as a U.S. Naval aviator during World War II, during which he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation. He has been credited as the Navy’s youngest flying officer at that time. He was appointed head of the Republican National Committee by President Richard M. Nixon, then led the GOP through Nixon’s downfall, capped off by his formal request that Nixon resign. He was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He was captain of one of Yale University’s finest baseball teams, a time when he memorably met Babe Ruth in the Bambino’s final days. His first claim of a national office was as the first Republican to represent Houston, Texas, in Congress. You must read between the lines, though, to measure the depth of Bush’s rich character. He is being claimed — justifiably — by four states. He was born in Massachusetts, raised in Connecticut, summered in Maine and ultimately planted his flag in Texas as his adopted hometown. Claiming several stars on the flag broadened his public persona as an Everyman American. Bush wasn’t perfect. He claimed his ultimate political victory via some disdainful campaign tactics. As a Congressman in the 1960s, he failed to support landmark civil rights legislation. But educators in Connecticut classrooms would do well to demonstrate to students that this Greenwich blue blood, this cowboy, this athlete, this politician, this war hero — showed his fellow Americans that it is possible to fail with grace. He might have ridden in his father’s political coattails by running for national office in Connecticut but opted instead to seek a U.S. Senate seat in Texas and lost. After earning his ticket to Washington, D.C., as a U.S. representative, he made another run for the Senate — and lost again. He also came up short against Ronald Reagan in 1980, which led to his acceptance of the consolation prize on the eventual winning ticket. No defeat could have hurt as deeply as his loss to Bill Clinton in 1992, yet Bush responded with a trademark handwritten note for his successor that read “You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.” He will be remembered as the man who yearned for a “kinder, gentler nation.” Decades ago, Donald Trump dismissed that vision by declaring “if this country gets any kinder or gentler, it’s literally going to cease to exist.” As we salute George H.W. Bush, we mourn nothing less than the age of decency.
Former President George W. Bush achieved domestic policy successes that were remarkable in light of his tenuous standing with the public and the sharp partisan divisions that he faced in Congress, Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs Dean John D. Graham writes in his recently published book, Bush on the Home Front (Indiana University Press).  John Graham Print-Quality Photo Graham, who previously served as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (2001-2006), takes a balanced approach when examining Bush's effectiveness on policy issues such as taxes, education, health care, energy, environment and regulatory reform. He employs three criteria in his evaluation: whether the reform is promising, whether it is primarily attributable to efforts of the Bush administration, and whether the reform is likely to reshape public debate on the issue in the future. "When historians examine the effectiveness of the Bush presidency, much of the focus is on his controversial foreign policy initiatives," Graham said. "The results of my research suggest that Bush was, in fact, a bold and activist president on domestic issues and a surprisingly effective policy maker. Some of his successes caused a fundamental change in how an issue was perceived and debated." Graham finds that a classic bipartisan strategy doesn't work for presidents trying to pass legislation in today's polarized Congress. "Although Bush's presidency is bookended by a controversial election in 2000 and one of the lowest popularity ratings in history, he was able to find success by recognizing his tenuous political standing, analyzing the competing interests of Congress, and choosing policy initiatives with a broad appeal among Republicans and at least some support among key Democrats in the Senate," he said. By employing a cross-partisan approach, Bush worked closely with moderate, key Democrats to design legislative packages they found appealing, while maintaining the support of his base. "President Bush maximized this strategy to achieve legislative successes on tax cuts, nuclear energy and Medicare prescription drug benefits, to name a few." Graham also analyzes Bush's failures in domestic policy such as Social Security reform, immigration reform and tort reform. He reveals why these initiatives failed to attract even limited Democratic support and why they offended Bush's Republican base. Page 2
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What were the successes and failures of george bush’s administration?
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