Right after President George W. Bush is sworn in, he’ll give a speech from the U.S. Capitol that’s full of soaring rhetoric and lofty ideals. An inaugural address is a unique occasion for a president to skip over the nuts and bolts of public policy and lay out a grand vision for America. Like his predecessors, Bush will try to speak to the ages. From Abraham Lincoln’s “malice toward none” to John F. Kennedy’s “ask not,” an inauguration is an occasion to utter immortal words. And only a handful of chief executives have had an opportunity to do it twice.
Every president who begins a second term also thinks about his legacy. It’s inevitable. He wonders how history will remember him, and he wants to make sure he’s left a positive mark on America. This isn’t only about personal ego--it’s also about patriotism. He wants future generations to believe his presidency made the United States better.
Bush probably has a clearer understanding than most about how history will remember him. He will always be the 9/11 president, as well as the man who took America to war in Iraq. We don’t know for certain how history will judge him on these matters. Much hangs on the upcoming Iraqi elections--not just the one that’s a few days away, but the potential ones that are still a few decades away. Will Iraq be a representative democracy half a century from now, having transformed itself the way Japan did after the Second World War? The answers to questions such as this will determine Bush’s legacy.
Ever since Bush was re-elected, he’s made clear that his boldest initiatives in his second term will be on the domestic front. He wants to modernize Social Security. That promises to be his gutsiest proposal--and he may go down in history as the man who preserved FDR’s program for the 21st century, or perhaps as the author of the biggest legislative flop since Clinton’s health-care plan.
Bush also speaks of reforming the tax code and changing our immigration laws. Regardless of what you think of him, you have to give him credit for his resolve. He thinks big.
One area in which Bush has a chance both to think big and to accomplish much is free trade. He has already done some big thinking here, especially with his effort to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Yet I think it’s fair to say that he has not accomplished as much as he would like. It’s no secret that the FTAA isn’t moving as quickly as he would like. What’s more, the current round of World Trade Organization talks isn’t exactly going gangbusters. The Bush administration can take credit for a handful of solid achievements, such as last summer’s free-trade deals with Australia and Morocco, and perhaps in 2005 Congress will approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement. But let’s not fool ourselves, our great-grandchildren probably won’t be reading about these measures in their American history textbooks.
I’m certain that Bush would like to be remembered as a president who not only favored free trade, but also as one who actually made trade a lot more free. And there’s one way he can guarantee it - He can make sure the United States leads the world in completing the Doha round of WTO negotiations. Finishing the talks over the next four years, starting today, is both a reasonable goal and a worthwhile one. It will create jobs and prosperity for people all over the planet, like a giant tax cut for most of humanity.
If Bush chooses to make this one of his second-term goals, his immediate challenge is to find a replacement for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, who is moving over to the State Department. I’ve known Bob for years, and I think he’s done an outstanding job for the United States during difficult times. He is a brilliant intellectual, a tough-but-fair negotiator, and a respected leader on the international stage. Our president needs someone very much like him in the second term.
And if Bush finds the right person, he will have a shot at making free trade a fundamental part of his presidential legacy. Maybe we’ll hear more about it soon, in another speech.
News 
Right after President George W. Bush is sworn in, he’ll give a speech from the U.S. Capitol that’s full of soaring rhetoric and lofty ideals. An inaugural address is a unique occasion for a president to skip over the nuts and bolts of public policy and lay out a grand vision for America. Like his predecessors, Bush will try to speak to the ages. From Abraham Lincoln’s “malice toward none” to John F. Kennedy’s “ask not,” an inauguration is an occasion to utter immortal words. And only a handful of chief executives have had an opportunity to do it twice.
