Analysis of Bush's Second Term

As the Bush Administration ends in less than a week, it is an appropriate time to analyse the 43rd President's historical legacy.

Second presidential terms are never better than first terms, and are seldom even as good as first terms, for various reasons. For example, presidents tend to accomplish their most significant goals early on. People tend to tire of their leader, especially in this era of overexposure in the media. The party of the incumbent president tends to lose seats in Congress. Misfortune from external forces often contributes to the sense of disaster that characterizes typical second terms.

George W. Bush suffered a loss of popularity in his second term in particular because of his failure to obtain his major second term goal of Social Security reform, as well as public impatience with the war in Iraq, his Administration's perceived incompetence in responding to Hurricane Katrina, and economic problems beyond his responsibility or control, namely higher prices for oil and the collapse of the housing market.

The 2008 presidential election seems to confirm Bush’s loss of popularity – and even suggests a public repudiation of Bush’s second term. However, he did accomplish much good in his last four years in office. Among other accomplishments, in addition to continuing successfully the War on Terrorism and advancing the cause of freedom, Bush implemented missile defense, obtained the expansion of NATO, improved relations with Africa and India, won ratification of several free trade agreements and expanded trade to record levels, made two great appointments to the Supreme Court, ended the moratorium on off-shore drilling for oil, and responded to the fiscal crisis with alacrity.

In short, although Bush’s second term may or may not have been as successful as his first – it was not the disaster that public perception suggests, other than politically. In terms of the signficance of his accomplishments, despite his loss of popularity and the election defeats suffered by his party as a result, Bush’s second term was one of the most successful of any
two-term president in history.

Soon, I shall analyse Bush's entire presidency in an upcoming post.