IOP Panel Assesses Bush's First 100 Days

A panel of political advisers and scholars gathered last night in the ARCO Forum at the Kennedy School of Government to discuss the first hundred days of President George W. Bush's presidency.

The panel included New York Times chief political correspondent Richard L. Berke, Co-Director of the Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership David Gergen, Deputy to the Chief of Staff Clay Johnson III, Kennedy School Public Policy Lecturer Elaine Kamarck, and White House 2001 Project Director Martha Joynt Kumar.

Panelists agreed that making the transition into the White House can be daunting for a politician under the close watch of the press and public eye.

"Transitions matter-you want to use that early opportunity because it is a time when people are watching," Kamarck said.

Panelists noted that the difficulty of transition lies in the need to immediately specify and execute a specific political agenda.

"When you come to the White House," Kumar said, "you have no information there, yet you are responsible for making decisions from day one."

Berke commended Bush on his ability to overcome this major hurdle.

"It's no easy thing assembling a government and doing what President Bush has done in so short a time," Berke said.

However, Berke also noted that Bush's administrative style differs starkly from that of Clinton: Clinton spent over 75 hours planning the national budget while Bush only spent 5 hours developing his plan.

"It's all in the eyes of the beholder which approach is better. When Clinton came eight years ago, it was refreshing to have a president who lived and breathed policy," Berke said. "Bush trusts people to make decisions. It's a different approach to governing."

Kamarck said that Bush's success has hinged largely upon the legacy of his predecessor.

"The best thing about George W. Bush was that he was not Bill Clinton," Kamarck said.

To be successful, she said, "All he had to do was not be Bill Clinton. All the questions of legitimacy got pushed under the rug because the media was totally obsessed with the way Bill Clinton left the White House."

Panelists agreed that Bush has brought a business-like demeanor to White House operations, but they disagreed about his capacity as a leader.

"George W. Bush has brought an honor, a decency, and a dignity to the office," Gergen said.

Gergen also said he was impressed by Bush's focus, discipline, and leadership thus far.

Kamarck disagreed.

"People still have severe doubts about Bush's ability to be president," she said.

"The rest of the country is still trying to figure out quite who he is. The second hundred days might be a great deal more important than the first hundred," Gergen said.