The Polarized Presidency of George W. Bush [Hardcover]

This collection examines the foreign and domestic policies of President George W Bush's administration. The analysis begins with an account of how highly polarized--in terms of public opinion and electoral patterns--this presidency has proved to be. This is followed by chapters on the use of unilateral executive powers and pre-rogative powers. Because the policy choices of the Bush presidency have had such fundamental effects both in domestic policy and in US foreign policy, three contributors then address the processes of decision making especially in respect to the war against Iraq. How the administration governs by a recurring process of campaigning is examined in chapters on public opinion and war, the promotional presidency, mobilizing congressional support for war and the White House communications system. Finally the way in which the Bush White House relates to congress and the process of building congressional coalitions to enact laws is the subject of chapters on executive style of this administration and the failure to reform social security. It will be essential reading for anyone wishing to understand one of the most controversial administrations in recent years.

George C. Edwards IIIis Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University. He also holds the Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies in the Bush School, and has served as the Olin Professor of American Government at Oxford, the John Adams Fellow at the University of London, and held senior visiting appointments at Peking University, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was the founder and from 1991-2001 the director of The Center for Presidential Studies. One of the country's leading scholars of the presidency, he has authored dozens of articles and has written or edited 21 books on American politics and public policy making. He is also editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly and consulting editor ofThe OxflÁ