{"product_id":"the-collapse-of-fortress-bush-alasdair-roberts-9780814776063","title":"The Collapse of Fortress Bush: The Crisis of Authority in American Government","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen the Bush presidency began to collapse, pundits were quick to tell a tale of the \"imperial presidency\" gone awry, a story of secretive, power-hungry ideologues who guided an arrogant president down the road to ruin. But the inside story of the failures of the Bush administration is both much more complex and alarming, says leading policy analyst Alasdair Roberts. In the most comprehensive, balanced view of the Bush presidency to date, Roberts portrays a surprisingly weak president, hamstrung by bureaucratic, constitutional, cultural and economic barriers and strikingly unable to wield authority even within his own executive branch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Collapse of Fortress Bush\u003c\/b\u003e shows how the president fought--and lost--key battles with the defense and intelligence communities. From Homeland Security to Katrina, Bush could not coordinate agencies to meet domestic threats or disasters. Either the Bush administration refused to exercise authority, was thwarted in the attempt to exercise authority, or wielded authority but could not meet the test of legitimacy needed to enact their goals. Ultimately, the vaunted White House discipline gave way to public recriminations among key advisers. Condemned for secretiveness, the Bush administration became one of the most closely scrutinized presidencies in the modern era.\u003cbr\u003eRoberts links the collapse of the Bush presidency to deeper currents in American politics and culture, especially a new militarism and the supremacy of the Reagan-era consensus on low taxes, limited government, and free markets. Only in this setting was it possible to have a \"total war on terrorism\" in which taxes were reduced, private consumption was encouraged, and businesses were lightly regulated.\u003cbr\u003eA balanced, incisive account by a skilled observer of U.S. government, \u003cb\u003eThe Collapse of Fortress Bush\u003c\/b\u003e turns the spotlight from the powerful cabal that launched the war in Iraq to tell a much more disturbing story about American power and the failure of executive leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alasdair Roberts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 081477606X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780814776063\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New York University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 266\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.22h x 6.34w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2007 pg. 1148\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/24\/2007 pg. 42\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2008 pg. 86","brand":"Alasdair Roberts","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44254741233919,"sku":"9780814776063","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_379e223a-3429-4771-892b-2ab76ed9fe22.jpg?v=1694614109","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-collapse-of-fortress-bush-alasdair-roberts-9780814776063","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}