Bush at Four Months

In my first column, just a couple weeks after Bush took office, I wrote that it would take time before we would come to know Bush’s team as we knew Clintons. Now, four smirk-filled months later, we are comfortable enough with the whole clan to mention them in casual conversation, recognize them on television and even refer to our Defense Secretary (a grown man, no less) as “Rummy.” After four months, what have we learned?

The first thing that is clear is that Bush is a different kind of president. In the last three months, the Bush team has shown the world what efficiency and effectiveness really mean. The world was especially taken aback by this since it has been sitting around for a couple months waiting for Clinton, who is running late as usual. As President, Clinton was an excellent example of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. The more you knew about where he was going, the less you knew about where he actually was—and vice versa. Bush has shown that it is still possible to be both President and present at the same time.

Besides running a smooth administration, Bush has neatly accomplished much of what he set out to do when he set out to do it. The bulk of his economic measures have blown through Congress trailing Democrats behind screaming “Time Out!” “Cheater!” and “Gore won the popular vote!” Beyond legislation, Bush has swiftly enacted significant changes in policy, much of it concerning environmental and abortion issues.

This is a tremendous accomplishment that can not be overlooked, especially in light of, say, the beginning of the Clinton administration or even the beginning of the Reagan era. In this Bush White House, just like the first, chaos does not dominate. This is worth a lot.

But it is not worth everything. Bush may have had a forceful beginning, but his success is about to end. So far this success has come from talking tough, refusing to compromise, making Republican dreams come true and blindsiding Democrats. Sooner or later this will catch up to him, and sooner seems a likely bet.

In his over-aggressive early efforts to consolidate his power, Bush has already used up much of his capital. Considering that Bush entered office having lost a significant amount of clout in Florida, calling in all bets early does not leave him with much for the future. Sure, Bush is on track to accomplish his early goals, but he can’t avoid stalling after that. Democrats will simply freeze up if Bush continues to pin the tail on the donkey, and Republicans will also start to break away when they realize that America is not, and never has been, pro-arsenic. If yesterday’s move by James Jeffords (R-Vt.—um, I mean I-Vt.) is any indication, the trend has already started.

Bush is making the classic Reagan mistake in pushing too far right. In attempting to demonstrate his dominance, he is starting to bank right not realizing that his squadron isn’t with him. Just as Reagan vetoed a couple popular bills dealing with water pollution and transportation and was soundly overridden on both, Bush is bravely going where only a bunch of oilmen friends want him to go, and Congress is going to stop putting up with it. So will the American people. Bush is moving very quickly on loosening environmental regulations, strengthening anti-abortion laws, cutting taxes, and rescinding laws that benefit workers, but the resistance is building and will soon catch up. And when it does, Bush will not accomplish anything of significance for the rest of his one term presidency.

In short, Clinton became such a fixture as president that it is still sinking in that we have a very different leader in George W. Bush. Whereas Clinton seemed like a 20-year-old in a body 30 years older, Bush gives me the impression that he would walk up to an octogenarian and say, without being completely wrong, “I remember when I was your age.” The style and attitude of his administration is vastly different from the previous one, and this is enormously significant. This well-greased team has quickly and effectively accomplished even their toughest goals.

But they have done so at a cost, and now, in debt, they continue to push even farther right. Combined with surprisingly ineffective foreign policy, this will be the downfall of Bush II.

Bush isn’t stupid, as some seem to believe—he’s just wrong. There is a difference, and though I understand that such an admission would leave Maureen Dowd with nothing to write about, critics must instead focus on the worst threat of the Bush administration: they’re doing all the wrong things, but boy, are they doing them well.

Joshua I. Weiner ’03 is a government concentrator in Leverett House. His column appears regularly.