Beating Around the Bush

By Anthony S.A. Freinberg

George W. Bush is a popular president; of that there can be little doubt. In a recent survey released by ABC News on his 100th day in office, he received a 63 percent job approval rating. After a bitter and divisive election, many have argued that Bush is succeeding in his mission to reach across partisan divides and create a united, consensus-based government. Unfortunately, this view is even more flawed than the 43rd president’s grammar.

A crucial reason for the large number of people who have been pleasantly surprised by Bush’s performance is the nation’s incredibly low expectation for his administration. Based on his apparent lack of intellectual rigor and extremely narrow victory in the election, the prospect for effective government seemed rather slim. During his campaign, Bush made a number of embarrassing gaffes ranging from the grammatical to the geographical. Therefore these polls, as much as anything, reflect a general level of relief that nothing has happened yet to sever foreign trade or entangle America in a deadly war.

This is certainly not the same thing as a successful start to an administration. As in the presidential debates, Bush is gaining a great deal of support simply because public expectations were so minimal to begin with. The end of a president’s first 100 days is a traditional time for a thorough examination and evaluation of the newcomer. This should be no less stringent an investigation because the nation’s worst fears about our new president have not been realized. Bush should, as I am sure all would agree, be judged as harshly as any other president. In the wake of the apparent amorality of the Clinton years, Bush’s campaign stressed his piety and moral rectitude in the wake of a misspent youth.

Bush has certainly demonstrated his strong religious convictions by controversially choosing the ultra-religious John Ashcroft as his Attorney General and by removing money from overseas charities which discuss abortions, all within his first week in office. Aside from the moral problems of such policies, they do not seem either charitable or a good way to follow his campaign pledge to forge a new style of consensus-based politics.

His idea to give government funding to faith-based charities is similarly controversial. Regardless of whether such an idea is even constitutional, it is clearly not an effective way of bridging partisan divides and helping the country to move beyond the divisive election.

Nor does it take an eco-warrior to realize that Bush’s new environmental policies have been nothing short of reprehensible. From breaking campaign promises on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to authorizing pointless oil exploration in protected areas of Alaska and allowing carcinogenic levels of arsenic to remain in drinking water, the past 100 days have brought a litany of environmental disasters. Bush’s transparent reliance upon big business has forced him to jeopardize the U.S. environment in order to repay their support for his campaign.

Bush should certainly be lauded for obtaining the safe return of the American air force crew from China and for opening new, meaningful talks with Mexico. Similarly, he should be castigated for his policies on the environment and religion. Ultimately, though, a president is more than a sum of his parts. A passable job should not be enough—America should neither expect nor accept mediocrity from its commander-in-chief. Avoiding disasters should not be viewed in the same light as leading an impressive government. A look back at Bush’s illustrious predecessors is highly instructive. Analysts have focused specifically on a president’s first 100 days since the sweeping program of reforms enacted in early 1933 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Class of 1904.

Today, America is the most powerful nation on earth. Its economic and military clout is unrivalled. But its citizens should not rest on their laurels and settle for second-best. They must demand the very best leadership they can get. Only then can Bush prove himself worthy of some of his most esteemed forerunners. A hundred days have come and gone; the country’s attitude, as well as its president’s policies, must improve over the next 1361.

Anthony S.A. Freinberg is a first-year living in Canaday.