As the final members of President Bush's cabinet are confirmed by the Senate, and as the executive branch shifts from Democratic to Republican, one would have to say that the new president seems to be off to a decent start. As of a little under two weeks into his administration, President Bush has already pulled the political strings that his father failed to pull at any time during his administration in making two decisions that will hopefully keep the religious right happy and quiet for the next four years.
I must admit that, as far as Republicans go, I am probably one of the most moderate. In fact, I think of myself as moderate to any political party; so don't get me wrong - this Viewpoint is not coming from someone with a completely biased, conservative view (in fact, I dislike the Christian conservatives a lot more than most moderate and even some liberal Democrats).
As a Republican, one of the things that I find particularly discouraging is the way the presidential election was finally decided. It may sound strange coming from someone (one of the only ones) who visibly rooted for Bush at the election night rally in Cabot, but I would have really liked to see who received more votes in Florida, though this would have been problematic. Since the laws were so ambiguous and poorly written, in an election that was as close as it was, chaos was inevitable. The laws are not partisan; they have no political affiliation, so we should not be bitter about the outcome of the election. The laws, not the Supreme Court or anyone else party to the post-election process, inhibited the ability of all the votes to be counted.
That said, I think the new president did a very good job, probably even better than expected by most, in appointing his cabinet members. Colin Powell was an obvious choice for secretary of state, Don Rumsfeld has great executive level experience and will be effective in reassuming the post of secretary of defense, and Rod Paige is the only secretary of education to have ever actually been an educator. The cabinet as a whole is somewhat diverse, with minorities, women, and even a Democrat (heading the Department of Transportation) all represented.
The problems with the cabinet choices obviously come from the appointments of Sen. John Ashcroft to the attorney general position and Linda Chavez to the position of secretary of labor. The Ashcroft nomination is obviously controversial because of his stance on abortion and civil rights. However, I think that as attorney general, Ashcroft will be able to put his extreme conservative views aside and enforce the laws. If he can't separate his personal views from his professional duty, I'm sure he will either resign or be asked to do so. I personally feel that the Chavez nomination was in bad taste because of the information that was discovered about her and the illegal alien whom she housed, as well as because of her strong stance against most positions taken by organized labor. Bush, however, is entitled to a cabinet that both holds his views and will institute the policies on which he campaigned.
The inauguration was, as it has always been, a peaceful transfer of power that went off without a hitch. Yes, there was quite a bit of protesting, probably more than any other time since Nixon's second inauguration in 1973, but that is part of the beauty of our democratic process - being able to peacefully assemble and voice our displeasure with our leaders. The inaugural address was well delivered by Bush, as it asked Americans to come together to be active citizens. It encouraged people to set aside their differences and work together, much as Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and John F. Kennedy did during their inaugurations. The only problems with the celebration that I saw were the weather, the fact that Bush didn't walk more of the way down Pennsylvania Avenue, and that at the inaugural balls, Bush was observed to be an inept dancer (which I'm sure he'll work on over the next four years).
If there's one thing that Bush will do better than most other recent presidents, it is charming his opponents while keeping his Republican ideals. Reagan was great at communicating to the public and getting his agenda pushed by citizens, from the bottom up to the legislators. Bush Sr.'s domestic politics seemed lost at times and Clinton, though charming to the public and constantly popular, in private was said to be cold and somewhat detached. I think and hope Bush will be able to push his agenda through by taking moderate positions on many issues and by charming Congress into going along with it. In fact he's already at it, taking Senator Kennedy with him on a school visit in order to reveal his education policy. The policy wonk that Clinton was, Bush will never be. Instead, he will rely on charm and persuasion that he seemed to have in Texas, and hopefully he'll be able to do what's best for the country. President Bush, like him or not, is everybody's president, and hopefully we can all respect the office and give him a chance to succeed.
Phillip Berenbroick is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
