ABSTRACT
President George W. Bush responded to the events of September 11 by setting new priorities in foreign policy, and attempting to increase Presidential power within the American political system.1 This response to crisis parallels previous changes in how the United States responds to the world, and how it formulates that response at home. The President articulated a new set of national commitments that have the potential of altering both the content of American foreign policy and the institutional arrangement and capacity of American government. This chapter discusses these new commitments in the historical context of Presidential foreign policymaking, elaborating on the connections between Bush’s attempts to set lasting national goals, and those of other similarly situated Presidents. The War on Terror and the institutional change it set in motion may result in a significant transformation of the Presidency, and the American political system in general.
