Obama will rip up parts of the Bush legacy - but not all of it

It may only take a few hours for America to feel the effects of a Barack Obama presidency when the Democrat takes control of the White House on January 20 – inauguration day. Aides say the President-elect has ambitious plans to reverse many of George W Bush’s executive orders without having to go through Congress.

John Podesta, the head of Obama’s transition team, says that the Democrats have been working since August so they can make immediate changes that will renew “a sense that the country is working on behalf of the common good.” The two major departures from the Bush administration that Obama is likely to make will be to discourage drilling for oil on American land and to cut some of the red tape surrounding stem cell research. That willingness to listen to scientific experts will be the most symbolic early advance says Bradford Plumer of the New Republic.

Controversial intelligence policies instigated by Bush will probably stay though, reports Siobhan Gorman on the Wall Street Journal. Waterboarding looks likely to remain legal which GOrman suspects will cause tensions in the Democratic party.

What Obama shouldn’t do is completely destroy his predecessor’s legacy, and it is too easily forgotten that President Bush did achieve a lot of good things during his tenure, says Jonathan Cohn also for the New Republic. According to Cohn, Obama can learn a lot from Bush and the new President should try to emulate Bush’s stubborn focus on goals and pushing political boundaries. “Simply in terms of leadership style, President-elect Obama could do worse than to take a page or two from Bush’s playbook.”

FIRST POSTED NOVEMBER 11, 2008