In his December 13 speech, Bush made it evident that he intended to apply the highly personal bipartisan methods he had used in Texas in the nation s capital. But for Bush s method to work in the far more demanding context of Washington he needs more than a charm and skill at human relations. Lacking the Washington experience and prodigious energy of a Lyndon Johnson, his most obvious model is Ronald Reagan, who was able to achieve impressive policy successes by relying on an able and experienced staff. Bush signaled his intention to draw on such lieutenants by making the highly accomplished Dick Cheney his running mate and by going on to nominate a cabinet laden with veterans of earlier administrations. Johnson lacked a realistic vision of public policy, especially in the sphere of national security.
Presidents lack policy direction are in danger of frittering away their time in office.
They also risk instituting mutually inconsistent policies and, in the worst case, of stumbling into debacles, such as Johnson s in Vietnam. As George W. Bush has repeatedly noted, he believes that it was a mistake for his father not to be more forthcoming in enunciating legislative goals, especially in the wake of his administration s triumph in the Gulf War. Hence the priority of legislative advocacy in the Bush governorship and its likely priority in the Bush presidency. Some presidents have been masters of detail. Others find it natural to engage in abstract thinking, generalizing from specifics and identifying larger patterns and possibilities.