Chapter 16, Conclusion: The Legacy of George W. Bush

Before George W. Bush was elected as president of the United States, he projected a presidency of extraordinary ambition. Bush hated the ‘small ball’ and his advisers consistently labelled him a ‘transformative president’. The ambitious rhetoric was backed by aspirations to institute major policy reforms. In foreign policy, Bush attempted a spectacular redirection of America's priorities and of its methods. In economic policy, he pursued an agenda of substantial tax cuts and extensive deregulation. In social policy, he launched radical reforms under the ‘compassionate conservative’ label, trying to co-opt traditionally Democratic Party policy areas such as Medicare, education and Social Security. These reforms, Bush hoped, would change his Republican Party's direction and image, trigger a realignment of the American electorate and create a permanent Republican majority. At the completion of Bush's second term, it became legitimate to ask to what degree Bush had achieved these high goals and to identify the inheritance he passed on to his successor.