Bush Forced To Focus On Unity During First Year In Office

Look for the controversy behind the presidential election of 2000 to hurt George W. Bush’s chance of exercising effective leadership in the coming year ­ and throughout his time in office, says Dr. William H. Stewart, University of Alabama professor emeritus of political science.

Gore’s popular vote victory combined with the lengthy election controversy make for a shaky start to the Bush presidency, Stewart said.

“Even with a slight Republican majority in the House and a Republican vice-president to assist in organizing the Senate ­ which is split 50-50 along party lines ­ I don’t expect we will see any bold new initiatives being passed nor will Bush be encouraged to exercise dramatic or courageous leadership,” Stewart said.

“Not only does he face having to build confidence with what was ­ even prior to the controversy ­ a fiercely divided Congress, but he now confronts an even bigger challenge. He must establish his legitimacy with the American people.”

Stewart says the method of electing presidents, via the Electoral College, will not likely change as a result of the controversy, but he expects other election aspects will change.

“I don’t anticipate any alterations in the Electoral College. However, I think we will see a lot of studies before the next presidential election to determine what can be done to try and avoid some of the problems we had this year,” he said.

“For example, I think it’s likely we’ll see a more uniform ballot in future elections for federal offices. It would certainly be constitutional for the federal government to implement such an initiative, and I think it will. I expect the so-called butterfly ballots and other confusing ballot variations will be eliminated. I also expect the national media to be much more cautious in declaring winners of future elections.”