The Bush Presidency

In his approach to the presidency, Bush closely followed the Clinton model of constantly campaigning. After taking office, Bush left details of his first budget to others while he traveled frequently around the country, making campaign-style appearances to promote his policies. Even early in his presidency, he devoted less attention to states like California and New York that were heavily Democratic and focused instead on crucial "swing" states that might go either way in a reelection fight. Yet for all the energy he showed as a campaigner for his policies, Bush was not nearly as intricately involved in policy development as Clinton had been, and he often took off on Friday afternoons to head for Camp David or his beloved ranch at Crawford, Texas, near Waco.

When Bush took office Republicans controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but only by small margins. Bush would therefore need solid support from his party, and probably from some Democrats as well, in order to enact his legislative program. Bush recognized this, and also the fact that the public was tired of arguments between the president and Congress after the years of bitter disputes under President Clinton. Consequently, he stressed early and often that he wanted to work with Congress and have a harmonious relationship. The necessity, and difficulties, of this policy were demonstrated when Republican senator James Jeffords of Vermont left the party in May, 2001, in response to perceived disrespectful treatment by the administration. This gave Democrats one more vote in the Senate than the Republicans.

Bush selected cabinet members and aides who were generally respected for their experience and competence and who in some cases came from the corporate world: Paul O'Neill, who had been chairman and CEO of the world's largest aluminum manufacturer, Alcoa, was chosen treasury secretary (and later replaced by John Snow, a railway executive). Politically, the cabinet ranged from John Ashcroft, the conservative attorney general who survived a bitter fight over his nomination, to Norman Mineta, a Democrat, as transportation secretary.

Many key figures in the government were recycled from the earlier Bush administration, although there was no evidence that the first President Bush himself played a crucial role in policy formation. Secretary of State Colin Powell came across as surprisingly weak at