Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II

Chapter Eight: George W. BushTh e Nationalist as Interventionist

Chapter Eight George W. Bush The Nationalist as Interventionist President George W. Bush followed a path of “big government conservatism ” both at home and abroad. He presided over major increases in domestic social spending, as well as a sweepingly ambitious attempt to democratize the Middle East. Neither of these legacies would necessarily have been predictable from his  presidential campaign, which emphasized conservatism at home and extra caution regarding nationbuilding missions overseas. Still, the kernels of Bush’s distinctive governing approach were there from the start. In domestic policy, Bush was a self-described “compassionate conservative,” confident that governmental power could be used to morally worthy ends. In foreign policy he was an instinctive American nationalist, believing in his country’s global mission and favoring an uncompromising approach toward U.S. adversaries. Prior to the terrorist attacks of September , Bush was skeptical toward arguments for military intervention overseas. After the impact of those attacks, he embraced a declared national security strategy of regime change, democratization, and preventive warfare in relation to potential threats. Iraq was turned into the main proving ground for this high-risk and in many ways idealistic strategy. Under Bush’s ultimate guidance, the invasion and early occupation of Iraq were conducted with boundless optimism, inattention to local circumstance, and a serious lack of preparation for postwar reconstruction, counterinsurgency , and stability operations. This lack of preparation in turn encouraged the rise of widespread sectarian violence in that country. Bush eventually corrected his mistakes by embracing a strengthening and reordering of U.S. efforts inside Iraq. The surge, as it was called, rescued  C H A P T E R E I G H T Iraqis from continued descent into civil war and disaster, but it did not entirely rescue the Republican Party from association with an initially mismanaged war. Bush’s political and ideological legacy to conservatives was consequently more mixed, disorienting, and uncertain than he would have liked, despite numerous underappreciated successes in foreign policy and counterterrorism efforts. c George W. Bush was more a product of Texas than his father had ever been. Although born in Connecticut in , George W. was raised in Midland, attending public elementary school and imbibing the social mores of a conservative, religious, Sun Belt oil town. The young Bush’s experience at elite eastern private institutions—first Andover, then Yale— was not entirely happy. He was a lackluster student, resentful of perceived East Coast snobbery and contemptuous of s campus activism . Yet early on he showed qualities of irrepressible gregariousness that made him a natural politician. Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard, then completed an MBA at Harvard. He went into the oil business but never made much money from it. Nor was he successful in his  run for Congress. For several years his life appeared rather rambunctious and directionless, especially in contrast to his accomplished father’s. Then he moved toward greater stability. First he married Laura Walker and became a devoted family man. Then he began to reflect on his own Christian convictions and practices with much greater seriousness . In , he swore off alcohol entirely. Bush found that the rigor imparted through familial and religious commitment could be both calming and empowering. He channeled his newfound self-discipline into supporting his father’s political ambitions, acting as a conduit to religious conservatives during the  presidential campaign. He gained an unequaled apprenticeship in the gritty realities of modern electoral politics by observing and participating in his father’s career. Along the way, he drew several important lessons and developed inclinations that would help guide him politically: the need to define one’s own agenda, an aptitude for personal politics, a determination to focus on essentials, and a refusal to be outflanked from the right. Bush finally found business success by becoming managing general partner of the G E O R G E W. B U S H  Texas Rangers, a job to which he was well-suited. The position offered cash, publicity, and credibility, acting as a springboard for an independent political career. In  he ran for governor of Texas against an incumbent Democrat, the feisty Ann Richards. Bush refused to trade personal insults with Richards. Instead he ran a highly disciplined, successful challenge against her by presenting a sincere, engaging demeanor and focusing on a few well-chosen issues, such as welfare, crime, and education. As governor, Bush worked with Texas Democrats to pass legislation...