August 4, 2008

When the spotlight is on candidates, what's the president to do?

Bert Rockman
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"The current president will continue to make himself relevant by events such as attending the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing, and he will be as involved with the Republican Party as John McCain's people want him to be," says Bert Rockman, professor of political science and editor of "The George W. Bush Legacy." "Bush's role is likely to be limited because public opinion polls show he is one of the most unpopular presidents of the century."

When Bush was first elected, his approval ratings hovered at 50 percent, then soared to 90 percent after the 9/11 attacks and subsequently have fallen to about 25 percent with only about 10 percent strongly favorable to him, Rockman says.

"Right now, President Bush's standings resemble that of President Harry S Truman," Rockman says. "When Truman left office, he was very unpopular. However, his reputation grew more positive with time. Today, more historians and scholars believe that Truman was courageous and had to make some tough decisions as president. Bush may take solace in this.

"Bush's legacy is likely to focus on foreign relations, and it's expected that he, too, will focus on rhetoric about the tough decisions he had to make regarding Afghanistan and Iraq."

Rockman is the editor or author of 14 books, including "The George W. Bush Presidency: Appraisals and Prospects," "The Clinton Presidency: First Appraisals," "The Clinton Legacy" and "The Bush Presidency: First Appraisals," as well as "The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions" and "Presidential Leadership: The Vortex of Power."

"A president's legacy is best determined 100 years after the term, but there is a lot of time between now and then for one's legacy to be defined," Rockman says. "Right now, many would say the adverse consequences of going to war in Iraq has been the defining action of George Bush's presidency, but in 50 or 100 years we may think differently about it."

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Bert Rockman, (765) 494-4162, barockma@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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