Alright, looks good so far, I'm not saying he was the best, and I know he left a heft bit to advisers and so on. Still its good to see someone attempt to cover a Bush Presidency that doesnt artificially crumble.
Liberty's Century: The Story of George W. Bush and the New Millennium
- Thread starter NickCT
- Start date
Alright, looks good so far, I'm not saying he was the best, and I know he left a heft bit to advisers and so on. Still its good to see someone attempt to cover a Bush Presidency that doesnt artificially crumble.
Is that really a quote from Dubya in the title? Methinks it contains too many multi-syllable words to have dribbled from his lips.
And yes, I really do think that little of the bloody man.
http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/
Most people that have actually met the man disagree.
And James Buchanan - man was a spineless milquetoast, useless in every fashion and refused to lead the nation when we needed a leader. About the only positive I can think of is he was our first gay President.
NothingNow
Banned
Considering how obsessed the man was with starting a war, one could quite quickly disagree with that presumption as well.
Shit, if it hadn't been for Jimmy Carter's ill-timed trip, we'd have had Operation Cuban Freedom thanks to Cuban "Dual-Use Biotechnology" which would've gone over as well as Iraq really.
Sure he might have a decent level of intelectual ability, but it's about the proper application there of. That was rather sorely lacking with his administration.
I think part of George W. Bush's political mastery was the fact that he, well, blatantly hid behind the curtain of idiocy. It's seemed to me recently part of his public image was, well, to intentionally downplay himself as the underdog, and yes, sometimes that would mean looking like the idiot. But he always set expectations low - so he could beat those expectations.
Well he won't be God, but yes, in general, things will turn out a little better for Dubya.
Also, at JVM, I agree that Bush was able to win the 2000 and 2004 races partially because the American people trusted and related to him, a result of his folksy (though sometimes "ignorant") charm.
Liberty's Century
Prologue
Prologue
"The problem with political jokes is they get elected." -Henry Cate
The 2000 Presidential Election was a chance for the voters to set a new course for the nation. It was a New Millennium and it was the goal of each party to nominate a candidate who could win the White House and guide the nation forward for the next four years. The 2000 Election will go down in history as having extraordinarily lame primary seasons. The Democratic Primary went easily to Vice President Gore who fought off a token challenge from former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley. While the Republicans had a tougher and more interesting primary campaign, there was never really any true doubt about who the eventual nominee would be. That man was Texas Governor George W. Bush.
At the beginning of the primary season, Elizabeth Dole was running a close second to the Governor, but many in the media failed to take her campaign seriously and even more were skeptical about the chances of a female candidate in 2000. Soon, her candidacy was in jeopardy as top Republican Donors continued to back Bush. In October, the Bush Campaign along with the campaign of the personally-wealthy Steve Forbes began to air television ads. By this point, Dole was laying-off staff and struggling to stay in the race. That month, the former Cabinet Secretary dropped out of the race and a few weeks later she endorsed Governor Bush, perhaps in hope of landing a position in his cabinet or as the Vice Presidential Candidate. With Dole out, there was no clear challenge to Governor Bush or his campaign, but in New Hampshire an Arizona Senator, John McCain, who described himself as a "maverick" was gaining a lot of attention.
McCain was camping out in New Hampshire ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary there. Karl Rove and George W. Bush made a big mistake: they underestimated the sway that McCain would have on the electorate. Despite a Bush Victory in Iowa, the candidate was met with defeat in the New Hampshire Primary where John McCain delivered a crushing blow to the once heir apparent. It was now a far closer race than anyone had imagined. With McCain's victory in New Hampshire, the Senator began to focus on South Carolina where polls showed he had a legitimate path to victory. The Bush Campaign was nervous about the chances of the nomination slipping away from them. They participated in heavily questionable tactics, implying to voters that McCain had an illegitimate black daughter, among other scandalous actions. The 2000 South Carolina Primary would go down in history as an example of what was truly wrong with politics. Despite allegations of negative campaigning and unfair tactics, George Bush emerged the winner of South Carolina and after that it was simply a matter of time before he became the Presumptive Republican Nominee for President.
At this point, Bush began to work on finding a new running mate. His first choice was Dick Cheney, who he asked to join the ticket. Cheney was a former White House Chief of Staff and had served as Secretary of Defense for Bush's father. Cheney said he wasn't interested but did agree to lead the search for the Governor's Vice President. Bush was glad to have Cheney aboard. With that, Cheney began the most exhaustive vetting process of any Vice Presidential candidate in modern history. He wanted 10 years of tax returns, detailed health records, and needed to know anything that could have a negative effect on George Bush. Because he didn't trust the candidates, he hired private investigators and made them sign numerous wavers and powers of attorney. It was a detailed-oriented process.
Eventually they went from a starting list of about 40 names and narrowed it to 10 names: Elizabeth Dole, former Senator John Danforth, Senator Bill Frist, Senator Fred Thompson, former Governor Lamar Alexander, Governor Tom Ridge, Senator Chuck Hagel, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, Governor John Engler of Michigan, and Governor Frank Keating. All of the candidates were well-qualified, but two really stood out to Bush: Danforth and Hagel. Both were very strong candidates and could help Bush shore up support among voters who questioned his intelligence on matters of foreign policy. Hagel was a little too moderate for the Governor, though, and he eventually decided it would be better to cross Hagel off the list. The Governor met with Danforth and was immediately impressed, but part of him still wanted to see Cheney at the bottom of the ticket. He put it to Cheney simply, "Dick, you are the perfect running mate," he said, and Cheney agreed to mull it over.
In the process, Cheney suffered a massive heart attack, and while he lived it was clear that the candidate would not survive the rigors of a presidential campaign. With that, Bush selected John Danforth of Missouri. Danforth had considerable experience, serving as a U.S. Senator for about 18 years and Attorney General of Missouri. On July 25, 2000, Texas Governor George W. Bush announced that former Missouri Senator John Danforth would serve as his candidate for Vice President. At the Republican Convention, both Danforth and Bush did well in rallying support from the delegates. The Republicans left Philadelphia excited as ever about the prospects of their general election campaign.
Al Gore had chosen Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate, and with that the election was in full gear. It was going to be a close race, both sides knew that, but as the weeks went by the race didn't seem to have a front runner or likely victor. In fact, the race only got closer. Danforth and Bush were forces on the campaign trail, but Gore and Lieberman were boring candidates. In the debates, Gore seemed stand-offish and was made fun off for his narrow focus and insistence to stick to the talking points his team had prepared for him. Bush won the question of who voters would rather have a beer with and his down-to-earth style helped him considerably throughout the campaign. Still, Election Night 2000 was going to be extremely close. Early on, Bush had a lead, but by 1:00 AM several states were still far too close to call.
Florida, which held 25 electoral votes, was a powerhouse that was still too close to call. Problems in Florida were just beginning, however. Another close state was Wisconsin where Bush held a small lead, but it was still too close to make a definitive decision about which way it would go. New Mexico and Iowa were both leaning towards Bush, but nothing was for certain. If Bush won all of the states that had yet to be called he would have 294 electoral votes, more than he needed. The scariest proposition was if Bush won Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Iowa. If he won those three states, but lost Florida, it would be a tie in the Electoral College of 269-269. The House would likely agree to Bush as their candidate, and odds were that Danforth would win the Senate, and Bush had won the popular vote, but a 269-269 tie was a disastrous scenario in the eyes of both campaigns.
Soon enough, Iowa and eventually Wisconsin were called for Governor Bush. George Bush could win with Florida, but Gore needed both states to win. As the Gore campaign grew increasingly nervous, the state of New Mexico was called for the Bush campaign. It was 269 electoral votes for George Bush and 244 for Vice President Gore. On Tuesday morning the networks had not called Florida and the election was hanging in the balance. All they knew was that Bush had won the popular vote and held a lead in Florida, but there was still a chance for Gore to be announced the winner of the state. These were difficult waters to navigate, but the election was down to one state.
Palm Beach County was the center of attention. The ballots in Palm Beach County were controversial because they were arranged in such a way that it was unclear if a candidate was voting for Al Gore or Pat Buchanan, to this day historians argue that the Vice President lost votes to Pat Buchanan. A legal battle ensued in which the candidates fought over thousands of ballots. It came to the point where Senator Lieberman got on national television and conceded that "even if we come out victorious, the manner in which we made it to the White House would be questionable." It was a turning point in the process and that was when Gore lost all public credibility. Rather than pursue an exhausting legal option, Gore decided to concede the race to Bush, calling him the rightful winner and declaring that "America's long, electoral nightmare is over." With that, George W. Bush was the President-Elect of the United States and the nation turned to him to lead the country into the new century.
With that, Bush began to piece together a cabinet. For Secretary of State, the President-Elect chose the well-respected Colin Powell in addition to filling many of the less-prominent positions with loyal Republicans. For Secretary of the Treasury, Bush chose Paul O'Neill. Two selections were difficult for Bush and his team: Attorney General and Secretary of Defense. For the latter, Bush considered a wide range of candidates, and his number one choice was Dick Cheney. He pleaded with Cheney to return to the Department he had led just years earlier, but again Cheney declined, but this time he recommended his mentor, Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld was a very strong candidate for the position, and Bush began to seriously consider him, but Powell pushed heavily for former Indiana Senator Dan Coats. Coats, Powell argued, would be an effective manager and had intricate knowledge of defense matters. The President-Elect agreed with Powell and chose Dan Coats to head the Defense Department.
For Attorney General, Bush wanted John Ashcroft, but Ashcroft had just won a close race for the Senate in Missouri, and the President-Elect wanted to keep him there. The team began to consider numerous candidates before Bush came to a final decision. His former rival Elizabeth Dole would head the Justice Department. All of his candidates were met with scrutiny but were all eventually confirmed by the United States Senate, some with broad bi-partisan support. As Bush's team fell in to place, January 20th and the inauguration of a new President was fast-approaching and the world looked to America to see how their new President would do.
Well Cheney and Rumsfield are gone so there's a chance that Bush does stay out of Iraq. I think Cheney and Rumsfield were very influential in Bush's choice to go into Iraq.
