“A PRESIDENCY TRANSFORMED BY CRISIS: THE GEORGE W. BUSH
ADMINISTRATION- AN EARLY APPRAISAL”
Oct. 17-18, 2002
Conference at the State University of New York/Fredonia
A SUNY Conversation in the Discipline
The Program:
I. Presidential Administrations as Creations
Panel 1. The 2000 Presidential Election of George W. Bush: The Difficult Birth of a
Presidency
James E. Campbell, University at Buffalo, SUNY
The presidential election of 2000 was arguably the closest election in American history. Fewer
votes decided the election than even that of the disputed Hayes-Tilden election of 1876 and, like
that election, the candidate winning a majority of electoral votes did not receive a plurality of the
national popular vote. Why did George W. Bush emerge from the 2000 election as the nation’s
43rd president? In an election as close as 2000, virtually any factor that helped George W. Bush
or hampered his Democratic opponent Al Gore may have made the difference. This paper
explores a variety of factors such as the impact of partisanship, the economy, the Clinton
scandals, public reactions to the candidates’ perceived personal strengths and weaknesses, and
the events of the campaign that contributed to this virtually dead-heat presidential election.
II. Political Institutions and Politics in America
Panel 2. The ‘Vision’ Thing Revisited: The Public and Political Perception of George W.
Bush
John Robert Greene, Cazenovia College
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George Bush senior disdained the ‘vision thing’ and paid the political price. George W. Bush has
embraced the opportunity to position himself in the eyes of the media and the public- indeed, in
ways that are quite novel. What is the nature of this presidential persona that has been crafted?
This paper discusses some of the ways that President Bush and his advisers have utilized the
public presidency to advance his diverse agendas, including his re-election. Parallels are drawn
with the senior George Bush, based on the author’s recent work on President George Bush.
Panel 3. The Early Relationship between the Bush Administration, the Media, and Public
Opinion
David Rankin, SUNY/Fredonia
The media coverage of modern presidents has been found to significantly affect the public
evaluation of the incumbent administration. The mediated relationship between the president and
public is particularly profound on salient issues of heightened media attention and public
awareness. The mediated political environment of the George W. Bush administration has
involved incredibly salient issues for the American public concerning the presidency, from the
aftermath of the contentious 2000 election to the September 11th terrorist attacks and ensuing
War in Afghanistan. What has been the focus and tone of national broadcast and print media
coverage of the Bush presidency in the initial eighteen months? How have media intensity,
priming and framing affected public opinion on the Bush administration?
Panel 4. Did George W. Bring Bipartisanship to Washington? Presidential-Congressional
Relations in the Second Bush Administration
Colton C. Campbell, Florida Internat’l. Univ. & Bob Watson, Univ. of Hawaii-Hilo
George W. Bush promised to bring bipartisanship back to Washington political life, to end
relentless partisan warfare between the parties, to work with the Democrats to craft important
public policies which had broad backing. To what extent has the Bush administration pursued
accommodative tactics in crafting legislation and coalitions of support? Or is the call for
bipartisanship largely a political façade? To what extent did the early tactics of the Bush White
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House set the pace for Republican partisans in the Republican-controlled House and the divided
Senate?
What has been the relationship between the Bush White House and Republican
congressional leaders? Has he had as much difficulty in dealing with the Congress as President
Clinton did in the first two years of his administration? Is partisanship a deeper phenomenon
than the “tone” set by the president? What have been the major legislative accomplishments of
the Bush presidency and have they received bipartisan support?
Panel 5. Organizing for Power: The Presidency of George W. Bush
Shirley Anne Warshaw, Gettysburg College
How have George W., his staff, and the national leadership Bush and Cheney established
organized the White House in order to exert power in the US and its national institutions? How
has the White House and presidential presence been organized for presenting this presidency?
Has the strong role of VP Cheney in policy-making and driving the agenda affected the nature or
image of this presidency?
How is the White House organized, or coordinated with other
government departments, to generate policy initiatives or decisions? What are the White House
links to conservative interest groups? How is the White House organized to project its vision of
the Bush II presidency and how effective has this been? Was executive branch administration
decisively altered, in organization and in linkage to White House decision-making, by the events
of September 11th?
III. American Society, Political Power, and Public Policies
Panel 6. Crisis and the Pursuit of Conservatism: Liberty, Security, and the Bush Justice
Department
Kevin McMahon, SUNY/Fredonia
Presidents have historically understood their ability to alter the legal landscape as a powerful
means to secure a lasting legacy. As President Nixon once noted, except for the contribution [a
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president] may be able to make to the cause of world peace, there is probably no more important
legacy that a President of the United States can leave than his appointments to the Supreme
Court. However, through his Justice Department’s anti-terrorism efforts led by Attorney General
John Ashcroft his administration has sought to alter central components of American law. To
what degree does this anti-terrorism policy help us understand the Bush administration approach
toward the law? Does this policy highlight an ideological divide within the Grand Old Party?
Finally, what legacy might this policy leave long after the Bush administration is over?
Panel 7. Projecting Power: Tension between Unilateral Power & Multi-lateral Needs in An
Era of Globalism and Rising US Neo-Isolationism
Jon Kraus, SUNY/Fredonia
Armed with his innocence and experienced, deeply conservative policy advisers, the Bush
government initially sought to ignore many global problems. Its policies led it to act unilaterally
with our allies to assert US interests and focus on new military strategies and missile defense
against ‘rogue’ nations. Bush policy scorned Clinton initiatives, from anti-terror to the IsraeliPalestinian crisis. It avoided involvement except where the US would “win.” In response to Sept.
11th, Bush policy leaders initially mounted a successful “war on terror” in Afghanistan and
elsewhere, with the modest cooperation of many European allies and other countries. But, with a
now deeply divided policy elite, Bush’s unilateralist policy thrust has been reasserted in many
areas. It is driven by a ‘good’ vs. ‘evil’ vision, parochial views, and a highly conservative vision
of international power dynamics. This deeply affects America’s power, influence, & interests.
Panel 8. Gun Rights for Terrorists? Gun Control and the Bush Presidency
Robert Spitzer, SUNY/Cortland
The Bush presidential campaign signaled a clear policy direction on the explosive issue of gun
control that has in turn found full implementation in the Bush presidency. The gun issue thus
provides an excellent policy lens by which to judge the Bush administration, as it brings together
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interest group vectors, political priorities, transfiguration of law, and significant policy change.
Contrary to convention assumptions, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack did not derail this
domestic policy concern; rather, gun control was molded to fit the post-September 11 political
world. Has the politics of “the right to bear arms” obstructed the ability of legal agencies to
pursue gun records in the war against terrorism?
Panel 9. Politics Is Money: The Tax Cut-2001, Sept. 11th, and the Patterns of Government
Spending
Richard Jankowski, SUNY/Fredonia
The center piece of the Bush presidential campaign was a substantial tax cut proposal. A wide
range of special interests have organized to get their favored tax changes (individual, corporate,
estate, capital gains, etc). Who has won and who has lost in this scramble for tax cuts? What do
we learn about the Bush administration from the tax cut? Was there an economic rationale for
the tax cut, an ideological rationale, or was it purely a political payoff for electoral support?
With the advent of a significant recession and the military and security buildup that followed
from September 11th, how have the tax cuts impacted government spending in general and other
domestic policies?
IV. Past as Prologue: The Future of the First Term of the Bush 2 Presidency
Panel 10. The Early Bush II Presidency and the Mid-Term Elections 2002
Donald Beachler, Ithaca College
This paper will analyze the 2002 midterm congressional elections in terms of the existing
literature on midterm elections and in the context of a Bush presidency transformed by the events
of September 11th. It will also assess the policy and political implications of the elections results
for the next two years of the Bush presidency. This will be deeply affected by whether the
Republicans or Democrats control the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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Backgrounds of paper presenters:
DONALD BEACHLER (Ph.D. Cornell, 1992) is Assistant Professor of Politics at Ithaca
College. He has authored many articles in American Review of Politics (1993, 1998), Journal of
Political Science (1995), Presidential Studies Quarterly (1996), Working USA (2001),
Southeastern Political Science Review (1993, 1996, 2000), & Politics and Policy (2001).
COLTON C. CAMPBELL (Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, 1996) is an
Assistant Professor of political science at Florida International University. He is author of
Discharging Congress: Government by Commission (Praeger, 2001), co-author of The
Congressional Impeachment of Bill Clinton (Univ. Press of Kansas, forthcoming), and co-editor
of several books on Congress, including Congress and the Internet (2003), New Majority or Old
Minority? The Impact of Republicans on Congress (1999), The Myth of 'Cool' Judgment:
Partisanship and Ideology in the Contemporary Senate (2000), Congress Confronts the Court:
The Struggle for Legitimacy and Authority in Lawmaking (2000), and War Stories From the Hill
(2000). His articles have appeared in Congress & the Presidency, Journal of Legislative Studies
Quarterly, White House Studies, and Talking Politics.
JAMES CAMPBELL (Ph.D. Syracuse, 1980) is a Professor of Political Science at SUNY,
Buffalo. He is the author of three books, The American Campaign: U.S. Presidential Campaigns
and the National Vote (2000), The Presidential Pulse of Congressional Elections, 2nd ed.
(1997), and Cheap Seats: The Democratic Party’s Advantage in U.S. House Elections (1996). He
also co-edited Before the Vote: Forecasting American National Elections (2000). He has
published more than forty book chapters and articles in journals such as the American Political
Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Western
Political Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, American Politics Research, and The
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Brookings Review. He also served as a program director for political science at the National
Science Foundation.
JOHN ROBERT GREENE (Ph.D., Syracuse, 1985), Paul Schupf Professor of History,
Cazenovia College, N.Y. He is the author of many books, including The Presidency of George
Bush (2000), The Hill: An Illustrated History of Syracuse (2000), The Presidency of Gerald R.
Ford (1995), The Limits of Power: The Nixon and Ford Years (1992), and books on the 1952
Eisenhower election and American universities. Contributor to many edited works and journals,
including Congress and the Presidency (1994), Presidential Studies Quarterly (1989), and
historical journals.
RICHARD JANKOWSKI (Ph.D. Chicago, 1984) is a Professor of Political Science at SUNY/
Fredonia. He is author of Profits, Taxes, and the State (1999). He has published articles in many
politics and economics journals, including Social Science Quarterly, British Journal of Political
Science, Rationality and Society, American Journal of Political Science, Review of Radical
Political Economics, and Workplace Democracy.
JON KRAUS (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins, 1971) is Professor and Chair, Political Science at
SUNY/Fredonia.
A past consultant to the US Dept. of State and AID and Associate Editor,
Canadian Journal of African Studies. He has articles in African Studies Review, Journal of
Modern African Studies (1969, 2002), Development and Change, Current History (11),
Problems of Communism, Africa Report, & Labor, Capital & Society. Contributor to some
twenty edited volumes, including Encyclopedia of Political Revolutions (1998), African
Development Yearbook, IV (1996), The Political Economy of Foreign Policy in ECOWAS States
(1994), Privatization and Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa (1992), Ghana: the Political
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Economy of Reform (1991), Labor and Unions in Asia and Africa (1988), When Parties Fail
(1988), Coping with Africa’s Food Crisis (1987).
KEVIN J. McMAHON (Ph.D. Brandeis, 1997) is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at
SUNY, Fredonia.
He has an article entitled “Constitutional Vision and Supreme Court
Decisions: Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race” in Studies in American Political Development and
a co-authored chapter in Leveraging the Law: Using Courts to Achieve Social Change. His book,
FDR and the Making of Civil Rights Law: The Presidency and the Political Origins of Supreme
Court Decisions (University of Chicago Press) will appear in 2003.
DAVID RANKIN (Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999) is an Assistant
Professor in the Political Science Department at SUNY Fredonia. His dissertation is entitled
Symbolic Barriers? US Political Leaders, Public Opinion, and Trade Liberalization in the PostCold War Era. He has published the article “Identities, Interests, and Imports” in Political
Behavior.
ROBERT J. SPITZER (Ph.D. Cornell, 1980) is Distinguished Service Professor of Political
Science at the State University of New York, College at Cortland. Currently he is president of
the Presidency Research Group of APSA. His books include The Presidency and Public Policy
(1983), The Right to Life Movement and Third Party Politics (1987), The Presidential Veto
(1988), The Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution (1990), President and Congress (1993), Media
and Public Policy (1993), The Politics of Gun Control (1995; 2nd ed. 1998), Politics and
Constitutionalism (2000), The Right to Bear Arms (2001), and Essentials of American
Government (co-authored, 2001).
SHIRLEY ANNE WARSHAW (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins, 1985) is a Professor of Political Science
at Gettysburg College. Her books include Power-Sharing: White House-Cabinet Relations in the
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Modern Presidency (1996); The Domestic Presidency: Policy Making in the White House
(1996); Re-Examining the Eisenhower Presidency (1993); and The Eisenhower Legacy (1990).
ROBERT P. WATSON, Univ. of Hawaii-Hilo, is visiting Associate Professor, Political Science
at Florida Atlantic University in 2002-03. He is the author, editor, and co-author of many books,
including The Presidents’ Wives: Reassessing the Office of First Lady (2002), Public
Administration: Cases in Managerial Role-Playing (2001), co-editor Anticipating Madame
President (2002), Campaigns and Elections w/ Colton Campbell (2003), and others. He has
published over 100 scholarly articles, chapters, and essays. He has been interviewed by many
media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, and USA Today, and been a guest on C-Span. Watson
is the founding editor of the new White House Studies.