Beyond the Cartoon: George W. Bush and his biographers
Author(s)
O'Connor, Brendon
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2005
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Many people seem to see George W. Bush as little more than a caricature. While I acknowledge that Bush's electoral success is quite confounding, I argue that a more nuanced and deeper understanding of Bush is required to account for this success and to better comprehend how he makes political decisions. To go beyond the cartoon caricature, I examine the biographies on Bush to explore three key elements of his background and character: Bush's relationship with his father; his personal faith; and his development of a Texan persona. Unfortunately this analysis can only be taken so far given that much of the biographical literature ...
View more >Many people seem to see George W. Bush as little more than a caricature. While I acknowledge that Bush's electoral success is quite confounding, I argue that a more nuanced and deeper understanding of Bush is required to account for this success and to better comprehend how he makes political decisions. To go beyond the cartoon caricature, I examine the biographies on Bush to explore three key elements of his background and character: Bush's relationship with his father; his personal faith; and his development of a Texan persona. Unfortunately this analysis can only be taken so far given that much of the biographical literature is excessively partisan and poorly researched. Thus I conclude by calling for more serious scholarly investigation into Bush's personal history and political record.
View less >
View more >Many people seem to see George W. Bush as little more than a caricature. While I acknowledge that Bush's electoral success is quite confounding, I argue that a more nuanced and deeper understanding of Bush is required to account for this success and to better comprehend how he makes political decisions. To go beyond the cartoon caricature, I examine the biographies on Bush to explore three key elements of his background and character: Bush's relationship with his father; his personal faith; and his development of a Texan persona. Unfortunately this analysis can only be taken so far given that much of the biographical literature is excessively partisan and poorly researched. Thus I conclude by calling for more serious scholarly investigation into Bush's personal history and political record.
View less >
Journal Title
Political Studies Review
Volume
3
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2005 Blackwell Publishing. The definitive version is available at [www.blackwell-synergy.com.]
Subject
Political Science