How effectively have president's achieved their aims Flashcards
What two things must we do when answering this question?
Understand the context of the presidency and understand how ambitious their aims were
What will we see about the relationship between these aims and the constitution?
That some of these president’s aims have been effected by the checks and balances within the constitution more than others’
What two things will president’s ultimately be judged on?
How well they fulfilled their campaign promises and how well they dealt with unexpected events
What forced Bush to shift his focus away from domestic policy, as he had intended?
9/11
How did Trump face two big issues at the same time in 2020?
He had to deal with COVID and the fallout of the death of George Floyd
What is it not always possible for a president to do?
Deliver on campaign pledges
What must we consider before making judgements about a president?
The difficulties they faced
How has the rise of partisanship since 1992 been damaging for the president?
It has made bipartisan cooperation much less frequent, which means that if the president faces divided government, their opportunities to pass proposed legislation will be limited
What can the ideological stalemate lead to in the extreme?
Gridlock and government shutdowns
What three main domestic policies did the Clinton presidency focus on?
Economic growth, affordable healthcare and expanding citizens rights
Why can the Clinton presidency be seen as a kind of abberration?
Because he did not have to deal with the Cold War like his predecessors and he did not have to deal with any major terrorist threats like his successors, so there was no major threat to global stability
Which former president was he advised by?
Nixon
Describe his healthcare aims
Achieving healthcare reform was supposed to be the jewel in the crown for the Clinton administration
What did Clinton himself say about this aim?
‘If I don’t get healthcare done, I’ll wish I’d have never run for president’
What did Kruse and Zelizer argue about Clinton’s success here in 2019?
That it was a daunting reform to pass, but the administration still deserves the criticism it gets here, as it failed to achieve its key aim
Why did Clinton not have a clear mandate?
Because he only received 43.3% of the popular vote
What was the main structural issue that got in the way of him passing the reform?
The fact that he only enjoyed unified government for the first 2 years of his presidency, with divided government making the reform impossible to achieve
Why was putting Hilary in charge of the reform a mistake?
Because he favoured someone who had no congressional experience of his VP Al Gore, who had congressional experience and deal making skills
Explain the problems with Hilary’s proposed reform
They were too divisive for congressional Ds to unite around. There were disagreements around the bureaucracy required to run the proposed healthcare system and the cost to small businesses, meaning she struggled to achieve consensus. Multiple committee chairs produced competing proposals and the Clinton proposal was never even voted on
Why is this seen as a wasted opportunity?
Because with a better organised and coordinated approach, given the fact that he enjoyed unified government, the reform could have been passed
What was it that caused the reform to fail?
While there were mitigating circumstances, it was ultimately overconfidence from Clinton
What can the lack of healthcare reform be seen as?
The greatest failure of the Clinton presidency
Describe his aim for economic growth
The economy was in a bad way when he came into office, so growth and deficit reduction were key priorities for him
List some of his economic policies
He focused on balances budgets, shrunk the size of the federal government, and signed a welfare reform bill that was harsher on recepients than many left wing Ds could stomach
Evaluate his economic reforms
They were successful economically, while politically his repositioning of the D party onto traditional R territory helped him win in 1996
What combination proved successful in reducing the deficit?
Spending restraints and tax increases on the wealthy
Give some statistics to show how this economic prudence proved successful
There was average economic growth of 4% per year compared to 2.8% per year in the Bush/Reagan years, creating 22.5 million jobs and reducing unemployment to a 30 year low of 4% in 2000
Give the critical view of his economic policy
While the numbers looked good, the economic recovery was unevenly distributed, with the gap between the richest and the poorest widening. Unemployment and poverty rates for ethnic minorities fell dramatically
Evaluate his economic policy
He cannot take all the credit as he inherited an economy that was already recovering, but his policies certainly helped and he will be remembered for a booming economy
Explain the aim of greater levels of protection and representation for civil rights
He aimed to increase levels of representation for minority groups within the government, protect civil rights and make the US a more racially inclusive and LGBT tolerant country
What was he determined to do with his judicial and executive appointees?
Make them ‘look like America’
Explain the underrepresentation of women and minority groups in government when he took office
The were just two women and two members of minority ethnic groups in the outgoing cabinet while in 1992 just 10% of the federal branch were from minority ethnicities and only 11% were women
Explain how Clinton helped rectify this
He created at the time what was the most diverse cabinet in US history, appointing two women and 6 men from minority ethnic groups and 4 white women to his first cabinet. He would later appoint the first female secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, in his second term of office
Explain how he made the judiciary more diverse
He appointed more black federal judges than there had been in the previous 16 years and three times as many female ones as in the Bush/Reagan years. He appointed the most hispanic judges on record
A record number of what type of people served in the WH during his presidency
Disabled people
What kind of rights was he a champion of as a social liberal?
Gay rights
What did he advocate for the end of as a result?
The ban of homosexual people in the military
What did he do when he faced determined opposition from the military and conservatives?
He told the defence department to follow the don’t ask, don’t tell policy
What was this policy?
A compromise allowing gays to serve as long as they didn’t disclose their sexual orientation
Evaluate this reform
While it meant they could still not be open about their sexuality, it was still a significant step forward,
Evaluate his success in terms of extending civil rights
He successfully increased representation of ethnic minorities of women and racial minorities in government and had some success in advancing gay rights in the military
What did he still face despite the fact that there was no Cold War or immediate threats to worry about?
Important foreign policy challenges throughout his presidency
What is it fair to say about Clinton when comparing him to other post 1992 presidents in terms of foreign policy?
That he faced the fewest foreign policy challenges
Where were his three main foreign policy challenges?
Russia, the former Yugoslavia and NI
Why did Russia remain a problem post Cold War?
It was a dangerously unstable nuclear power
Explain the success he had with Russia
He was successful in achieving good rapport with Boris Yeltsin and helping stabilise the country. He was able to secure $1.6 billion in aid to Russia to boost its economy and Yeltsin’s control on power. While he has been criticised for not achieving political or economic reform in return for the aid, the stability he created allowed Russia to stockpile all the nuclear weapons in the satellite states and avoid potential chaos. Compared to his predecessors, his dealings with Russia were on a smaller scale but still important
What military action did he authorise in 1998
The use of US troops in the UN bombing of the former Yugoslavia
Why was it wrong that he was initially criticised for this?
Because it transpired that the Serbian president had been waging a genocidal war which involved the murder of thousands of Croations and Muslims
Evaluate Clinton’s success here
The USA played a key role in ending the conflict and the atrocities associated with it. While some historians have commented that he could have got involved earlier, the end of the wars in the area and the subsequent peace can be seen as a success for Clinton
Describe his contributions in NI
He played a key role in ending the troubles, a violent political conflict that had been going on there since the 1960s. The signing of the GFA in 1998 was a great success that he deserves credit for his role in
Evaluate his success in foreign policy
He did not face the Cold War challenges of his predecessors or the terrorist challenges of his successors. His foreign policy was therefore smaller scale but he was still successful in helping stabilise Yugoslavia and Russia and in negotiating the GFA in NI
How does the economy show that Clinton was an effective president?
He oversaw balanced budgets and the economy grew for 116 successive months and unemployment fell to a 30 year low
How does the expansion of civil rights show that he was an effective president?
He created what was up to then the most diverse cabinet in history and championed gay rights by instructing the defence department to follow a policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’. It was not as radical a change as he would have wished but it was still a success
How does foreign policy show that he was an effective president?
He was successful in bringing about stability in Russia and Yugoslavia and helping the NI peace process
How does affordable healthcare show that he was an ineffective president?
It was the top priority for the administration but the proposals were not even voted on in congress. His inexperience in working with congress and his overconfidence stopped the reforms from happening
Using Clinton as a case study, how must we evaluate whether a president was successful in achieving their aims?
We not to not just consider the number of polict areas in which they were effective or ineffective, but how significant these areas were to the overall presidency. For example, the failure in an area as important as healthcare might have been so big that you consider the whole presidency ineffective, despite numerous successes
Describe how 9/11 was a pivotal turning point for the Bush presidency
He went from a president not very interested in foreign policy to one who was determined to win the war on terror.
What other aims was he still keen to achieve?
A domestic policy programme of education and social security reform and tax cuts, all of which had been key manifesto aims
Describe the post 9/11 aim of the war on terror
To fight the war on terror both at home and abroad
What did he use of united government and a country behind him to do following 9/11?
Secure the votes in congress to begin a war on terror, which led to the invasion of Iraq
What was the war on terror about for Bush?
Protecting liberal and democratic values and the lives and property of Americans
What two major pieces of legislation did he pass around the war on terror?
2001 Patriot Act and 2002 Homeland Security Act
What did the 2002 Homeland Security Act do?
Created the department for homeland security
What did the 2001 Patriot Act do?
Increased security powers and allowed for mass surveillance of internet and telephone communications
Why was the war in Iraq significantly undermined?
Iraq was invaded on the basis that there were WMDs and it was later proven that there were none
Why did it not really matter that the actual invasion went smoothly?
The US struggled to set up an Iraqi government capable of suppressing the remaining armed resistance and Bush failed to make a persuasive case that the failed attempts to pacify Iraq had been worth the loss of life.
How did the war go against his policies as a fiscal conservative?
Because the war caused a huge increase in federal expenditure
How much did a Feb 2020 report by Brown university say the war in Iraq and war on terror had cost?
It said the Iraq War cost $2 trillion while the war on terror in general cost $6.4 trillion
Why can the creation of the department for homeland security be seen as a success?
Because it improved the US’s ability to defend itself from terrorist attacks
Which two counter terrorist measures remain controversial?
The executive order the create GB and the mass surveillance of internet and telephone communications
Why do critics disagree with these surveillance methods on constitutional grounds?
On the basis that it infringed upon personal freedoms (5th amendment) and the right to privacy (4th amendment)
Why is the war on terror contentious when we look back?
The Iraq war was based on false premises and US involvement in the Middle East has been expensive and arguably contributed to instability in the region, exascerbating the risk from terrorism rather than removing it
Describe the aim for education policy
Improving education for all children across the US
What allowed him to pass the No Child Left Behind Policy with relative ease in Jan 2002?
It was a cornerstone of his election campaign and with his congressional majority and huge personal popularity in the wake of 9/11
What did the Act do?
Major expanded the federal government’s role in education, with the new law mandating that the states test children annually between grades 4-8, using a national test. It required that children in failing schools be moved to successful ones and provided a 2% increase in federal funding for the poorest inner city schools. It tripled the amount of federal funding for scientifically based reading programmes
Why do Kruse and Zelizer argue (2019) that the policy received bipartisan support?
Because of the importance of education reform for many suburban voters
Give an example of this bipartisanship
Future R speaker John Boehner and veteran liberal senator Ted Kennedy both supported it
How did Ds and teachers criticise the policy?
By saying that it had been imposed upon schools and forced teachers to teach the test
What did conservative critics on the right of the R party say?
They disagreed with the massive increase in state involvement
What did a 2016 report from a bipartisan group of legislators from the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) conclude?
That the reforms had been a failure
Give the direct quote from the NCSL here
After all the national, state and district efforts to reform in the decade following the act, the US was not only outperformed by the majority of the advanced industrial nations, but also by a growing number of less developed nations
Evaluate his education reforms
Its important to recognise that he was attempting compassionate conservatism and was passionate about improving education for the poorest, but the reforms did still not improve education standards in the US
Describe the aim around major tax cuts
A centrepiece of his 2002 campaign had been to make tax cuts his major legislative priority
What two acts did he pass to do this?
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (2001) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act (2003)
What was the combined effect of these acts?
They introduced tax cuts worth around $1.35 trillion
Why was he able to pass these two acts with relative ease?
Because he enjoyed a R majority in both houses and the policy ideologically appealed to the majority of his party
Why did his left wing critics argue against the act?
Because the cuts mainly benefitted the wealthy
How did Bush counter this?
Because he said the cuts would stimulate economic growth
What was Bush’s ideological reasoning behind the cuts according to Kruse and Zelizer in 2019?
He reasoned that the money which funded the tax cuts (surpluses from the economic boom during the Clinton years) was not the government’s money and that now he was in office he should give the people their money back
Evaluate the success of Bush’s tax cuts
He was successful in delivering, but questions remain over their effectiveness. While they did contribute to economic growth, but it was also argued that it was fiscally irresponsible to squander the economic benefits of the Clinton era at a time when military expenditure was increasing and the overall deficit was growing
Describe the aim of social security reform
In 2004 he made this his top priority and attempted to change the system by allowing individuals to divert a proportion of their social security tax into personal retirement accounts
