[.ca] The Foreign Policy Of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy ... (ISBN 0754642747)

Review of Alexander Moens' book - William Watson:
A new book on Bush may surprise you The Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, December 14, 2004 Page: A17 William Watson MONTREAL - I've just had a rare literary experience: reading a book about George W. Bush that wasn't all negative. In fact, The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush, by Simon Fraser University political scientist Alexander Moens, is almost all positive, which means it's a little too positive even for readers who don't share the common Canadian view that the current U.S. president is either evil or moronic. But Professor Moens's argument that Mr. Bush is a disciplined CEO who establishes clear goals based on deeply held values and then pursues them patiently and determinedly is in the end persuasive. I suppose it's fitting that a book about George W. Bush should be marred by spelling mistakes, malapropisms and grammatical errors. Thus, on the morning of Sept. 11, Andrew Card passed the president a "crypt" message, not a "cryptic" message, as he listened to those schoolchildren in Florida. Thus when it seemed Mr. Bush might be able to bring Vladimir Putin around to his Iraq position, the French were fearful of being left "holding bag." Thus -- one of my favourite all-time examples of the dangling modifier -- "Though a Clinton appointee, President Bush saw no reason to replace ... Central Intelligence Director, George Tenet." Bill Clinton accomplished many things. Appointing George Bush was not one of them. But as with the sometimes tongue-tied president, so with the poorly edited book about him: misunderestimating either would be a mistake. As his 954 footnotes demonstrate, Prof. Moens has read just about everything ever written about Mr. Bush. He's even discovered that the president's political planners meet regularly as "The Strategery Group," so-called after a Saturday Night Live jab at Mr. Bush's mispronunciation of "strategy." The name reveals at least three things about the president: He has a sense of humour (a quality his late opponent, Senator John Kerry, clearly lacked); he's secure in himself; and he's happy being underestimated. In all three, he's reminiscent of a much underestimated but also much re-elected Canadian prime minister named Jean Chretien. The president makes up for his lack of "book smarts" with ferocious self-discipline and a strategic (or stategeric) sense that allows him to pick and pursue goals that often as not he achieves. Bush's pre-Sept. 11 presidency was remarkable for his rapid mastery of the Washington legislative process. For better or worse, he got big tax cuts through that most observers had thought would be watered down. But he can also compromise. His education reform, co-written with Ted Kennedy, gave the Democrats higher spending in exchange for concessions on accountability. Moens sees Bush as "a hardliner on his values but ... a moderate pragmatist on how to get them." Whether Mr. Bush learned how to be an effective executive at the Harvard Business School, in the Texas oil business, running baseball's Texas Rangers or filling key roles in his father's political campaigns doesn't much matter. The effect is a tightly run shop. Jean Chretien prided himself on having a clean desk at the end of every day. I suspect Mr. Bush's desk is the same. One difference between the two men, however, is that George W. Bush takes bigger risks. His father may have lacked "the vision thing;'' he clearly doesn't. Whether the goal was re-making the military, ending the ABM treaty, canceling Kyoto or, now, post 9/11, planting democracy in the Middle East, he has aimed high. One of the most maligned presidents in history, he may also be one of the most consequential. As Moens puts it, "Al Qaeda ... picked the wrong presidential character for an all-out fight." Even if you disagree with Moens's positive evaluation of George W. Bush -- and it will make many Canadians gag -- the book contains lots of interesting tidbits. Condoleezza Rice used to be a figure skater and speaks French. Karen Hughes, Mr. Bush's chief communications adviser, was born in Paris. "Shock and awe," the official war plan for Iraq, "was actually a ruse, trying to make (Saddam) Hussein think he would have a long time of bombing ahead of him. 'Sometimes even the critics can be deceived,' (commanding Gen. Tommy) Franks commented wryly." Gen. Franks, incidentally, comes from Bush's home town of Midland, Texas. Mr. Bush's 2002 speech to the UN went through 23 drafts. Eight days after Sept. 11, the president told advisers who were recommending quick action against Iraq that "two years from now only the Brits may be with us." (Tony Blair, Moens judges, has the same weight in the Bush White House as a Powell or Rumsfeld.) This book won't persuade Canadians to like George W. Bush. But it may make them realize there's more to the man than they had thought. William Watson teaches economics at McGill University.

This Book is a must:
As a person interested in what is going on in a troubled world, and not knowing much about American Politics,The Foreigh Policy book by Moens abosolutely captivated me. It was profoundly interesting and easy to read. Even an uneducated man (such as my self) can read this very deep detailed book with ease. The chapter on The War President kept me from going to bed until I was done. Well done Mr. Moens. I very strongly recommend this book for anyone, whether you are a scholar or a car salesman (as I am myself)

An excellent, explanatory insight on George W. Bush:
This book offers deep insight to bush and his administration and gives us a look at the inside view of descisions that he made which affect the whole world. Especially the chapter on the Iraq war and why it was necessary. I give this book a five star rating for a good purpose

A beautiful, well written book on George Bush's first term:
This book has left me no doubt that there are still bush supporters in America's ally, Canada. Dr. Moens has written a excellent well worded report on bush's first term. Also his 900 plus footnotes gives the reader ample evidence that Dr. Moens has researched George jr. with diligence and much time.This book is one of the most incredible books written about an American president by an Canadain proffessor