1120 ★ CHAPTER 28 A New Century and New Crises
investigation. It revealed a pattern of brutality and deception, while conclud-
ing that no useful information had been obtained from tortured prisoners. It
detailed how doctors and psychologists, in violation of their professions’ ethics,
had supervised instances of torture and how the CIA had lied to President Bush
and Congress about the extent of the program. Torture, it concluded, did not
arise from the actions of a few “bad apples” but was systematically employed at
secret U.S. prisons around the world.
The Economy under Bush
During 2001, the economy slipped into a recession— that is, it contracted rather
than grew. Growth resumed at the end of the year, but, with businesses reluc-
tant to make new investments after the overexpansion of the 1990s, it failed
to generate new jobs. The sectors that had expanded the most in the previous
decade contracted rapidly. The computer industry slashed more than 40 per-
cent of its jobs during the first two years of the Bush presidency. But 90 percent
of the jobs lost during the recession of 2001–2002 were in manufacturing.
Despite the renewed spirit of patriotism, deindustrialization continued. Textile
firms closed southern plants and shifted production to cheap- labor factories in
China and India. Maytag, a manufacturer of washing machines, refrigerators,
and other home appliances, announced plans to close its factory in Galesburg,
Illinois, where wages averaged fifteen dollars per hour, to open a new one in
Mexico, where workers earned less than one- seventh that amount.
Even after economic recovery began, the problems of traditional industries
continued. Employment in steel— 520,000 in 1970—dropped to 120,000 by
- Late in 2005, facing declining profits and sales, major companies moved
to eliminate the remnants of the post– World War II “social contract,” in which
industries provided manufacturing workers with both high- paying jobs and
the promise that they would be provided for in old age. Many eliminated or
sharply reduced pensions and health benefits for retired workers. Bush became
the first president since Herbert Hoover to see the economy lose jobs over the
course of a four- year term.
THE WINDS OF CHANGE
The 2004 Election
With Bush’s popularity sliding because of the war in Iraq and a widespread sense
that many Americans were not benefiting from economic growth, Democrats in
2004 sensed a golden opportunity to retake the White House. They nominated