Term Paper on "Barack Obama in Political Time"

Term Paper 12 pages (3373 words) Sources: 8

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Barack Obama in Political Time

Renowned expert named Stephen Skowronek's visions have basically changed our accepting of the American position. His "political time" thesis has been chiefly powerful, enlightening how presidents would be able to calculate with the work of their precursors, position their power within current political actions, and being able to assert their power in the facility of change. In the unique version of his book, Skowronek reexamined that thesis to make better intellect of the presidencies of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and. In the new edition of the book, he also talks about the first two years of Barack Obama's premiership.

On the day before of his first State of the Union Message, it really appears as though Barack Obama has made the decision to not try and become a president that is reconstructive. As an alternative, he appears that that the basic expectations of American politics still remain set by the preceding reconstructive presidency, that of Ronald Reagan, and he is eager to work inside them. To some they would it made Obama look a little more like Grover Cleveland Bill Clinton, and Richard Nixon, and less like the previous president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He develops, in Steve Skowronek's relations, a preemptive president that is working within a political administration that is mainly aggressive to his aims, accommodating its basic evidences and making moderately minor changes.

Numerous individuals, myself encompassed, assumed that the 2008 election could possibly bring in the conclusion of the Reagan alliance and generate the occasion for a rebuilding of American political expectations, led by a reconstructive President. But Obama has mainly challenged these prospects.

The Defining Features of Skowroneka

In defining the features of presidential researcher Stephen Skowronek, it is safe to say the he is a man that contends that American party-political history is actually marked by the increase and descent of regimes. The assets of these governments recede and flow, nonetheless all will eventually fight and fail. Every president moves into the White Office either allied with, or in opposition to, an assumed regime.

Skowroneka's Four Principle Leadership Categories

The four Reconstructive presidents are the ones that come to power but opposed to an existing alliance at a time when its administration is deteriorated and its legality questioned. These kind leaders face a fortuitous opportunity which was structured. Disjunctive presidents are the ones that come to office united with a current regime at a time when its legality has come into queries. These presidents could in actuality have soley the most tenuous link with their government as initially built. This "regime drift" is a usual outcome on continuing decay of a long recognized alliance and the movements of the disjunctive president will possibly serve to additional portion the regimes existing coalition -- therefore setting the stage for a reconstructive chance. Articulation presidents embody the vast mainstream of American presidents; they enter office allied with a still strong government. To them falls the frequently stimulating task of maintaining a political order established by the president that constructed the present political order. Preemptive presidents are the ones that enter office in what Skowronek denotes to as the "most curious of all leadership situations."

Politics of George W. Bush

When it comes down to playing politics, Bush played quite a game. George Bush played the game of politics different from other presidents. George Bush supports enacting generous tax cuts in the model of Ronald Reagan's supply-side fiscal policies. He believes this helps the economy at large. When it came down to things like the environment, Bush opposed the Kyoto Protocol, saying that the treaty neglected and exempted 80% of the world's population (Brose) and would have cost tens of billions of dollars per year (Amstutz). Bush announced the Clear Skies Act of 2003, (Amstutz) aimed at amending the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution through the use of emissions trading programs. The initiative was introduced to Congress, but failed to make it out of committee.

Bush has said that global warming is real (Brose) and has noted that it is a serious problem, but he asserts there is a "debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused." (Jacobson, 2010). He announced plans to reaffirm the United States' commitment to work with major economies, and, through the United Nations, to complete an international agreement that will slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases; he stated, "this agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride."

When it came to things like LGBT issues, Bush opposes same-sex marriage. During his 2004 reelection campaign, he called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage in the United States but allow for the possibility of civil unions on the state level (Amstutz, 2011). He also stated in the famous Wead tapes that he would not "kick gays" and worried his refusal to do so might upset his evangelical supporters, and that "I think it is bad for Republicans to be kicking gays. "When it came to issues like abortion, Bush has a strong pro-life stance, consistently opposing abortion while supporting parental notification for minor girls who want abortions, the Mexico City Policy, a ban on intact dilation and extraction (commonly known as partial-birth abortion), adoption tax credits, and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Brose, 2009).

When it came to things like the Anti-terrorism and domestic surveillance Bush is a supporter of anti-terrorist surveillance and information-gathering methods (see U.S. PATRIOT Act).

With the Habeas Corpus on November 13, 2001, Presidential Military Order gave the President of the United States the power to detain suspects, suspected of connection to terrorists or terrorism as an unlawful combatant. As such, it was asserted that a person could be held indefinitely without charges being filed against him or her, without a court hearing, and without entitlement to a legal consultant. Many legal and constitutional scholars contended that these provisions were in direct opposition to habeas corpus and the United States Bill of Rights (Jacobson, 2010).

Small thing like flag burning Bush supports a constitutional amendment banning flag burning.[citation needed] Same thing when it came down to Gun control, it appeared that Bush while has supported regulated gun control, he generally supports guns; in June 1999 he said he opposed requiring child-safety locks on guns; and supported concealed carrying permits. As far as things like foreign policy, George had a lot of influence, for example, with the Iraqi War, on March 19, 2003; Bush ordered an invasion of Iraq, launching the Iraq War. That night, he addressed the nation, stating that he decided to invade Iraq "to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger"(Tama, 2011). The United States and its allies charged that Saddam Hussein's government possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and thus posed a serious and imminent threat to the security of the United States and its coalition allies (Jacobson, 2010). This assessment was supported by the U.K. intelligence services, but not by other countries such as France, Russia and Germany (Brose, 2009).

With things like the economic policies, George Bush supports nuclear power and expanded domestic drilling. (Jacobson, 2010) Bush pledged to work toward reduced reliance on foreign oil by reducing fossil fuel consumption and increasing alternative fuel production. (Tama, 2011)He lifted a ban on offshore drilling in 2008, (Yin, 2011) and said at the time, "This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil reserves is action from the U.S. Congress." (Tama, 2011) Bush had said in June 2008, "In the long run, the solution is to reduce demand for oil by promoting alternative energy technologies. My administration has worked with Congress to invest in gas-saving technologies like advanced batteries and hydrogen fuel cells... In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil. And that means we need to increase supply, especially here at home. So my administration has repeatedly called on Congress to expand domestic oil production." (Yin, 2011)

In 2008, Bush announced that the United States would commit $2 billion towards an international fund to promote clean energy technologies, saying, "along with contributions from other countries, this fund will increase and accelerate the deployment of all forms of cleaner, more efficient technologies in developing nations like India and China, and help leverage substantial private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially attractive."

When we look back someday at the catastrophe that was the Bush administration, we will think of many things: the tragedy of the Iraq war, the shame of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, the erosion of civil liberties. The damage done to the American economy does not make front-page headlines every day, but the repercussions will be felt beyond the lifetime of anyone reading this page.

I can hear an irritated counterthrust already. The president has not driven the United States into a recession… READ MORE

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