Presidential Pre-Reflection

Today, we'll receive our action sheets, which will provide each of us with guidance as to how we should play our roles. Prior to receiving these, and for your reading pleasure, we were to write a paper that contemplates our individual roles. The following are my thoughts on being President Bush.

President Bush, I hope that you're reading and that you could provide me some insight into your working style--seriously.

Considering the role that I wished to assume in this simulation, I forced myself to choose roles that would enable me to heavily consider the issues that I care about in a way that I—personally—would not agree. Ultimately, my classmates selected me to assume the role of George W. Bush, our current president, an individual that I despise. Raised in San Francisco, I consider myself to be a progressive individual who believes in the “power” of the referendum process and that individuals should engage with the political process in their daily lives.

In stark contract, I find President Bush to be an individual that does not fit my same political ideals; in fact, on many occasion, I have labeled him a fascist, though he declared himself a “compassionate conservative” during his campaign. Oftentimes, many television shows and political cartoons depict President Bush as an unintelligent individual, lacking any ability to pronounce simple words or hold a book in a way such that it can be read; he has held books upside down while reading. Various circles view President Bush as an individual having many connections—a schmoozer—who, in particular, has many links to oil. He vacations at his ranch in Crawford, Texas often. For some, the description I provide may be an exaggeration; however, I wished to offer you a disclaimer that defines my true sentiment before I proceed in describing my goals, and myself as President Bush.

A number of key areas exist where President Bush must make well-informed and crucial decisions. Overall, President Bush’s top priority issues include “allowing religious charities to participate in federally funded programs, cutting taxes, promoting the use of education vouchers, supporting oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, maintaining a balanced federal budget, and restructuring the armed forces.” On another note, however, President Bush stated that he was against using the U.S. armed forces in nation-building attempts abroad. I believe, however, that the main issue that will need to be addressed in our simulation lies in homeland security and the Patriot Act, and in this regard, I intend to have daily briefings with Justice, FBI, CIA, and Defense. I have also directed them to meet with Mr. Card (and myself, when necessary) on a frequent basis since we lack a National Intelligence Director.

In order to pursue and secure these interests—and succeed in our roles—my administration has met to strategize. We first created a chain of command, wherein all policy issues, prior to reaching my desk, would be filtered through by my cabinet members and staff. We also agreed that one-page memos would be helpful for the situation, allowing us to have an overview of the issues, enabling me—the President—to also have a grasp of the challenges that must be faced in addressing these issues and the proposals that are being tossed around by various departments, members of congress, and lobbyists.

While there will be many challenges in addressing these policy issues, there will also be challenges in attracting public support for our goals. Surely, the majority of the Republican Party controls the Congress, and it should be fairly easy to win my administration’s way in many of the negotiations because of this; I understand that I would have near-unanimous support among Republicans. Yet, in the spirit of reaching across both party lines, I believe that my administration must make an honest attempt in swaying various Democrats to our side, especially if they wish to have any of their issues addressed during my administration’s tenure—this is the same for many of the lobby groups. Ultimately, I would argue that since my administration has much power at this point, we would be easily able to win our way with almost every policy issue. Nonetheless, there will likely be controversial issues that we may not win because they may be too conservative or outrageous for some Republican members in the Congress.

Regarding the media, my administration’s chain of command will be employed to make sure that a singular message is delivered to all simulation-participants. In order to prepare for the necessary press conferences (and various meetings with lobbyists and members of Congress), however, my staff will hold regular meetings 3 times daily, and I will be notified of any issues that I will have to face that are of crucial importance.

One issue exists, which I have begun to think much about: my reelection. It is my understanding that all individuals in this simulation will need to run for reelection, and in this regard, my administration will move quite quickly to raise funds for my campaign; to this end, today (Wednesday) we will hold a Republican Gala. Yet, this gala will provide my administration with a chance to hear any ideas ruminating in the conservative lobbying groups and Republican colleagues who occupy the halls of Congress. The Republican Gala simply provides a beginning for my administration to see what ideas are on the table, which may be used in my State of the Simulation address.

Finally, I anticipate a number of challenges in being President Bush. First, I will be traveling this Friday through Sunday—a critical point in our simulation, as I will need to be part of the discussion that will form the State of the Simulation address. I often see President Bush retreating to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, so this may come as no surprise for many; regardless, I (as a student) would like to take an active role in forming my presidential address. Second, there exist numerous policy issues with which I am not particularly familiar; yet, I imagine that many presidents face this challenge in the beginnings of their career. Third, as I begun to look at all of the individuals who have been selected for various positions throughout the simulation, I postulate that, perhaps, there was some methodology used in their placement. While I believe that I could work amicably with many of these “characters,” I worry that some of them may not take their roles (or my role as President Bush) as seriously as they should, and in this sense, I anticipate that there will be a challenge in clearly showing to those outside of my administration that the president is in charge. Ultimately, however, I hope to enable individuals to enjoy and gain as much from the simulation as me.

It gives me great pleasure to stand at the helm of this simulation, serving as President Bush. While I did not win the election by a majority, I hope that this will prove to upset some of the simulation participants, just as Bush’s election upset many Democrats in 2000.