Bush Can Do Anything He Wants

After 726 days, thousands of addresses and dozens of debates, the race for the White House has ended.

But whoever thinks that George Bush and his successor can now take a well earned holiday, is wrong.

Bush will give himself little rest during his last 77 days in office. Traditionally a departing president uses the period between the election and the inauguration to push through important laws, appoint judges, and grant pardons to prisoners.

“Bush can do practically anything he wants,” says jurist Douglas A. Berman of the University of Ohio in Columbus. There are no formal restrictions. “That is why politicians are also concerned about how he uses his power in his last few days.”

It is a great concern. Bush Senior received a lot of criticism when he appeared to pardon his former Minister of Defence Caspar Weinberger, who was sentenced to prison for his involvement in the Iran-contra scandal in the mid 1980s.

Bill Clinton aroused great anger by sweeping clean the criminal record of tax criminal Frances Rich, the spouse of a major democratic donor. Clinton on the last day of his presidency also conferred reprieves to a record number of 140 prisoners, including his own brother, who was sentenced for drugs, and to various parties involved in the Whitewater real estate scandal, in which the President himself played a role.

In Washington, there is now abundant speculation concerning the question of whether George Bush will grant a pardon to his former assistant Lewis, “Scooter” Libby. Libby was convicted for committing perjury in a matter concerning a CIA agent. Her identity was leaked to journalists when her husband stated in an investigation that speculations from the White House concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were not correct.

Bush earlier commuted Libby’s sentence to a cell for thirty months, but left the other sentences – a fine and community service – standing.

Berman doesn’t expect any remarkable things from Bush in his last months. “He is such a controversial figure. The approval ratings for a president have seldom been lower. I expect that he will press forward towards a smooth transition. That is the only chance he will have as a statesman to go down in history.”

The departing president will do his best in the following weeks to leave a beautiful inheritance behind, one that will let the incoming Head of State lay the basis for his.

Within two months after his election, the President-elect must appoint seven thousand people. “A crucial period: He builds the backbone of his government.” says White House expert Martha Kumar.

The new President in the first weeks after that first Tuesday, must usually fill in a hundred or so crucial posts. The rest follows later. “Decision-making positions such as the head of the Presidential staff. The Chief of Staff and the spokesman are often quickly determined,” said Kumar.

“In the speed with which he completes his team and to those whom he shall appoint, you often see whether he will be successful. Because if the base is shaky, it is very difficult to govern effectively.”