180 Presidential politics
way than in most recent administrations. The events of 11 September 2001
emphasised the role of the president as the leader of the nation in time of cri-
sis. However, Bush’s second term saw him come up against increasing resist-
ance from his own party in Congress, partly because the problems of the war
in Iraq resulted in his public approval rating dropping to 36 per cent, partly
because some of his policies disappointed important sections of the Republi-
can Party. They were unhappy about the reform of the Social Security system,
the changes made to Medicare and the president’s proposals on immigration.
In 2006 the president was faced with a serious revolt by the Republican Party
in the House of Representatives over the administration’s approval of the
intention of a company based in Dubai to take over control of a number of US
ports, including the Port of New York. Opposition to the plan was voiced in
Congress, on security grounds, but President Bush announced that he would
veto any legislative proposals to block the takeover. The reaction in Congress
was intense. The Appropriations Committee of the House voted sixty-two to
two against the plan. The situation was retrieved only by the Dubai company
announcing that it would withdraw from its planned takeover. Significantly,
however, this event triggered expressions of considerable dissatisfaction with
the way in which the White House had treated Republicans in both House
and Senate. It might be, therefore, that the general characteristics of the
American political system were reasserting themselves.
Finally, the organisational changes that have been made since 1939 to
help the president in attempting to deal with Congress and to coordinate
the administration have resulted in greater isolation from the day-to-day
political life of the country. The machinery of the White House Office can be
a vital tool with which a president can direct a national campaign to imple-
ment the administration’s policies – at the other extreme it can be a wall
between the president and those who wish, quite legitimately, to influence
the federal government. In the period 1971–4 all these factors, long-term
and short-term, institutional and personal, combined to create a situation
in which the president, isolated and aloof from the political life around him,
allowed or encouraged his closest political aides to undertake acts that led
them to convictions and prison sentences, and led to his own resignation.
The same was true of the Iran–Contra affair during the administration of
President Reagan. Similar concerns have been expressed about the working
of the White House under President George W. Bush in his dealings with the
Congress. The problems of policy formulation and execution in this situation
will be explored in later chapters.
Further reading
Gould, L.L. (2003) The Modern American Presidency, Lawrence, KS: The Press of the
University of Kansas.
Jones, C. (1994) The Presidency in a Separated System, Washington, DC: Brookings.