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Bush and the Presidency.

Bush and the Presidency
by R. Lincoln Browning 12/1/03
The prime responsibilities of any president of the United States are two-fold: to defend the country and to provide a favorable environment for firms to conduct business. The latter duty is shared totally with the Congress. The President sets forth his agenda and promotes it. The Congress responds with legislation containing some of the president's request plus their own version of the subject, and many times includes items which the President did not ask for. He must then review their proposal and, if in agreement, sign the bill into law. Frequently, the President does not agree with portions of the legislation, but in order to obtain what he wants, he must sign the bill. An example of this partial disagreement involved last year's campaign finance law. The Congress proposed rules restricting the amount of the donor contributions to candidates running for Federal offices. Included was a provision prohibiting television advertisements by special interest groups during the sixty days prior to the November elections. Critics allege that this is unconstitutional under Article One, the free speech amendment. Mr. Bush agreed with the critics, but he signed the bill to achieve the overall goal of limiting campaign contributions, and left the constitutional issue to be decided by the Supreme Court (the third branch of the Federal government).
The defense of the nation depends upon the leadership of the President. He can accomplish many things unilaterally by the use of executive orders. However, only the Congress can declare war and only they can approve funding a military operation during time of war, which is declared or undeclared. (The Korean and Vietnam Wars were undeclared.) In the current War On Terror, President Bush, after 9/11/01, requested support and funding from Congress and received it.
George W. Bush has accepted the challenges of the presidency. When he was elected, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was in negative growth. In the third quarter of 2003 GDP grew by a remarkable 8 1/2%. Much of this improvement in the economy is attributable to Mr. Bush's demands for tax cuts, which were supported by Congressional legislation. A reduction in the tax rates creates larger revenue because it puts more disposable income in the hands of the consumer, thereby causing a greater demand for goods and services. This, in turn, motivates business to produce more, which creates more jobs and results in a larger total annual amount of taxes being paid to the government by individuals and businesses. (Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan proposed similar action which was accepted by Congress and resulted in a booming economy in the 1960's and the 1980's.)
Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United States under the leadership of President Bush with the support of Congress, has routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. Much progress has been made in the effort to set up a representative government designed to restore peace in the nation and to provide the citizens security and opportunity under the rule of law. Similar action in Iraq has achieved the removal of the tyrant, Saddam Hussein, and the creation of an Iraqi Council of local officials, which is expected to assume a degree of governing authority in June, 2004.
A review of the map of the Middle East will show that these two nations lie between four other nations which have been harboring and supporting terrorists. Syria and Saudi Arabia are west of Iraq and Iran borders it on the east. Afghanistan then has Iran and Pakistan to its west and east, respectively. The intervention of Coalition forces has fragmented this region, which was formerly a hotbed of terrorist activity. Mr. Bush has brought the War On Terror to the terrorists.

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