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Bush's Days: 100 and Counting
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15989 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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7 / 1989 |
2,226 Words |
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Bill Whalen
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Ask most Americans what line they remember from John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address and the response is uniform: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Ask George Bush which of Kennedy's lines he remembers and the answer might be different: "All this will not be finished in the first hundred days."
Since Franklin D. Roosevelt swept into office in 1933 and unleashed a dramatic series of domestic and economic proposals in his first three moths as president, subsequent chiefs if state have labored under the pressure to produce results in their first 100 days in power. Some presidents have succeeded by this yardstick: Ronald Reagan, for instance, began his full-court press on Congress for changes in taxes and defense, aided in part by his ability to survive an assassination attempt. Other presidents have gotten off on the wrong foot in their first 100 days, never to recover their prestige: Jimmy Carter kicked off his lone term by banning the playing of "Hail to the Chief" in his honor and asking the nation to turn down its thermostats to 65 degrees.
Now there is George Bush, whose nascent presidency seems to defy both categories. In his first 100 days, President Bush introduced legislation to overhaul the financially beleaguered savings & loan industry, approved accords with Congress on the Nicaraguan Contras, and decided to move ahead with development on both the MX and Midgetman missile systems. At the same time, however, Bush delayed action on other contentious issues, such as U.S. reaction to the reforms of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and the massive demonstration in China.
It is this combination of caution and ability only to react to preexisting problems that worries students of the presidency. Coming on the heels of a presidency that was aggressive in its approach to both domestic and foreign policy, Bush seems determined to define himself as the consummate reactive president: Problems are solved, but only after they reach the Oval Office and register in public opinion polls. For proof, witness Bush's moves on the Alaskan oil spill and assault weapons--both issues that he chose to ignore at first, then acted upon after public sentiment compelled presidential intervention.
Not surprisingly, Bush's performance has earned mixed reviews. Gallup polls show Bush with an approval rating in the same ballpark at the 100-day mark as Richard Nixon and Carter, but the public is less enamored of Bush as president than they were eight years ago when he was the new vice president. A Los Angeles Times poll of voters gave Bush a 'C', suggesting a solid yet unspectacular performance after the first three months. The Times survey is classic good news-bad news: three-fourths of the respondents said they liked him personally, yet only one-fourth said they "have a good idea [of] where George Bush wants to lead the country."
Bush himself says he wants his presidency judged not by what it did in 100 days but what it will do in getting the nation prepared for the year 2000, agreeing in essence with Kennedy's line about "not finishing in the first 100 days." At this point, however, the critical question is: When will the Bush presidency get started?
"It's not as though we've got a country out there just holding its breath, waiting for the president to do some bold, innovative things,"
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