Bush Case Study
Case Study in Decision Making

Onlookers often assume that a man who has a firm mindset, and a strong will does not go through what onlookers would consider a "traditional decision making process" Men with strong minds, and a sense of moral right and wrong often take much more time considering a course of action than other who make decisions based on personal agendas. Men with moral mindsets are simply not easily persuaded once a new decision is firmly made on the basis of what the decision make considers moral grounds. For the moral decision maker, the moral right and wrong of a situation dictate the course of action once the somewhat rigid boundaries are crossed. It is the moral absolutism which the on looking world does not understand.

When George W. Bush decided that the country would go to war against those responsible for the 9-11 attacks on our…...

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The buck stops here: The Bush administration at war

Journal article by Bob Woodward; Harvard International Review, Vol. 25, 2003

Woodward, 2003

ith the production of Dolly, we also entered a vast technological frontier of possibilities. The cloned sheep "was born after nuclear transfer from a mammary gland cell, the first mammal to develop from a cell derived from adult tissue." Taking a cell containing 98 per cent of the DNA, or its genetic blueprint, from the udder of a six-year-old adult sheep, they fused it to the egg of another sheep to produce a lamb that is virtually an exact copy." (Marsh, 1) Equally as groundbreaking as the creation of the world's first clone was the implication of its process, which indicated that there is a way to employ adult cells, already differentiated and specialized to their own organic functions, in order to fabricate new, un-differentiated genetic material. For researchers battling such diseases as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and paralysis all around the world, such a possibility began to hint at countless…...

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Works Cited:

Albu, M. (2004). Bush's gay marriage ban is unjust. The Channels Online. Online at  http://media.www.thechannelsonline.com/media/storage/paper669/news/2004/03/03/Opinion/Editorial.Bushs.Gay.Marriage.Ban.Is.Unjust-625066.shtml 

Bazinet, K.R. (2009). President Obama Reverses Bush's Stem Cell Research Ban; Debate Rages Along Abortion Fault Lines. New York Daily News. Online at  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/03/09/2009-03-09_president_obama_reverses_bushs_stem_cell.html 

Campbell, D.E. (2007). A Matter of Faith: Religion in the 2004 Presidential Election. The Brookings Institute.

Chaddock, G.R. (2006). Veto Clash Looms for Stem Cell Bill.

The most worrying aspect in this case is the fact that the Patriot Act seems to be endangering some of the fundamental liberties of the American individual. The motivation seems simple: the country is at war and, in any such conditions, it is allowed to resort to all means to achieve victory. On the other hand, the fact that certain governmental practices (many of which have probably been going on in the past, but had never been exposed) are now out in the open and even regulated.

The case of the American citizen Yaser Hamdi is quintessential for the application of policies in times of war. Yaser Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan, deemed to be a member of al Qaeda and was categorized as an "enemy combatant." He had been held imprisoned without being charged for almost two years, with no access to attorneys or trials.

His case brings about the dilemma…...

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Bibliography

1. Cassel, Elaine. Yaser Hamdi gets a lawyer: he just can't do anything. December 2003. On the Internet at  http://buffaloreport.com/articles/031207.cassel.hamdi.html 

 

ush Administration's Section 8 voucher program may be to limit the number of lower-income people who can enter the housing market for the first time. ush's plan reduces the amount of money available to rehabilitate multi-housing buildings. That will reduce the number of multi-housing buildings available to be bought and sold in the real estate market (Castellanet, 2003).
In addition, the plan would limit the amount of money available to pay rent in improved housing (Castellanet, 2003). This could reduce the attractiveness of buying depressed housing for the purpose of renovating it and making it either more salable or more rentable, because the owners would have more difficulty renting the units.

The ush administration maintains that too much fraud is present in the current program (Goldstein, 2003), and wants to turn control of Section 8 housing over to the individual states. It is not clear how this would reduce fraud, as…...

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Bibliography

Castellanet, Craig. 2003. "NHLP Preservation e-News #3." National Housing Law Project, Oct. 27. Accessed via the Internet 10/27/03.  http://www.nhlp.org/html/pres/email/pres_3.htm 

Goldstein, David. 2003. "Bush plans scrapping HUD 'section 8' voucher program for state grants." Northern Illinois University (Knight-Kidder News Service). Accessed via the Internet 10/27/03. http://www.star.niu.edu/national/articles/050503-bush.asp

As President ush argued, the intervention set forth a mission to "to bring freedom to the Middle East, a freedom that wasn't "America's gift to the world," but "God's gift to mankind." (Smoltczyk and Zand, 2010)
The dilemma appears from the fact that morality seats on rules, and these were not respected. If one would take as fair and moral for states to invade others that do not preserve international human rights, for example, the international system would transform itself into an anarchy. There is no higher authority that can identity those that are meant to exercise power over others as all is a matter of perception and information. If no such higher power exists, the international system has to adapt and create new types of morals. An ethics of nation building and re-building might be a solution, as episodes like the Iraq invasion might happen again. As Noah Feldman…...

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Bibliography

Berman, E. et. al. 2010. Human Resource. Management in Public Service, Sage Publications

Smoltczyk, a and Zand, B. 2010. "A 'Dumb War' Taking Stock of the Iraq Invasion," Spiegel Online International retrieved on 5th December 2010 from  http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,725090,00.html 

Feldman, N. 2004 "What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building," the New York Times, retrieved on 5th December 2010 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/books/chapters/1114-1st-feldman.html?_r=1

Bush administration's crowning contribution to the American educational system was to be the program known as "No Child Left Behind," however, from its beginning the program has been the subject of acrimonious debate with many educators arguing that it must be abandoned. Those educators advocating against the program argue that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is fundamentally flawed and is punitive in nature and results in too many schools being identified as failures and that such schools are subsequently sanctioned. Sanctions that publicly embarrass the school and vindicate anyone associated with the school. These educators suggest that a better approach would be the enactment of a law and establishment of an educational program that is supportive of school improvement and is truly dedicated to leaving no child behind.
In theory, many of the educational concepts supposedly promoted by the NCLB program are admirable and largely concepts which few can oppose.…...

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References

Darling-Hammond, L. (2007). Evaluating 'No Child Left Behind'. The Nation, 1-7.

DeBray-Pelot, E. (2009). The New Politics of Education: Analyzing the Federal Education Policy Landscape in the Post NCLB Era. Educational Policy Journal, 15-42.

Fusarelli, L.D. (2004). The Potential Impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on Equity and Diversity in American Education. Educational Policy Journal, 71-94.

Gatto, J.T. (2010, June 19). Against School. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from LewRockwell.com:  http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/gatto1.1.1.html

Instead a violent transfer of power occurred, in 2004, with an armed rebellion led by former military and paramilitary leaders sweeping through the country, all with the veiled support of the Bush administration of the supposedly non-violent political opposition parties ("The International epublican Institute").
In this most recent Haiti operation, in 2004, the U.S. Treasury Undersecretary, John Taylor, noted that the United States would contribute $232 million and the Inter-American Development Bank would contribute $400 million. However, American federal funds had already been flowing into the country since the late 1990s. Through the II, $3 million had already been funneled into Haiti in an effort to destabilize Aristide, mostly funds from taxpayer money from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Harsh sanctions, coupled with the II's training of Aristide's political opponents and the rejection of internationally-sanctioned power sharing agreements, escalated the Haitian political crisis to the eventual political coup that…...

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References

Did the Bush Administration Allow a Network of Right-Wing Republicans to Foment a Violent Coup in Haiti?" Africa Speaks. 20 July 2004. Democracynow.org. December 30, 2006  http://www.africaspeaks.com/haiti2004/2007.html .

The International Republican Institute: Promulgating Democracy of Another Variety." Council on Hemispheric Affairs. 15 Jul 2004. Council on Hemispheric Affairs. December 30, 2006 http://www.coha.org/2004/07/15/the-international-republican-institute-promulgating-democracy-of-another-variety/.

IRI Home Page. 2005. International Republican Institute. December 30, 2006  http://www.iri.org/ .

Robinson, Randall. "Bushwhacked in the Caribbean: America's Contempt for the World." Africa Speaks. 22 May 2004. Africa Speaks. December 30, 2006  http://www.africaspeaks.com/haiti2004/2205.html .

Soon U.S. invasion Afghanistan 2001, Bush administration developed a plan holding interrogating prisoners
Niday, I.A. (2008). "The War against Terror as War against the Constitution." Canadian Review of American Studies, 38(1), 101-117.

There are a number of essential elements that make up the article written by Jackson A. Niday, "The War against Terror as War against the Constitution." The principle point of this article is to explore the question of whether or not the civil rights of Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was a United States and Saudia Arabian citizen detained at Guantanamo Bay during 2002 after being captured in Afghanistan in the initial stages of the War on Terror, were violated. While seeking to answer this question, the author examines the 2004 Supreme Court lawsuit Hamdi v. Rumsfield in which legal counsel on behalf of Hamdi alleged that his rights were violated as a U.S. citizen -- particularly his right to habeas…...

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One of the fundamental questions I have after thoroughly reading this article is a point that was made in the abstract and was not quite sufficiently explained in the rest of the body of the paper. Specifically, it has to do with the legal philosophy known as pragmatism. I do not understand what this concept is and could not find a sufficient explanation in the remainder of the paper. I would like to know why the author claims that pragmatism was forsaken for "judicial and constitutional coherency" (Niday, 2008, p. 101).

Thesis Statement:

An examination of a number of sources regarding various facets of the domestic and foreign policy propagated by the U.S. government unequivocally reveals that there is a definite incongruence with the values of liberty and justice that is reserved for conventional U.S. citizens, and that which is reserved for people from other parts of the globe. Quite simply, many of the notions that the U.S. contends to champion and preserve for its own people, it directly violates for the citizens in other parts of the world.

[…] With the U.S. now mired in a Mesopotamian morass because of what is described as a 'unilateralist' foreign policy, the UN's multilateralist approach is gaining unearned prestige and unwarranted credibility" (Grigg, 2006). While the UN might not have masterminded the war, they certainly participated in the events that led up to the invasion, so they did play an important role in arguments for the invasion, and now they are benefiting, which does not seem right, somehow.
Many members of NATO, including France, Germany, and Belgium opposed the war, and they protested sending any NATO troops into Iraq for any cause. Another writer notes, in July during a trip to Washington, obertson told U.S. lawmakers that NATO would not go beyond providing logistical support for the Polish-led force in Iraq" (Dettmer, 2003). The Polish forces were peacekeepers sent in to assist British and American forces. While NATO seems to have…...

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References

Dettmer, J. (2003). NATO suffering from identity crisis. Retrieved 7 May 2010 from the FindArticles.com Web site:  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_2003_Sept_16/ai_107543546/ .

Editors. (2004). The invasion of Iraq. Retrieved 7 May 2010 from the Frontline Web site:

 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/etc./synopsis.html .

Grigg, W.N. (2006, January 9). Bring 'em home! The New American, 22, 12+.

Condoleezza Rice's current job title is Secretary to the President on National Security Affairs. This job is alternatively called "National Security Advisor." She was appointed to this position by President George W. ush after his inauguration in January 2000. This appointment was historic. This is the first time a woman and an African-American has a position of national importance. (Wade, 2003)
The 48-year-old Dr. Rice brings to the position impeccable credentials. She is a brilliant tactician and considered a genius in foreign affairs and matters of National Security. In 1989, she was director of Soviet and East European affairs with the National Security Council. She also was appointed special assistant President George ush (Sr.) for national security affairs. She was senior director for Soviet affairs at the National Security Council at a critical moment in World History when glasnost and perestroika were just taking root in the former Soviet Union. Dr.…...

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Bibliography

Dao, James. "Rice More Ally Than Enemy to Former General Powell." Sydney Morning Herald June 30, 2003.  http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/29/1056825280095.html 

ExpandNATO.org. The Biography of Dr. Condoleezza Rice. 2003. 2003. ExpandNATO.org. Available:

  August 20, 2003.http://www.expandnato.org/ricebio.html .

King, John. Dr. Condoleezza Rice Discusses the Roadmap for Peace in the Middle East. 2003. State.Gov. Available:

S. soldiers of the 4th Armored Infantry Division. He surrendered, spitting and cursing -- in French, reportedly." (Dale, 2003)
Somehow the president survived the recent election and many democrats have hinted that maybe the fix was in again. No matter, the president survived and his approval rating were down, they were high enough to beat Senator Kerry and the Democrats.

Date Organization Approve Disapprove No Opinion Sample Size Notes 11/7-10/04

Gallup

LAT

Exiting Voters

Democracy Corps

Marist

GW/Battleground

LV (the oper Center, 2004)

Media

Media coverage of the Bush administration has been too busy jumping from one topic to the next so there has been little overall damage to the Bush administration. When ever the situation gets too hot there seems to be a new story to take the heat off of the last one. Unlike the Monica Lewinski situation for Bill Clinton, there has yet to be a sustained direct attack on the Bush administration. The war on Iraq, the…...

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References

Dale, Helle (December 17, 2003). Saddam Found. The Washington Times

The Roper Center. (n.d.). General Approval Trend for President Bush (2001-). Retrieved on November 24, 2004, at (the Roper Center, 2004)http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/Roperweb/PresJob/PresJob.htx;start=HS_fullresults?pr=Bush

President

The Bush administration has not welcomed dissenting opinions or multiple points-of-view because ostensibly it is "easier and more efficient" to act unilaterally and bypass the bureaucracies of multinational organizations like the United Nations. Thus, a seemingly blatant disregard for the input and opinions of other nations has characterized the Bush Revolution and has drawn criticism from foreign leaders.
The Bush Revolution reflects the cowboy mentality also through its spirit of independence. In principle, acting unilaterally and independently helps to quickly and efficiently accomplish American goals. Yet one of the consequences of the Bush Revolution is that unilateral action could also isolate the United States in the long run and could in fact work against the nation through the development of the anti-American sentiment that fuels terrorism in the first place. For example, to outright refuse to participate in any multilateral coalition on principle signifies arrogance, not wisdom, in the eyes…...

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Works Cited

Daalder, I.H.. "Bush's Foreign Policy Revolution: A Radical Change." Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. Sept 2004. Retrieved Sept 17, 2006 at  http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/daalder/20040926.htm 

Daalder, I.H. & Lindsay, J.M. "America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy." The Brookings Review 21(4) Fall 2003, p. 206. Retrieved Sept 17, 2006 online at  http://www.brookings.edu/press/review/fal2003/daalder.htm 

Daalder, I.H. & Lindsay, J.M "The Bush Revolution: The Remaking of America's Foreign Policy." The Brookings Institute. May 2003. Retrieved Sept 17, 2006 at  http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/about/pdfs/bush_revolution.pdf#search=%22bush%20revolution%22 

Daalder & Lindsay "America Unbound."

Bush's Invasion Of Iraq
At the first whisper of invading Iraq, there have been expressions of concern and outrage the world over. In September 2002, Nelson Mandela said of the Bush administration, "They think they're the only power in the world ... they're following a dangerous policy, One country wants to bully the world ... e must not allow that" (Bleier Pp). The next day on September 23rd, Al Gore, sharply criticized Bush's plan to invade and complained that he "is proclaiming a new, uniquely American right to preemptively attack whosoever he may deem represents future threat" (Bleier Pp). In December 2002, Ronald Bleier wrote in "Middle East Policy" that Bush's determination to attack Iraq "absent a legitimate casus belli" and his administration's signals of embarking on a course of "perpetual war suggest that world civilization is facing a threat similar in significant ways to the one it faced 60 years…...

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Work Cited

Bleier, Ronald. "Invading Iraq: the road to perpetual war. Middle East Policy;

12/1/2002; Pp.

"What U.S. Newspapers are Saying." United Press International; 8/3/2002; Pp.

"Question of credibility." The Register-Guard; 6/18/2004; Pp.

ush and Iraq
According to the original reasoning behind ush's war on Iraq, Saddam Hussein's regime posed a terrorist threat to the free world, however (subsequent to evidence emerging in the press that this threat was exaggerated, if not fabricated) in more recent statements the ush administration has strongly implied that the war was justified not on the basis of freeing the world of terrorists but because Hussein was a brutal dictator and Iraq needed to be freed from his rule. The idea that the war on terror is actually a war to bring democracy to the world is one which may coincide somewhat with the controversial ideas espoused by Fukuyama, who taught that History (which is to say the evolution of society, not the happening of events) would end when all nations were converted to western liberal democracies and engaged in the global consumerist culture. Perhaps, some might argue, the…...

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Bibliography

Glaser, James. "Puppet governments don't need fair and honest elections" Reader Weekly, Issue 286, September 30, 2004.

Hersh, Seymour. 'Selective Intelligence', The New Yorker, Oct 14, 2003

Kaplan, Robert. 'Calling Out Colin', Slate 2003.

ush's State Of The Union Address
Critically analyzing U.S. President George W. ush's State of the Union Address in 2003, it is evident that the rhetoric of fear dominates his speech. Using the rhetoric fear is the speaker's way of extending to the public that the issue being discussed at hand is not only of great importance to the ush Administration, but to the whole nation of United States as well. Evidence of the use of this kind of rhetoric is initially established in the first part of the speech. The speaker enumerates a list of the potential dangers that the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein poses for the security of the country and the whole world. ush mentions statistics to give validity to his claims, mentioning from time to time the active participation and cooperation of the United Nations (UN) with the ush administration in order to assess and gauge the…...

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Bush's State Of The Union Address

Critically analyzing U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address in 2003, it is evident that the rhetoric of fear dominates his speech. Using the rhetoric fear is the speaker's way of extending to the public that the issue being discussed at hand is not only of great importance to the Bush Administration, but to the whole nation of United States as well. Evidence of the use of this kind of rhetoric is initially established in the first part of the speech. The speaker enumerates a list of the potential dangers that the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein poses for the security of the country and the whole world. Bush mentions statistics to give validity to his claims, mentioning from time to time the active participation and cooperation of the United Nations (UN) with the Bush administration in order to assess and gauge the security threat that Hussein presents to the country. Examples of instances wherein the rhetoric of fear is evident is in the speaker's use of terms used in describing chemical and biological forms of warfare, such as "25,000 liters of anthrax," "38,000 liters of botulinum toxin," "500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent," and "30,00 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents." In order to alleviate the state of emotional fear that his speech may entice, Bush also used subtle forms of the rhetoric of fear, informing his audience about the bigger implication that the statistics about biological and chemical warfare may mean to the citizenry -- that is, that these statistics show that Hussein has made every measure possible in order to "intimidate" the security of its enemy nation, the United States. The speech ends with a resolution to continue with the war the country has waged against the Iraqi president, and this time, Bush mentions the large participation and role of the UN Security Council in the administration's pursuit to maintain the country and world's security from further terrorist attacks.