Impostor : how George W. Bush bankrupted America and betrayed the Reagan legacy

by Bruce R. Bartlett

Hardcover, 2006

Status

Available

Genres

Economics

General Nonfiction

Academic: History

Politics, Government, Law and Public Policy

Publication

New York : Doubleday, c2006.

Description

George W. Bush came to the presidency in 2000 claiming to be the heir of Ronald Reagan. Reaganite economist Bartlett started out as a supporter of Bush and helped him craft his tax cuts, but he was dismayed by the way they were executed, and has reluctantly concluded that Bush is not a Reaganite at all, but an unprincipled opportunist. He predicts that within a few years, Bush's tax cuts and unrestricted spending will produce an economic crisis that will require a major tax increase. Bartlett has surprisingly kind words for Clinton, whose record on the budget was far better than Bush's. In fact, Bartlett concludes, Bush is less like Reagan than like Nixon: an arch-conservative Republican, bitterly hated by liberals, who vainly tried to woo moderates by enacting big parts of the liberal program. It didn't work then, and it won't work now.--From publisher description.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member nperrin

Bartlett focuses almost exclusively on economic and fiscal policy in his effort to expose George W. Bush as the worst president since Nixon, at least. This can be a little dry, but generally successful.
I tend to be more interested in the social aspects of the Bush ideology, and though I have a good

understanding of economics for a layperson, I don't follow the policies as closely as I could. I was surprised to read exactly how poorly planned these policies were by the Administration, and though I knew Bush was a "big-government conservative" I guess I hadn't realized just how big. While "Impostor" didn't focus on my main areas of interest, it was pretty eye-opening and I always find it refreshing to find conservatives/libertarians passing negative judgment on the Bush administration.

Show Less

1 more

LibraryThing member TPLThing

The author, Bruce Bartlett, is also the author of Reaganomics. He worked in the Reagan White House and in the first Bush Treasury Department. So he has pretty good conservative credentials. Bartlett says that while W ran as Reagan's heir, he has not governed like him. He attacks George W. Bush for

his massive spending that, according to Bartlett, will result in the need for future tax increases.

Surprisingly, he commends Clinton for cutting spending and leaving a budget surplus. But he doesn't hold back from attacking liberals, either, saying that their greatest sin "...is their belief that it is possible for them to know everything necessary to manage the economy and society."

This book offers a good hard look at President Bush and our country's economic state. The overall tone is expressed in the first chapter: "I know conservatives, and George W. Bush is no conservative."

Show Less

Fewer