William Crotty

Presidential Policymaking in Crisis Situations: 9/11 and Its Aftermath

This paper compares the decision-making approaches of two presidents, John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush, in relation to unanticipated international crises. One, President Kennedy, employed a broad body of expert opinion and entertained a wide range of options in meeting the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963. The actions taken avoided a potential worldwide nuclear war. The other, George W. Bush, consulted only a few, like-minded colleagues and appears to have decided early on that a war directed against Iraq and Saddam Hussein was a necessity. The administrations justifications for the war were difficult to prove and the administration chose an essentially bilateral (as against a multi-lateral) approach. The Iraq War was won fairly easily, although its long-range consequences remain unclear. The two styles of decision-making present polarized approaches to international crisis situation management.

The Race to 270: The Electoral College and the Campaign Strategies of 2000 and 2004 (review)

granting Congress the power to secure copyrights to promote the arts and sciences. Viewed through this background of legislation and case law, balancing restrictions on campaign fi nancing with preventing corruption and promoting equality in the political arena is in accordance with the Constitution. The debate surrounding campaign fi nance reform has reached a fevered pitch at which proponents and opponents cannot come to agreement, neither philosophically nor on the fundamental facts. It may not transform the debate on this issue, but Samples’s book provides a wealth of information and challenges many of the commonly held positions of reformers. Samples makes many cogent points throughout the book, but his partisan tone and emphasis on making political points often overshadow his empirically based arguments. This book would be valuable for those seeking a libertarian examination of campaign fi nance reform.