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Bruce R. Bartlett
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Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy Hardcover – February 21, 2006

by Bruce Bartlett (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 50 ratings
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George W. Bush came to the presidency in 2000 claiming to be the heir of Ronald Reagan. But while he did cut taxes, in most other respects he has governed in a way utterly unlike his revered predecessor, expanding the size and scope of government, letting immigration go unchecked, and allowing the federal budget to mushroom out of control.

Despite their strong misgivings, most conservatives remained silent during Bush’s first term. But a series of missteps and scandals, culminating in the ill-conceived nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, has brought this hidden rift within the conservative movement crashing to the surface.

Now, in what is sure to be the political book of the season, Bruce Bartlett lays bare the incompetence and profligacy of Bush’s economic policies. A highly respected Washington economist—and true-believing Reaganite—Bartlett started out as a supporter of Bush and helped him craft his tax cuts. But he was dismayed by the way they were executed. Reagan combined his tax cuts with fiscal restraint, but Bush has done the opposite. Bartlett thus reluctantly concluded that Bush is not a Reaganite at all, but an unprincipled opportunist who will do whatever he or his advisers think is expedient to buy votes.

In this sober, thorough, and utterly devastating book, Bartlett attacks the Bush Administration's economic performance root and branch, from the "stovepiping" of its policy process to the coercive tactics used to ram its policies through Congress, to the effects of the policies themselves. He is especially hard on Bush’s enormous new Medicare entitlement…and predicts that within a few years, Bush's tax cuts and unrestricted spending will produce an economic crisis that will require a major tax increase, probably in the form of a European-style VAT.

Bartlett has surprisingly kind words for Bill Clinton, whose record on the budget was far better than Bush’s. Whatever else one may think of him, Bartlett argues, Clinton cut spending, abolished a federal entitlement program, and left a budget surplus. By contrast, Bush has increased spending, created a massive entitlement program, and produced the biggest deficits in American history.

In fact, Bartlett concludes, Bush is less like Reagan than like Nixon: an arch-conservative Republican, bitterly hated by liberals, who vainly tried to woo moderates by enacting big parts of the liberal program. It didn't work then, and it won't work now—and may have similar harmful effects for the GOP.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Doubleday
  4. Publication date
    February 21, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    7.52 x 1.08 x 9.54 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0385518277
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0385518277
  8. See all details
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Customers find the book informative and well-researched. They describe it as an entertaining and hard-hitting read on the various failures of the Bush presidency. The book is described as a detailed but short read that they recommend for all.

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10 customers mention "Value for money"10 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They find it an entertaining and informative read that provides relevant information. The book is well-written by an insider, providing good and relevant information in a simple way.

"...Overall, this is an exceptional, detailed but short read that I recommend for all political persuasions. He will upset you all with his opinions...." Read more

"...'s attacks are not only sharp because there are well researched, articulate (never shrill in the least) but also because he offers solutions to the..." Read more

"Well-written by an insider." Read more

"...This book is a fairly simple read, shows only a slight bias, and provides good and relevant information regarding where we were, and what W. did to..." Read more

5 customers mention "Information quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and well-researched. They appreciate its practical approach rather than dogmatic one.

"...Overall, this is an exceptional, detailed but short read that I recommend for all political persuasions. He will upset you all with his opinions...." Read more

"...Bartlett's attacks are not only sharp because there are well researched, articulate (never shrill in the least) but also because he offers..." Read more

"...simple read, shows only a slight bias, and provides good and relevant information regarding where we were, and what W. did to get us where we are..." Read more

"...He's well educated in economics and take a practical approach rather than dogmatic. But I was disappointed in this book...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Rick Spell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Educational Book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    Buy this book for a fast analysis of the Bush presidency from an economic policy perspective. Since people are so politically opinionated I feel compelled to describe by politics to disclose any perceived bias: I always voted Republican including for George Bush twice and still consider him to be an entertaining quality guy. However, after watching a surplus under Clinton disappear into widening deficits followed with excuses and statements like "deficits don't matter", I voted for Obama in this election mainly because I choose not to be affiliated with the Right Wing fringe element of the Republican Party. Am I a Democrat? Absolutely not. I am in the middle with no clear philosophy other than proper fiscal management.

    I bought this book on title not knowing that this was a conservative dissatisfied with Bush. Bartlett uses his early chapters to debase Bush's standing as a conservative: his massive spending in an attempt to buy votes starting with the Medicare Drug debacle which he calls the worst legislation in history, followed by Chapter 5 which is titled the Worst Record on Trade since Hoover. But interestingly, he tears into the tax cuts even supporting some Keynesian ideas in the process. I suspect there are some conservatives that will say he is not a conservative. Along with disjointed management he calls Enron a metaphor for the Bush Economic Policy, Clinton Better on Budget, and Bush another Nixon. Wow! This is damning stuff!

    In the Chapter of The Inevitable Tax Increase he talks of the "starve the beast" theory where we are now bringing up the point that split government may be better to keep politicians honest. He concludes this with stating that there are so many baby boomers approaching retirement there is no way to pay for this without tax increases. The next chapter, "The Shape of Taxes to Come" discusses different methods of taxes. It's quite interesting that just this week Cain has announced his 9-9-9 plan which would track this thought process.

    He closes with what is to come. This book was written in 2006 so some of his predictions are very good but of course he couldn't have known of Obama the winner and the Tea Party. He states in this chapter that his writing purpose was to awaken Republicans to the coming debacle he foresaw. He does take a stab at the Democrats for being terrible at articulating their message and his prediction here is somewhat correct.

    Overall, this is an exceptional, detailed but short read that I recommend for all political persuasions. He will upset you all with his opinions. Being in the middle I choose to read from both sides and look for the extremists that don't have broad appeal so I was pleasantly surprised to agree with so much of what he says here. A very solid book and I look forward to reading his book written just after this one.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars "Fiscally Conservative" are two words not associated with Bush
    Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    He expanded on an goverment entitlement that inevitably will lead to tax increases on all Americans, passed Federal goverment regulation on business that it will make it more costly for them to comply with (as a result, some companies have gone public to private because of this new regulation) and has increased the size of big goverment to a level not seen since Lyndon B. Johnson. Am I talking about a Democrat president here? No, I'm talking about Republican George W. Bush.

    Though liberals and a good deal of Bush's followers may see Bush as one of the most conserative presidents ever, anyone who remembers the day of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan where converastism was once defined as limited government will have a tough time defining Bush as a conservative. Thus, anyone who still believes in the Goldwater and Reagan values of conserativism can't help but be disappointed by Bush.

    Reaganite Bruce Bartlett expresses his disappointment in his new book Imposter. Here, Bartlett wisely focus his criticism on Bush's economy policy, since Bartlett is a economist from the Reagan White House and clearly an authority on the subject of economic policy. Bartlett's attacks are not only sharp because there are well researched, articulate (never shrill in the least) but also because he offers solutions to the criticisms he has with Bush's economic policy.

    In this book, you will find out that Bush's tax cuts turn out not to be as sharp they've could been to stimulate economic growth (in fact, Bush never cut taxes down to the rate he initally promised in his 2000 campaign), how this tax-cutting president is setting the country up for some big tax increases down the road (even these tax increases may occur while Bush is still in office), how Bill Clinton is much more fiscially conserative than Bush, and how Bush blew the opportunity to reform Social Security.

    Keep in mind, this book is strictly dealing with Bush's economic policies. Those looking for criticisms with Iraq, the Patriot Act, Katrina, etc. should look elsewhere. In fact, I have to wonder how other people not familiar with Economics would be able to follow Bartlett's book since I wouldn't have been able to follow some of this if I hadn't been an Economic minor in college. Nevertheless, this is compelling reading for anyone who believes in limited goverment and fiscal responsibilty.
    19 people found this helpful
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  • S. Atlas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written by an insider
    Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2024
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    Well-written by an insider.
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  • Daddy X3
    4.0 out of 5 stars Informative. Helpful in Understanding Current Political & Economic Climate
    Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I am NOT a partisan, "red or blue" American. I appreciate history and current events for what they are, and try to see things from all perspectives. Impostor provides one perspective on how just how much damage W. did to our nation. While Obama isn't doing much better fiscally, he still has time to modify his agenda and make corrections (although I'm not holding my breath that this will happen). There are many great books out there for those truly searching for a well-rounded education, rather than propaganda to support their own limited views and perspectives. This book is a fairly simple read, shows only a slight bias, and provides good and relevant information regarding where we were, and what W. did to get us where we are today. Also check out Bob Woodward's works if politics and bi-partisan assignment of responsibility is of interest to you.
    2 people found this helpful
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