Bush’s Style of Presidential Leadership

Abstract

What does George W. Bush’s style of presidential leadership—his orientation to office and his framing, ordering, and taking of decisions—disclose about his presidency? I approach the question through a simplified version of Richard Neustadt’s framework for the analysis of presidential leadership by consideration of his authority, professional reputation, sense of purpose, and temperament. Documentary records that are relevant and available are thin. Accordingly, we work with what we have: the president’s public statements, which are available electronically from the American Presidency Project Web site (hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara); newspapers and magazines; the memoirs of participants; the records of journalists; and secondary academic literature.