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MEDIA CONTACT: Kristine M. McGrath
561-297-1168, kmcgrath@fau.edu or
Aileen Izquierdo
561-297-2442, izquierd@fau.edu
George W. Bush Receives Midterm Grade
BOCA RATON, FL (May 13, 2003) - As the presidential campaign season moves into full swing, many throughout the nation will look to presidential incumbent President George W. Bush and determine how he has performed during his first term in office. Florida Atlantic University Political Science Professor Robert P. Watson, who has been studying Bush's presidency along with several other presidential experts, has released a "report card" grading President Bush on the first half of his term.
"Most rankings and efforts to evaluate presidents are not typically done until after the president has left office. This unique study marks perhaps the first scholarly effort to determine the performance of a president midterm," said Watson. "The evaluation offers valuable perspectives on Bush, now that he is into the second half of his term, now that he is looking to reelection in 2004, and given the momentous war on terror and wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, which have defined his presidency thus far."
Earlier this year, Watson and 30 historians, presidential experts and scholars, representing a wide array of perspectives, gathered to evaluate President Bush's term in office thus far. Participants included Dr. Louis Fisher, senior researcher with the Congressional Research Service/Library of Congress and one of the nation's foremost experts on the presidency; Bradley H. Patterson, former senior staffer in the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Ford White Houses and Dr. Henry Mattox, editor of the journal American Diplomacy and a retired diplomat.
During the two day conference, experts presented their research, participated in panel and roundtable discussions and produced a report card on the Bush presidency.
Notable highlights from the report card include:
" President Bush received an overall grade of a "B-," receiving the highest grade of an "A" on his leadership, the war on terror and appointments and staff. His lowest grade, a "C-," was in domestic policy and the economy.
" In grading the cabinet, Secretary of State Colin Powell received the highest grade of an "A." Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill and Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman received the lowest grade.
The grades and results of the midterm evaluation are being published in a forthcoming book by the State University of New York Press (SUNY). For more information on President Bush's report card, call 561-297-3210 or email rpwatson@fau.edu.
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Dr. Robert Watson, an expert in American Politics, is the founding editor of the journal White House Studies. In addition, he frequently serves as a media commentator on several national television networks and in newspapers.
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