 | This article is missing information about Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.(February 2026) |
The United States of America had since the mid-20th century various politicians whom some of them even were presidents affiliated with the Third Way.
| | This article is missing information about Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.(February 2026) |
The United States of America had since the mid-20th century various politicians whom some of them even were presidents affiliated with the Third Way.
The Third Way movement in the USA started with Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. Eisenhower himself was for a philosophy which he called "Middle Way", he rejected both the right-wing and left-wing. Eisenhower was a supporter of free enterprises, limited government but also New Deal policies, which put him in odd with the most people in the Republican Party except for the Rockefeller Republican faction. [1] [2]
Richard Allen Posner described both Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon as advocaters of third way politics, he argues that there economics were identical to the ones of Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama. The Great Society of Johnson get's seen as similar to the "Activist Government" of John Quincy Adams, but unlike Johnson, Adams isn't seen as a third way proponent. [3] Richard Nixon was like Eisenhower for New Deal policies. [4]
Jimmy Carter described himself in a press conference as a something which he calls "middle-of-the-road". This was before presidency, when he was the Governor of Georgia. [5] For his time as president only Jack Knott and Aaron Wildavsky described Carter as a "third way" president, however they didn't explained why he was one, which could be explained that the term "third way" after Tony Blair and other didn't was used then for former leaders like later for Johnson and Nixon, this would mean that Carter wasn't a third way advocater in the sense of Tony Blair. [6]
The former president George H.W Bush and his moderate brand of conservatism which is compassionate conservatism [7] get's described as similar to Clintonism, both support a market economy but still advocate for state interventionism in the economy, in the case of Bush it was the government involvement in the education sector, [8] [9] [10] further Compassionate conservatism mixes both right and left economics and is because of this considered as the Republican brand of the Third Way. [11] Bush also rejected supply-side economics, for example Reaganomics got described by him as Voodoo economics. [12]
Bill Clinton espoused the ideas of the Third Way during his 1992 presidential campaign. [13] When he took office he further supported the Third Way which shows in his ideological views and domestic policies. [14] [15] [16] In terms of economy, Clinton supported neoliberal economic policies like free trade [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] combined with "welfare state liberalism" [25] economic nationalism, [26] keynesianism, [27] state interventionism and neo-keynesianism, [28] this variant of neoliberalism embraced by third way politicians get's called "Centre-left neoliberalism", [29] another name for it is Progressive neoliberalism. [30] Third way politicians reject traditional neoliberalism like the one of Reagan, Thatcher, Friedman etc. [31] Clinton also advocated for some counter supply-side economic policies, while Paul Krugman had the opinion that it was good, Alan Reynolds on the other hand had the opinion that Clinton supported supply-side economics. [32] [33] Alan Blinder a economic adviser to Clinton called supply-side economics an "ill-fated" and perhaps "silly" school on the pages of a 2006 textbook. [34] The Cato Institute critized Clinton, but they see him economical more conservative than George W. Bush. [35] The economic views and policies by Clinton get called Clintonomics, while the overall ideology is called Clintonism. In terms of culture Clintonism embraces cultural liberalism [36] [37] [38] The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a pro-Democratic Party establishment, argues that Clintonism "stands for economic growth and opportunity; for fiscal responsibility; for work, not welfare; for preventing crime and punishing criminals; and for non-bureaucratic, empowering government" and further says that "these policies are key to the successes in the beginning of the 21st century." [39] Bill Clinton created something called Triangulation which sees Third Way ideologies as neither right nor left. [40] [41] [42] Hillary Clinton the wife of Bill Clinton was in her youth member of a group of Rockefeller Republican, where third way proponents like Eisenhower and Nixon were members. [43]
Similar to his father he is a advocater for Compassionate conservatism, [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] but unlike his father he supported supply-side economics. [49] While Bush supported free trade [50] and free-market capitalism, [51] he still saw it as necessary that the state should intervent in the economy, Bush supported a bigger welfare state, due this Bush himself said that he supported Democratic capitalism and called it "the greatest system". [52] Unlike Reagan who used democratic capitalist economic policies like strong public sector spending due voters’ skepticism of liberal capitalism, Bush was ideological a supporter. [53] In practice he combined neoliberalism and Keynesianism. [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] While Reagan who was a neoliberal also advocated for some keynesian economic policies, the difference to Bush is, that Reagan was ideological opposed to keynesianism. [64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] Due this Bush get's seen as a Third Way politician. [79] Lawrence Lindsey a advocater of Compassionate conservatism at the time of Bush wrote a staunch academic defense of Reagan’s supply-side tax cut in 1990, however he’s no hard-core supply-sider. In fact, his book concludes that a rate reduction pays for itself in the form of higher revenues only when the top rate is 50 percent or higher. His rationale for a tax cut is demand-side stimulus — classic Keynesian economics. [80] Greg Mankiw, former chairman of President President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, offered similarly sharp criticism of the supply-side economic school in the early editions of his introductory economics textbook. "Tax cuts rarely pay for themselves. My reading of the academic literature leads me to believe that about one-third of the cost of a typical tax cut is recouped with faster economic growth." [81] Greg Mankiw is part of the New Keynesian economics school. [82]
While Barrack Obama was seen as different to Clinton by some people, ideological and in practice he was close to Clinton. Obama talked very positive about Clinton's welfare reforms and tax cuts as an example, however while he Obama had Clintonian elements he still criticizedother policies of Clinton. [83] [84] Similar to Clinton, Obama embraced neo-keynesianism. [85] In March 2009, Barack Obama, said in a meeting with the New Democrat Coalition that he was a "New Democrat" and a "pro-growth Democrat", that he "supports free and fair trade", and that he was "very concerned about a return to protectionism". [86] Already in 2008 he was seen as a New Democrat. [87] The New Democrats embrace the third way and similar to George W. Bush also Democratic capitalism. [88] [89] [90] [91] Many Obama cabinet picks and House and Senate Democrats were New Democrats, which gave them more influence over the government. [92] [93]
While Joe Biden is seen as a third way proponent like Clinton and Obama, [94] Bloomberg noticed that the Democrats moved away from Third way politics under his Presidency. [95] Biden is considered to be a former New Democrat because [96] [97] during his presidency, Biden has broken with New Democrat policies on some issues, such as spending and free trade. [98] Similar to Johnson's Great Society also Bidenomics got seen as similar to the "Activist Government" of John Quincy Adams. [99] Biden advocated for something called "modern supply-side economics", which include workfare, regulations and government intervention. [100]
Obama resembles such Presidents as Nixon and Clinton in the following respect. They are what the political scientist Stephen Skowronek calls practitioners of "third way" politics (Tony Blair was another), who undermine the opposition by borrowing policies from it in an effort to seize the middle and with it to achieve political dominance. Think of Nixon's economic policies, which were a continuation of Johnson's "Great Society"; Clinton's welfare reform and support of capital punishment; and Obama's pragmatic centrism, reflected in his embrace, albeit very recent, of entitlements reform.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2026 (link)After dominating the party in the 1990s, the DLC is struggling to maintain its identity and influence in a party beset by losses and determined to oppose George W. Bush. Prominent New Democrats no longer refer to themselves as such. The New Democratic movement of pro-free market moderates, which helped catapult Bill Clinton into the White House in 1992, has splintered, transformed by a reinvigoration of grassroots energy. ... 'It's not that the DLC changed,' says Kenneth Baer, who wrote a history of the organization. 'It's that the world changed around the DLC.'
Just as President Obama is being hailed for his Clintonesque turn toward centrist policies—'Triangulation 2.0,' in the words of multiple pundits—the icon of triangulation itself, the Democratic Leadership Council, has run out of cash and is closing up shop. The DLC has fallen far from its peak in the mid-90s, Politico's Ben Smith reports, and has had trouble raising money because of a cool relationship with the Obama administration.
Obama resembles such Presidents as Nixon and Clinton in the following respect. They are what the political scientist Stephen Skowronek calls practitioners of "third way" politics (Tony Blair was another), who undermine the opposition by borrowing policies from it in an effort to seize the middle and with it to achieve political dominance. Think of Nixon's economic policies, which were a continuation of Johnson's "Great Society"; Clinton's welfare reform and support of capital punishment; and Obama's pragmatic centrism, reflected in his embrace, albeit very recent, of entitlements reform.
Obama resembles such Presidents as Nixon and Clinton in the following respect. They are what the political scientist Stephen Skowronek calls practitioners of "third way" politics (Tony Blair was another), who undermine the opposition by borrowing policies from it in an effort to seize the middle and with it to achieve political dominance. Think of Nixon's economic policies, which were a continuation of Johnson's "Great Society"; Clinton's welfare reform and support of capital punishment; and Obama's pragmatic centrism, reflected in his embrace, albeit very recent, of entitlements reform.
Obama resembles such Presidents as Nixon and Clinton in the following respect. They are what the political scientist Stephen Skowronek calls practitioners of "third way" politics (Tony Blair was another), who undermine the opposition by borrowing policies from it in an effort to seize the middle and with it to achieve political dominance. Think of Nixon's economic policies, which were a continuation of Johnson's "Great Society"; Clinton's welfare reform and support of capital punishment; and Obama's pragmatic centrism, reflected in his embrace, albeit very recent, of entitlements reform.