Hauenstein Center holds Washington conference on the Bush Legacy

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama's transition to the White House is more organized than any we’ve seen, according to University of Vermont Professor John Burke. And, Vice President Dick Cheney is the strongest number two man in U.S. history, according to Rhodes College political scientist Michael Nelson.

Burke and Nelson are just two of a group of scholars from all over the country who will gather in Washington, D.C., to talk politics and give the first assessment of the George W. Bush presidency.

During his two terms in office, President Bush has earned historic highs and lows in the Gallup poll’s public approval ratings, ranging from 90- to 28-percent. Grand Valley State University’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies will host leading scholars as they weigh in with their early assessments.

"The talent we are assembling at our conference are world renowned for their knowledge of the American presidency," noted Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies.  "University of Vermont Professor John Burke knows more about presidential transitions than almost anyone on the planet, so he will be able to field questions about the Obama transition. Louis Fisher is the go-to expert for President Bush's relations with Congress.

"In addition, classicist Rufus Fears will put the Bush presidency in historical perspective, while former Bush speechwriter Kasey Pipes will give an insider's viewpoint. This is just a sampling of the talent we have assembled. These outstanding speakers will present a balanced evaluation of a controversial administration, offering numerous lessons for American citizens and a new president at a critical time in American history."

Schedule of events:

Thursday, December 11, 7 p.m., keynote address by Rufus Fears, Library of Congress, Mumford Room

Friday, December 12, Conference held at the Hyatt Regency

• 8-9:15 a.m.: John Burke, “The Evolution of the Bush Presidency,” in Capitol B Room
• 9:30-10:45 a.m..: Panel I: The Bush Administration: Process and Policies with Brian Flanagan and Karen Hult. Austin Knuppe will moderate in Capitol B Room.
• 11 a.m-12:15 p.m..: Panel II: Presidential Powers and the Bush Presidency with Louis Fisher, Dale Herspring, Mitch Sollenberger and Mark Rozell. Austin Knuppe will moderate in Capitol B Room.
• 12:15-1:45 p.m.: Luncheon address with Kasey Pipes, Bryce Room
• 2-3:15 p.m..: Panel III: Presidential Powers and the Bush Legacy with Thomas Moylan Keck and Gleaves Whitney. Austin Knuppe will moderate in Capitol B Room.

Biographies
J. Rufus Fears is David Ross Boyd Professor of Classics at the University of Oklahoma, where he holds the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty. Fears earned his doctorate from Harvard University and is a fellow of many distinguished organizations, such as the American Academy in Rome, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Guggenheim Foundation.
Before taking his post at the University of Oklahoma, Fears held teaching positions at Indiana University and Boston University. He is the author of four books and has published more than 100 articles and reviews on ancient history, the history of liberty and the lessons of history for our own day.

John P. Burke specializes in American politics, the American presidency, and ethics and public affairs.  He has published a number of articles on presidential transitions and two books: Becoming President: The Bush Transition 2000-2003, and Presidential Transitions: From Politics to Practice, which focuses on the Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., and Clinton transitions and early presidencies.
Burke’s book, How Presidents Test Reality, won the 1990 Richard Neustadt Award of the American Political Science Association for the best book on the American presidency. He has served on the editorial board of Public Administration Review and as a member of the executive committee of the Presidency Research Group of the American Political Science Association.
Burke received his AB from Stanford University, and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Princeton University.

Kasey S. Pipes is a biographer and historian, and special contributor to The Dallas Morning News. Pipes spent 10 years in politics as a communications and policy adviser. In 2006, he served as chief campaign speechwriter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and prior to that, he served President George W. Bush for five years. From 2001-03 he wrote speeches in the Bush White House and in 2004, Pipes was chief author of the National Republican Party Platform. He began his career as a college intern in the California office of former President Ronald Reagan. Pipes’ first book, Ike’s Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality, was praised by The Wall Street Journal as a “highly readable and credible account of Eisenhower’s struggle with race and civil rights.”

Grand Valley State University attracts nearly 24,000 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is the comprehensive regional university for Michigan’s second largest metropolitan area and offers 70 undergraduate and 26 graduate degree programs. It has campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships.

For more information on event speakers, contact the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at (616) 331-2770 or visit www.allpresidents.org.