George W. Bush took the oath of office as the country's 43rd president after losing the popular vote tally to Democrat Al Gore and winning an Electoral College majority on the strength of a disputed vote count in Florida. But Bush shows no signs of trimming his agenda because of the circumstances of the election or the Republicans' narrow control of the House and the Senate. Bush is pushing for a broad tax cut and an education-reform package with a voucher-type proposal -- and gaining Democratic support for some parts of his plans. Democrats and some Republican lawmakers are urging Bush to adopt a bipartisan approach in dealing with Congress, but conservative supporters want him to stick with positions he staked out during the campaign.

Kenneth Jost is Supreme Court editor, CQ Press; associate editor, CQ Researcher; and author of The Supreme Court Yearbook since the 1992-1993 edition.