The Presidency of George W. Bush

by John Robert Greene

The Presidency of George W. Bush is the first balanced academic study to analyze the entirety of his presidency—domestic, social, economic, and national security policies—as well as the administration’s response to 9/11 and the subsequent “War on Terror.” In so doing, John Robert Greene argues persuasively that the judgment of most scholars—that the Bush administration was a complete failure—has been made in haste and without the benefit of primary sources. This book is the first scholarly work to make wide use of the documents at the George W. Bush Presidential Library, many of which have only recently been made available to researchers through the Freedom of Information Act.John Robert Greene offers balanced assessment and nuanced conclusions supported by documentary evidence. Yet in doing so he does not absolve the Bush administration of its shortcomings. The Presidency of George W. Bush shows that the administration could be vindictive, as demonstrated by the Wilson-Plame affair and the firing of the US attorneys. It all too often moved too slowly, as shown by the National Security Council’s lethargic handling of terrorism pre-9/11, the failed attempt to revise Social Security, and the sluggish reaction to Hurricane Katrina. It was an administration that accepted, and acted on, the highly suspect theory of the unitary presidency as advocated by Dick Cheney and accepted by the president. On the other side of the balance sheet, however, the evidence also makes it eminently clear that the Bush administration was responsible for many positive No Child Left Behind set the nation on the road toward affecting serious educational reform. In healthcare reform, the Bush administration both strengthened the Medicare system and extended its benefits for millions of Americans. And Bush did more to combat the worldwide scourge of AIDS as well as for Africa than any other president. In sum, the actions of this presidency continue to affect the presidencies of each of his successors as well as the trajectory of world history to the present day.

Genres: Biography

625 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2021

About the author

John Robert Greene is an American historian who is the Paul J. Schupf Professor, History and Humanities, the director of the Social Science Program, and the College Archivist, at Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, New York.

Reviews

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love to read about politics, W was never on my top list of presidents i wanted to know more about. This book is a decent overview of George W. Bush life and author did a good job staying fair to him throughout not so overwhelmingly long narrative . The lower rating was more to my strong dislike for the 43rd president. This book even though trying to be sympathetic to Bush was not able to change my opinion about him.

[Henry Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Robert Greene has written three books assessing US Presidents of the late 20th and early 21st century. Greene turns his focus to George W. Bush in this work. Greene is at times quite harsh on 43, especially in regard to treatment of terrorist suspects, Iraq, and in dealing with political critics. But Greene praises the administration for its work on education, prescription drugs, stopping post-9/11 attacks, and fighting AIDS in Africa. Greene’s assessment of the Bush 43 is a
mixed one at best, yet fairer than most historians have been to W. There are occasional errors that distract the reader, but this book is a still a good work on the pivotal years of the early 21st century. Rating: 3.75/5

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

By providing a high level, executive summary of the Bush administration, this volume follows the form of the others in this great series by the University Press of Kansas. Greene provides a sympathetic portrait of a hard-working president who was engaged in the policy and decision-making of his administration, often to the point of obsession. Contrary to public perception in the Bush years, Greene minimizes the role and influence of Vice President Cheney and elevates the role played by First Lady Laura Bush whose calming and steadying presence was not previously recognized. Greene accepts that the errors made by the president and those around him were honest mistakes wrought in the intense emotions and shocks from 9/11, and not old vendettas, runaway militarism, or oil grabs. He rightly emphasizes the importance of AIDS relief to Africa and the role that Bush played in expanding that humanitarian program. Does he give Bush too much of a break? Yes, i think he does. War with Iraq and the destabilization of the entire Middle East, let alone the deaths of US service personnel and Iraqi civilians, is well above and beyond the typical presidential mistake. Then additional errors vastly compounded the original one of starting the war to take it to exponential ends. We won't understand the impact of this for at least another couple of decades. This book was written prior to the US withdrawal of Afghanistan, a fiasco that Bush, who pivoted away from that war in another mistake, set the path for the disaster of 2021.

[Reko Wenell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, easily listenable overview. I liked how the author brought forth Bush’s successes both in real terms and in his personally set goals. I liked it because it showed that even a favourable interpretation left me thinking him as a terrible president, likely the second worst of the modern presidents.

I’ll also add that as someone from Finland born in 2000, I’m pretty fascinated by the Bush era whether we speak of movies, the political zeitgeist or anything else. You see, being so young and living in Finland, I didn’t actually experience the Bush era in any real terms. I remember when Obama became president but for a long while I had no clue who was the president before him, which makes for a curious thing where I don’t remember the actual era but I’ve kind of lived and felt it and especially its after effects.

[Earl Ecklund III · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good objective look at Bush 43's presidency. Much of the focus naturally is on the War on Terror and Iraq but Greene does have some good insights on Bush's domestic agenda and other foreign policy efforts. A solid place to start in learning more about Bush's presidency.