The Bush presidency in historical context: The limitations of the partisan presidency

George W. Bush's presidency was contentious from the moment that his election as president was confrmed by the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore. The court's decision meant that Bush joined the list of three other U.S. presidents who owed their election to a victory in the Electoral College while finishing second in the national popular vote. The protracted and bitter post-election conflict over Florida's electoral votes not only raised further initial questions about the "legitimacy" of the Bush presidency (Dionne and Kristol 2001; Coleman and Price 2009) but also took place within a context of increasing partisanship in American politics. Unlike the three presidents referred to above, George W. Bush was narrowly reelected to a second term in 2004, but his narrow victory in a close and bitterly contested election only intensified the atmosphere of polarization that had already come to characterize his administration.