George W. Bush has been branded the worst president in history and
forced to endure accusations that he abused his power while
presiding over a "lawless" administration. Stephen Knott, however,
contends that Bush has been treated unfairly, especially by
presidential historians and the media. He argues that from the
beginning scholars abandoned any pretense at objectivity in their
critiques and seemed unwilling to place Bush's actions into a
broader historical context.
In this provocative book, Knott offers a measured critique of
the professoriate for its misuse of scholarship for partisan
political purposes, a defense of the Hamiltonian perspective on the
extent and use of executive power, and a rehabilitation of Bush's
reputation from a national security viewpoint. He argues that
Bush's conduct as chief executive was rooted in a tradition
extending as far back as George Washington-not an "imperial
presidency" but rather an activist one that energetically executed
its constitutional prerogatives.
Given that one of the main indictments of Bush focuses on his
alleged abuse of presidential war power, Knott takes on academic
critics like Sean Wilentz and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and
journalists like Charlie Savage to argue instead that Bush
conducted the War on Terror in a manner faithful to the Framers'
intent-that in situations involving national security he rightly
assumed powers that neither Congress nor the courts can properly
restrain. Knott further challenges Bush's detractors for having
applied a relatively recent, revisionist understanding of the
Constitution in arguing that Bush's actions were out of bounds.
Ultimately, Knott makes a worthy case that, while Bush was not
necessarily a great president, his national security policies were
in keeping with the practices of America's most revered presidents
and, for that reason alone, he deserves a second look by those who
have condemned him to the ash heap of history. All readers
interested in the presidency and in American history writ large
will find "Rush to Judgment" a deftly argued, perhaps deeply
unsettling, yet balanced account of the Bush presidency-and a
clarion call for a reexamination of how scholars determine
presidential greatness and failure.
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