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Article: WAR POLITICS : Bush looks to McKinley.(George W. Bush and William McKinley)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- April 19, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's resident political genius, has long had a fascination with another Republican president, William McKinley. In his first election in 1896, McKinley defeated the legendary populist Democrat, William Jennings Bryan, and created a new Republican majority built on the rising industrial elite. Republicans won six of the next eight presidential elections. Rove likes the implications for Bush.
That was all very interesting before September 11. But Rove's McKinley metaphor has only become more relevant since. It can help us understand how new foreign-policy challenges necessarily alter domestic politics.
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