George H.W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush, possibly the most underestimated president of recent times, is my choice for the fifth spot. It is perhaps understandable why Bush Sr. is often excluded from most people's list of "great" U.S. Presidents; unlike "activist" presidents such as Franklin Roosevelt or his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, Bush carried out his job in a low-key manner but did his job competently. This is precisely why I have chosen him as one of the top five presidents because a president's job, in the words of Bush Sr. himself, does not always involve, "high drama, and the sound of trumpets" (Quoted by Rose, 1991, p. 307)
Bush Sr. became the President after having served the country in various positions such as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and to China, chair of the Republican National Committee, head of the CIA, and vice-president in the Reagan administration for eight years. He took the office when the Cold War was ending and the time called out for consolidation rather than radical change and this is what Bush provided to the country and the world. He did, however, work on a number of low-key, but important issues to put in place "the kinder and gentler politics" that he had promised during his election campaign. For example, he initiated the passing of the Disabilities Act of 1990, increased federal funding for education, child care, and advanced technology R&D, besides tackling the problem of a runaway budget deficit, albeit at the cost of his "no new taxes" promise and a fair amount of popularity. His most significant achievement, however, was on the foreign policy front when he managed to cobble together an unprecedented UN coalition to...
He was one of the youngest presidents in history (the same age as JFK when he took office, forty-three. He also was an avid outdoorsman and appreciative of the American West (he had a ranch in North Dakota), and his far-seeing vision created one of America's most enduring traditions, the U.S. Forest Service and protected wild lands. Roosevelt's accomplishments may not have been as well-known as some of the
4. Theodore Roosevelt A lion of a president and a bulldog of a man, I see him as courageous, moral, upright, and staunch. Roosevelt is famed for his many achievements, but the oen that I consider most important is his fight against the economic corruption and greedy businessmen of his country. Few presidents dared to oppose powerful capitalists who, in many ways held the country in the palms of their hands.
It was a poor policy at best, and the President's Cabinet approved the plan, even if he did not. In fact, Congress specifically denied the request to send money to the Contras, so it was done in secret, and this violated the law and the trust of the nation. It was dishonest, it was covert, and it cast a dark cloud over the presidency and Reagan's own motives. In comparison,
Presidential Power Do our Presidents have too much or not enough power? Why or why not? The President of the United States has the primary duty of ensuring that all U.S. laws are carried out properly and that the federal government runs effectively. He or she does not have the power to introduce or enforce new legislation; this power belongs to Congress. However, he or she is elected "for the people, by
" According to French (2009), some are of the opinion that avoiding groupthink is the main reason for Obama's assembly of apparent rivals in his cabinet. The author notes however that "healthy disagreement" is the best way to avoid groupthink rather than simply ensuring that there is no agreement within the group. Research Questions Several questions emerge from the research problem. The first revolves around President Obama's ability to maintain a paradigm
Presidents strive to respond to the will of the people. Sometimes politicians are hampered by the fact that the public may desire legislation that is unconstitutional or not feasible, but politicians do seem to strive towards making the public happy. Moreover, when there is a negative downturn in a party or president's popularity, the politicians seem especially likely to respond. "Negative public opinion can have a powerful impact on
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