To install click the Add extension button. That's it.

The source code for the WIKI 2 extension is being checked by specialists of the Mozilla Foundation, Google, and Apple. You could also do it yourself at any point in time.

4,5
Kelly Slayton
Congratulations on this excellent venture… what a great idea!
Alexander Grigorievskiy
I use WIKI 2 every day and almost forgot how the original Wikipedia looks like.
Live Statistics
English Articles
Improved in 24 Hours
Added in 24 Hours
What we do. Every page goes through several hundred of perfecting techniques; in live mode. Quite the same Wikipedia. Just better.
.
Leo
Newton
Brights
Milds

Presidency of George H. W. Bush

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George H. W. Bush
Presidency of George H. W. Bush
January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
CabinetSee list
PartyRepublican
Election1988
SeatWhite House

Library website

George H. W. Bush's tenure as the 41st president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1989, and ended on January 20, 1993. Bush, a Republican from Texas and the incumbent vice president for two terms under President Ronald Reagan, took office following his victory over Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election. His presidency ended following his defeat in the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton, after one term in office. Bush was the father of the 43rd president, George W. Bush.

International affairs drove the Bush presidency, which navigated the end of the Cold War and a new era of U.S.–Soviet relations. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bush successfully pushed for the reunification of Germany in close cooperation with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, overcoming the reluctance of Gorbachev. He also led an international coalition of countries which invaded and defeated Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in the Gulf War. On a smaller scale he directed a military invasion to overthrow a dictator in Panama. Bush signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trilateral trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In domestic affairs, Bush faced a large federal budget deficit that had grown to threefold since 1980. Despite insisting he was pledged to not raise taxes, Bush agreed to a budget with the Democratic-controlled Congress that raised taxes and cut spending. Bush appointed two Supreme Court justices, David Souter, who eventually became a member of the Court's liberal bloc, and Clarence Thomas, who became one of the most conservative justices of his era.[citation needed]

In the aftermath of allied victory in the Gulf War, Bush was widely considered to be likely to win re-election, but Clinton defeated Bush in large part by focusing on the economy.[citation needed] Despite his defeat, Bush left office with a 56 percent job approval rating, and he remained popular with the public until his death in 2018. Historians generally view Bush as a passive, hands-off president who was "successful in foreign affairs but a disappointment in domestic affairs."[citation needed] In polls of historians and political scientists, Bush is generally ranked as an average or above-average president.

YouTube Encyclopedic

  • 1/5
    Views:
    2 974 149
    281 424
    100 604
    3 160 360
    639 781
  • George HW Bush and the End of the Cold War: Crash Course US History #44
  • George H.W. Bush: The Stunning Highs and Lows of America's Last Pre-Modern President
  • George H. W. Bush | 60-Second Presidents | PBS
  • Terrorism, War, and Bush 43: Crash Course US History #46
  • George W. Bush: A Controversial Presidency

Transcription

Hi, I’m John Green, this is CrashCourse U.S. history and we’ve finally done it we have reached the moment where we get to talk about the presidency of George HW Bush. The 2nd most important man named George Bush ever to be President of the United States. A man so fascinating that we did not give him a face. Mr. Green, Mr. Green, so we’re almost in the present? Well we’re never really gonna get to the present Me From The Past because we’re always in the past. But you are like 20 years in the past which is soon going to create a time paradox that I can not possibly deal with. So I’m just going to let Hank deal with that over on the science shows. Intro Anyway despite like calendars and everything, the 1990s really began in 1988 with the election of George Herbert Walker Bush, who had probably the best resume of any presidential candidate since Teddy Roosevelt. I mean he was a war hero, having enlisted in the Navy upon graduating from high school and then going on to become the youngest pilot in Navy history. He flew 58 missions in the Pacific during WWII and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for completing a mission in a burning plane before ditching into the sea. So just consider that the next time you complete a heroic mission in Call of Duty 4. After the war Bush went to college at Yale, and then moved to Texas where he made millions in the oil industry. Then, he became a Congressman, and then ambassador to the UN, and then director of the CIA, and then Vice President. The guy had more careers than Barbie! Plus like every great American politician George Bush grew up in hardscrabble poverty working his way through the Depression… just kidding he was the son of Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush. But I guess after like 20 years of peanut farmers and former actors, America was ready to have an aristocrat at the helm again, as long as he pretended to be from Texas. Like certain Crash Course teachers wearing striped polo shirts George HW Bush was an old school Episcopalion so he was never totally comfortable with like public professions of faith. So when it came down to pick his vice presidential candidate, Bush chose J Danforth Quayle aka Dan. A young, family values, senator from right here in Indiana. Now these days of course Dan Quayle is primarily known for getting in an argument with a fictional television character named Murphy Brown, and also for not being able to spell the word potato, but once upon a time he was a promising young Republican. Bush’s opponent in that 1988 was Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, who was perceived as competent but kinda heartless and weak and a little bit clueless. As this famous picture of him in a tank indicates he was not a war hero. But at the beginning of the Democratic primary the leading contender was actually the reverend, Jesse Jackson, who had a legitimate shot at being the first African American Democratic Presidential nominee. That would have to wait. Because instead the Democrats chose the northern, liberal governor Dukakis and paired him with Texas Senator Lloyd, I’m gonna make Dan Quayle look good, Bentsen. Which I bring up primarily to point out that Texas actually used to have Democrats. So negative campaign ads had existed before 1988 but the 1988 election took it to an entirely new level and ushered in an era of going negative in politics. Like everybody says they hate negative ads, but they also work like the Bush campaign’s efforts to make Dukakis look weak on defense and crime were brutally effective. The most infamous ad featured Willie Horton who while on furlough from prison committed rape and murder. And even though Dukakis’ Republican predecessor had actually started the furlough program, the Horton crime occurred while Dukakis was governor. The ad featured a terrifying photo of Horton and prisoners walking through a revolving door and it worked. Dukakis was regarded as a liberal who was weak on crime. In fact, it was George HW Bush who was the first to use the word liberal as an insult in American politics, which represents the larger shifts that were happening. So in retrospect, possibly the most important thing about the 1988 campaign was George Bush’s famous pledge at the Republican convention: “Read my lips, No New Taxes!” No way that’s gonna come back to bite him. So once he was President, it’s not surprising that Bush focused more on foreign policy than domestic concerns. I mean that was his background with the UN and at the CIA. But it also makes sense in the larger historical context because the Cold War actually ended during Bush’s presidency. Even though no one ever gives him credit for it. I mean the Berlin Wall came down, Poland’s military rule ended, the Velvet Revolution happened in Czechoslovakia during Bush’s watch. Let’s go to the Thought Bubble The end of the Cold War was really a failure on the part of the USSR rather than the result of successful American policies. But it left the U.S. in something of a policy limbo. I mean after all, the idea of a super-powerful malevolent Bowser Boss Soviet Union poised to destroy the American Way of Life provided a comfortable structure for all our foreign relations for almost 50 years as well as providing the reason for massive military build up and all the jobs that came with it. One positive result of the end of the Cold War was a reduction in nuclear weapons. Under Bush the U.S. and USSR negotiated and implemented the START I and START II treaties, which limited the number of warheads each country could possess to between 3,000 and 3,500. I mean that was still enough to end human life on Earth several times over but it was amazing progress. The collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War led the president to declare the dawn of a New World Order, but calling it a New World Order didn’t make foreign policy any easier. Without the Cold War to orient us foreign policy issues were much more confusing and messy. So for example, Bush kept the United States out of Yugoslavia, which disintegrated in 1991, turning into a bloodbath. But he sent troops into Somalia to help deliver food aid, resulting in the botched operation described in the movie, and book, Black Hawk Down. And then there was the foreign policy crisis that Bush handled decisively: Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Bush brought the issue to the UN and ushered through a Security Council resolution that set a deadline for Saddam to leave Kuwait. When he didn’t meet the January 15, 1991 deadline, the U.S. had already put together a coalition of 34 nations ready to make him leave. America first launched a spectacular air war that destroyed much of the Iraqi defense capability. And then our technological prowess was on display for the world on CNN, which featured coverage of “smart bombs” blowing stuff up. When ground troops led by General Norman z finally moved in, they were able to defeat the Iraqi army in just 100 hours. Thanks Thought Bubble. So the Iraq war, I guess we now have to say first Iraq war, was a huge military success. America lost fewer than 300 soldiers. Iraq suffered somewhere between 1500 and 9500 killed in action.[1] And the US’s military objectives had been achieved clearly and quickly. And Bush claimed that the victory had forever banished the so called “Vietnam Syndrome,” the reluctance to use American military power for fear of becoming bogged down in another “quagmire.” Now in hindsight, if the Americans had supported Iraqi efforts to topple Saddam Hussein and build a new Iraq, we might have achieved that objective as well, but the mission under the UN resolution was to get Iraqis out of Kuwait and so that’s what we did. Bush didn’t want to take it any further. Oh it’s time for the Mystery Document? The rules here are simple I read the mystery document. I either guess the author correctly or I get shocked. “Five of the seven agree with President Bush that the war is just or at least necessary. But not one wants to fight in it. All are opposed to a draft, though a few said one might be necessary as a last resort. They said they would gladly serve in non-military public service jobs. “This might sound selfish, but I think it would be a shame to put America’s best minds on the front line,” said Jason Bell, 20, a junior English major from Elizabethtown, KY. “If we have to go, we have to go, but I think it would be a shame.” [2] Yeah, Jason Bell, that does sound selfish. Alright Stan this is from like a newspaper or magazine. I assume that you are using it to call attention to the fact that this was really the first big American military initiative without a draft. And it also reminds us that the war was not universally popular, I mean at least before it was fought, after it was fought it pretty much was. But I have no idea who actually wrote the piece in the mystery document, how would I know that? Is it a famous journalist? Is it like David Halberstam? No? David Maraniss? Who the hell is that? Does he have a Wikipedia article? Meredith does he have a Wikipedia article? Alright apparently he does have a Wikipedia article. He even won a Pulitzer Prize so congratulations sir. Ahhh! So the Gulf lifted the President Bush’s approval rating to an unheard of 89%. And in April 1991 it looked like there was no way that George HW Bush would lose his re-election bid, but he didn’t consider the domestic issues that were kind of important to Americans. We are very happy to talk about all the wars that we are fighting unless and until someone raises our taxes! So Bush wasn’t much interested in putting together a domestic agenda – he once called it “the vision thing” – and anyway he would have had a hard time getting anything through the Democratically controlled Congress. So Congress continued to pass New Deal style “liberal” legislation including expanded funding for Head Start and welfare, as well as a Family and Medical Leave bill (which Bush vetoed twice) but eventually passed nonetheless. With the Family Medical Leave Act of course America joined every other country in the world in offering paid maternity and paternity leave to new parents. What’s that? We didn’t? We still don’t? We still don’t have that? We still don’t have paid leave? Oh god.. However you are no longer allowed to be fired for 12 whole weeks while you take unpaid leave to care for your child. That’s why Stan couldn’t replace me with text-to-voice software after my daughter, Alice, was born. But in news that actually was sort of cutting edge Congress also enacted the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1991. Before I talk about the recession that ended George Bush’s presidency I want to talk about Rodney King. Because this revealed huge fissures in the American population and called into question the achievements of the rights revolution. In April 1992 an all white jury in Simi Valley found three of four policemen not guilty of beating black motorist Rodney King, even though the incident had been recorded on videotape. After the verdict, Los Angeles erupted into the deadliest riots seen in America since the New York City Draft Riots. 52 people were killed and 2,300 injured in rioting that caused $1billion in property damage. So obviously race remained a volatile issue in the U.S. It was also an issue that Bush seemed unprepared to deal with like he toured burned out LA neighborhoods but had little in the way of real comfort to offer, contributing to the perception that he was this millionaire, Ivy League-educated, Washington insider who was out of touch with regular Americas. But the biggest issue to most Americans was money. America fell into recession in 1990 and the slump lasted until 1992. It might have been caused by the end of the Cold War and the subsequent reductions in defense spending, or by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan’s sluggish refusal to lower interest rates, or maybe the economy just needed to reset at a lower number after growing every year since 1982, or maybe macroeconomics is more complicated than who is President and sometimes people unjustly get blamed or credited for things that they had very little to do with. Regardless, 4.5 million Americans lost their jobs and the unemployment rate rose from 5.3% in 1989 to 7.5% in 1992, its highest level in almost a decade. Along with the many thousands of manufacturing workers who lost their jobs in America’s continuing de-industrialization, white-collar workers were thrown out of work, too, and college graduates, of whom there were record numbers, couldn’t find work as they came out of school. Stop me if any of that sounds familiar. One person who struggled to find a job after graduating during the Bush Recession was none other than CrashCourse writer Raoul Meyer, who after sending 100 resumes out got 3 job interviews and ended up working at a small independent school in Alabama, where he became the teacher of … Me From the Past. Now the recession was certainly bad for Bush politically, but what probably destroyed Bush’s re-election hopes was the whole taxes thing. In 1991, with tax receipts dropping and spending not slowing very much, President Bush did something that now seems unthinkable: he authorized a tax increase. And in doing this he called his conservative credentials into question. Especially in the eyes of small-government-wanting-libertarian-leaning republicans. They had never really trusted the faux Texan Bush anyway, but he had said, “Read my lips..” and they believed him but it turned out he had no lips! Now when coupled with Bush’s lukewarm support of the evangelical wing of the republican party and his running mate’s inability to spell the word potato it all prompted a primary challenge from conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. Which he beat back easily, however some of the GOP voter base, especially the evangelical Christians, stayed home on Election Day. Then there was also a third party candidate, Texas Billionaire and muppet impersonator H. Ross Perot, who won 19% of the vote (the best third-party performance since Teddy Roosevelt in 1912) All of this came together to open the door for a pudgy lad from Hope, Arkansas, who had never inhaled marijuana, and didn’t cheat on his wife except for sometimes, named William Jefferson Clinton. Looking back from today the fascinating thing about the George HW Bush administration is that it seems like a weird interruption in a larger narrative. For a couple decades we had seen increasing conservatism and rising partisanship and then suddenly George HW Bush comes along and everybody kind of works together. They didn’t always make good decisions when working together, but they did make decisions! But what’s really fascinating to me is that if you’re from Eastern Europe or China this period was one of the most important in history. Whereas if you’re American arguably the most important thing the leader of this era ever did was raise George W Bush. For better and for worse America didn’t really change that much as a result of the end of the Cold War. But we’re creeping up now on the growth of the Internet which would change the way that Americans and everyone else imagines history and everything else forever. Thanks for watching. I’ll see you next week. Crash Course is made with the help of all of these nice people and it exists because of your support at Subbable, a voluntary subscription platform where you can give whatever you want to help make Crash Course awesome. There’s also great perks and stuff, so check out Subbable and, thank you for watching Crash Course, thanks for making it possible, and as we say in my hometown, “Don’t forget to be awesome.” ________________ [1] source for these numbers is Patterson, Restless Giant p. 235. [2] From “It’s Their War, Too” by David Maraniss Washington Post, 2/11/91

1988 election

1988 Electoral College vote results

Having served in various government positions, particularly the position of Director of the CIA, Bush sought the presidential nomination in the 1980 Republican primaries. He was defeated by Ronald Reagan, a conservative former governor from California. Seeking to balance the ticket with an ideological moderate, Reagan selected Bush as his running mate. Reagan triumphed over incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election, and Bush took office as vice president in 1981. Bush enjoyed warm relations with Reagan, and the vice president served as an important adviser and made numerous public appearances on behalf of the Reagan administration.[1]

Bush entered the 1988 Republican presidential primaries in October 1987.[2] He promised to provide "steady, experienced leadership", and Reagan privately supported his candidacy.[3] Bush's major rivals for the Republican nomination were Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, Congressman Jack Kemp of New York, and Christian televangelist Pat Robertson.[4] Though considered the early front-runner for the nomination, Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, behind Dole and Robertson.[5] Due in part to a financial advantage over Dole, Bush rebounded with a victory in the New Hampshire primary, then won South Carolina and 16 of the 17 states holding a primary on Super Tuesday. Bush's competitors dropped out of the race soon after Super Tuesday.[6]

Bush, occasionally criticized for his lack of eloquence when compared to Reagan, delivered a well-received speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention. Known as the "thousand points of light" speech, it described Bush's vision of America: he endorsed the Pledge of Allegiance, prayer in schools, capital punishment, and gun rights.[7] Bush also pledged that he would not raise taxes, stating: "Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no, and they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again. And all I can say to them is: read my lips. No new taxes."[8] Bush selected little-known Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate. Though Quayle had compiled an unremarkable record in Congress, he was popular among many conservatives, and the campaign hoped that Quayle's youth would appeal to younger voters.[9]

While Bush won a swift victory in the Republican primaries, many in the press referred to the Democratic presidential candidates as the "Seven Dwarfs" due to a lack of notable party leaders in the field. Senator Ted Kennedy and Governor Mario Cuomo both declined to enter the race, while the campaigns of former Senator Gary Hart and Senator Joe Biden both ended in controversy. Ultimately, Governor Michael Dukakis, known for presiding over an economic turnaround in Massachusetts, emerged as the Democratic presidential nominee, defeating Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, and several other candidates.[10] Leading in the polls, Dukakis launched a low-risk campaign that proved ineffective.[11] Under the direction of strategist Lee Atwater, the Bush campaign attacked Dukakis as an unpatriotic liberal extremist. The campaign seized on Willie Horton, a convicted felon from Massachusetts who had raped a woman while on a prison furlough; the Bush campaign charged that Dukakis presided over a "revolving door" that allowed dangerous convicted felons to leave prison.[12] Dukakis damaged his own campaign with a widely mocked ride in an M1 Abrams tank and a poor performance at the second presidential debate.[13]

Bush defeated Dukakis by a margin of 426 to 111 in the Electoral College, and he took 53.4 percent of the national popular vote.[14] Bush ran well in all the major regions of the country, but especially in the South.[15] He became the first sitting vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836, as well as the first person to succeed a president from his own party via election since Herbert Hoover in 1929.[2][A] In the concurrent congressional elections, Democrats retained control of both houses of Congress.[17]

Inauguration

Chief Justice William Rehnquist administering the oath of office to President Bush during Inaugural ceremonies at the United States Capitol, January 20, 1989.

Bush was inaugurated on January 20, 1989, succeeding Ronald Reagan. He entered office at a period of change in the world; the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union came in his presidency.[18] In his inaugural address, Bush said:

I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken.[19]

Bush would go on to describe his vision of the nation, saying:

America today is a proud, free nation, decent and civil, a place we cannot help but love. We know in our hearts, not loudly and proudly, but as a simple fact, that this country has meaning beyond what we see, and that our strength is a force for good. But have we changed as a nation even in our time? Are we enthralled with material things, less appreciative of the nobility of work and sacrifice? My friends, we are not the sum of our possessions. They are not the measure of our lives. In our hearts we know what matters. We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood and town better than he found it. What do we want the men and women who work with us to say when we are no longer there? That we were more driven to succeed than anyone around us? Or that we stopped to ask if a sick child had gotten better, and stayed a moment there to trade a word of friendship?

Administration

President George H. W. Bush and his cabinet in 1992

Bush's first major appointment was that of James Baker as Secretary of State; Baker was Bush's closest friend and had served as Reagan's White House Chief of Staff.[20] Bush's first pick for Defense Secretary, John Tower, was rejected by the Senate, becoming the first cabinet nominee of an incoming president to be rejected. Leadership of the Department of Defense instead went to Dick Cheney, who had previously served as Gerald Ford's Chief of Staff and would later serve as vice president under George W. Bush.[21] Kemp joined the administration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, while Elizabeth Dole, the wife of Bob Dole and a former Secretary of Transportation, became the Secretary of Labor under Bush.[22] Bush retained several Reagan officials, including Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas F. Brady, Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, and Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos.[23]

Like most of his predecessors since Richard Nixon, Bush concentrated executive power in the Executive Office of the President.[24] New Hampshire Governor John H. Sununu, a strong supporter of Bush during the 1988 campaign, became chief of staff.[20] Sununu would oversee the administration's domestic policy until his resignation in 1991.[25] Richard Darman, who had previously served in the Treasury Department, became the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.[26] Brent Scowcroft was appointed as the National Security Advisor, a role he had also held under Ford.[27] In the aftermath of the Reagan era Iran–Contra affair, Bush and Scowcroft reorganized the National Security Council, vesting power in it as an important policy-making body. Scowcroft's deputy, Robert Gates, emerged as an influential member of the National Security Council.[28] Another important foreign policy adviser was General Colin Powell, a former National Security Advisor who Bush selected as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989.[29]

Beginning mid-May 1991, several damaging stories about Sununu, many of them involving taxpayer funded trips on air force jets, surfaced. Bush was reluctant to dismiss Sununu until December 1991, when Sununu was forced to resign. Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner, who earned plaudits for his handling of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, replaced Sununu as chief of staff. Clayton Yeutter also joined the administration as a Counselor to the President for domestic policy.[30] Baker became chief of staff in August 1992 and was succeeded as Secretary of State by Lawrence Eagleburger.[citation needed]

Vice President Quayle enjoyed warm relations with Bush, and he served as a liaison to conservative members of Congress. However, his influence did not rival that of leading staffers and cabinet members like Baker and Sununu. Quayle was often mocked for his verbal gaffes, and opinion polls taken in mid-1992 showed him to be the least popular vice president since Spiro Agnew. Some Republicans urged Bush to dump Quayle from the ticket in 1992, but Bush decided that picking a new running mate would be a mistake.[31]

Judicial appointments

Supreme Court

Bush appointed two justices to the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1990, Bush appointed a largely unknown state appellate judge, David Souter, to replace liberal icon William Brennan.[32] Souter had come under consideration for the Supreme Court vacancy through the efforts of Chief of Staff Sununu, a fellow native of New Hampshire.[33] Souter was easily confirmed and served until 2009, but joined the liberal bloc of the court, disappointing Bush.[32] In 1991, Bush nominated conservative federal judge Clarence Thomas to succeed Thurgood Marshall, a long-time liberal stalwart. Thomas, the former head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), faced heavy opposition in the Senate, as well as from pro-choice groups and the NAACP. His nomination faced another difficulty when Anita Hill accused Thomas of having sexually harassed her during his time as the chair of EEOC. Thomas won confirmation in a narrow 52–48 vote; 43 Republicans and 9 Democrats voted to confirm Thomas's nomination, while 46 Democrats and 2 Republicans voted against confirmation.[34] Thomas became one of the most conservative justices of his era, who would go on to contribute to landmark Supreme Court decisions, such as Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).[35]

Other courts

Bush sent candidates selected by the Justice Department to the Senate, including 42 judges to the United States courts of appeals, and 148 judges to the United States district courts. Among these appointments were future Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, as well as Vaughn R. Walker, who was later revealed to be the earliest known gay federal judge.[36] Bush also experienced a number of judicial appointment controversies, as 11 nominees for 10 federal appellate judgeships were not processed by the Democratically controlled Senate Judiciary Committee.[37] Nonetheless, by the end of Bush's tenure, Republican appointees made up a majority of the membership of each of the thirteen federal appeals courts.[38]

Foreign affairs

Bush made 26 international trips to 37 different countries during his presidency.[39]
Bush speaks on the telephone regarding Operation Just Cause with General Brent Scowcroft and Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, 1989

The main themes of the Bush foreign policy were:[40][41][42]

  • End of the Cold War: The most significant foreign policy achievement of the Bush administration was overseeing the peaceful end of the Cold War. Bush played a crucial role in managing the transition as the Soviet Union dissolved, ensuring stability and avoiding a potential conflict between the two superpowers.
  • Strategic Arms Reduction: Bush pursued arms control agreements with the Soviet Union to reduce the nuclear weapons arsenals of both countries. He signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, leading to substantial reductions in nuclear weapons stockpiles.
  • Gulf War: Bush led an international coalition in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The Gulf War aimed to liberate Kuwait and protect regional stability. The operation, known as Operation Desert Storm, successfully expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait but stopped short of removing Saddam Hussein from power.
  • Multilateralism and Coalition-Building: Bush emphasized the importance of multilateralism and building international coalitions to address global challenges. This approach was evident in the Gulf War, where he garnered support from numerous nations and assembled a coalition of forces.
  • Support for Democracy and Human Rights: Bush advocated for democracy and human rights worldwide. He backed democratic transitions in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall and supported pro-democracy movements in countries like China and Myanmar (formerly Burma). He invaded Panama to remove a dictator who violated human rights.
  • Free Trade: Bush was a strong advocate for free trade. He negotiated and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, aiming to enhance economic cooperation and remove trade barriers.
  • China Policy: Bush sought to improve relations with China and expand economic ties while also urging progress on human rights. He played a role in normalizing diplomatic relations with China and supported its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).
  • Mideast Peace Process: Bush made efforts to advance the Middle East peace process. He hosted the 1991 Madrid Conference, which brought together Israeli and Arab leaders for peace talks, setting the stage for future negotiations.

Panama: Operation Just Cause

During the 1980s, the U.S. had supplied aid to Manuel Noriega, an anti-Communist dictator of Panama who engaged in drug trafficking. In May 1989, Noriega annulled the results of a democratic presidential election. Bush objected to the annulment of the election and worried about the status of the Panama Canal seeing Noriega as a threat.[43] After an American serviceman was killed by Noriega forces in December 1989, Bush ordered 24,000 troops into the country with an objective of removing Noriega from power. The United States invasion of Panama, known as "Operation Just Cause", was the first large-scale American military operation in more than 40 years that was not related to the Cold War. American forces quickly took control of the Panama Canal Zone and Panama City. Noriega surrendered on January 3, and was quickly transported for trial in the United States. Twenty-three Americans died in the operation, while another 394 were wounded. Noriega was convicted and imprisoned on racketeering and drug trafficking charges in April 1992. Historian Stewart Brewer argues that the invasion "represented a new era in American foreign policy" because Bush did not justify the invasion under the Monroe Doctrine or the threat of Communism, but rather on the grounds that it was in the best interests of the United States.[44]

End of the Cold War

Fall of the Eastern Bloc

Map showing the division of East and West Germany until 1990, with West Berlin in yellow.

Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev had eased Cold War tensions during Reagan's second term, but Bush was initially skeptical of Soviet intentions.[45] During the first year of his tenure, Bush pursued what Soviets referred to as the pauza, a break in Reagan's détente policies.[46] While Bush implemented his pauza policy in 1989, Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe challenged Soviet domination.[47] In 1989, Communist governments fell in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, while the governments of Bulgaria and Romania instituted major reforms. In November 1989, the government of East Germany opened the Berlin Wall, and it was subsequently demolished by gleeful Berliners.[48] Many Soviet leaders urged Gorbachev to crush the dissidents in Eastern Europe, but Gorbachev declined to send in the Soviet military, effectively abandoning the Brezhnev Doctrine.[49] The U.S. was not directly involved in these upheavals, but the Bush administration avoided the appearance of gloating over the demise of the Eastern Bloc to avoid undermining further democratic reforms.[48] Bush also helped convince Polish leaders to allow democratic elections and became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hungary.[50]

By mid-1989, as unrest blanketed Eastern Europe, Bush requested a meeting with Gorbachev, and the two agreed to hold the December 1989 Malta Summit.[49] After the Malta summit, Bush sought cooperative relations with Gorbachev throughout the remainder of his term, believing that the Soviet leader was the key to peacefully ending the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.[51] In May 1990 Bush identified free elections, political pluralism, and the rule of law as the cornerstones of freedom and urged that they be enshrined among the principles of the 35-nation Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). By June, with the help of Max Kampelman, this major historic achievement the security architecture of Europe was anchored.[52]

While Britain and France were wary of a re-unified Germany, Bush pushed for German reunification alongside West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.[53] Gorbachev also resisted the idea of a reunified Germany, especially if it became part of NATO, but the upheavals of the previous year had sapped his power at home and abroad.[54] "Two-Plus-Four" talks among the U.S., the Soviet Union, France, Britain, West Germany, and East Germany began in 1990. After extensive negotiations, Gorbachev eventually agreed to allow a reunified Germany to be a part of NATO. With the signing of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, Germany officially reunified in October 1990.[55]

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev at the Helsinki Summit in 1990

Gorbachev suppressed nationalist movements within the Soviet Union itself.[56] The Soviet Union had occupied and annexed the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in the 1940s, and many of the residents had never accepted Soviet rule. Lithuania's March 1990 proclamation of independence was strongly opposed by Gorbachev, who feared that the Soviet Union could fall apart if he allowed Lithuania's independence. The United States had never recognized the Soviet incorporation of the Baltic states, and the crisis in Lithuania left Bush in a difficult position. Bush needed Gorbachev's cooperation in the reunification of Germany, and he feared that the collapse of the Soviet Union could leave nuclear arms in dangerous hands. Bush warned independence movements of the disorder that could come with secession from the Soviet Union; in a 1991 address that critics labeled the "Chicken Kiev speech", he cautioned against "suicidal nationalism".[57]

In August 1991, hard-line Communists launched a coup against Gorbachev; while the coup quickly fell apart, it broke the remaining power of Gorbachev and the central Soviet government.[58] Later that month, Gorbachev resigned as general secretary of the Communist party, and Russian president Boris Yeltsin ordered Russia to seize property previously controlled by the Kremlin. Gorbachev's power evaporated but he clung to nominal office as the President of the Soviet Union until December 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved.[59] Fifteen states emerged from the USSR, and of those states, Russia was the largest and most populous. Bush and Yeltsin met in February 1992, declaring a new era of friendship. In January 1993, Bush and Yeltsin agreed to START II, which provided for further nuclear arms reductions on top of the original START treaty.[60]

The United States and the Soviet Union had been the two superpowers, and now only the USA remained in that status.

Gulf War

President Bush visited American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990
Iraq (green) invaded Kuwait (orange) in 1990

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

Under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had invaded Iran in 1980, beginning the Iran–Iraq War, which finally ended in 1988.[61] The U.S. had supported Iraq during that war due to U.S. hostility towards Iran, but Bush decided not to renew loans to Iraq because of Hussein's brutal crack-down on dissent and his threats to attack Israel. Faced with massive debts and low oil prices, Hussein decided to conquer the country of Kuwait, a small, oil-rich country situated on Iraq's southern border.[62][63]

After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Bush imposed economic sanctions on Iraq and assembled a multi-national coalition opposed to the invasion.[61] The administration feared that a failure to respond to the invasion would embolden Hussein to attack Saudi Arabia or Israel, and wanted to discourage other countries from similar aggression.[64] Many in the international community agreed; Margaret Thatcher stated that "if Iraq wins, no small state is safe."[65] Bush also wanted to ensure continued access to oil, as Iraq and Kuwait collectively accounted for 20 percent of the world's oil production, and Saudi Arabia produced another 26 percent of the world's oil supply.[66]

In preparation for a military operation against Iraq, the United States transferred thousands of soldiers to Saudi Arabia, and General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. developed an invasion plan.[67] For several weeks, the Bush administration considered the possibility of foregoing the use of force against Iraq, with the hope that economic sanctions and international pressure would eventually convince Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait.[68] At Bush's insistence, in November 1990, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution authorizing the use of force if Iraq did not withdrawal from Kuwait by January 15, 1991.[25] Gorbachev's support, as well as China's abstention, helped ensure passage of the UN resolution.[69] Bush convinced Britain, France, and other nations to commit soldiers to an operation against Iraq, and he won important financial backing from Germany, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.[70]

Operation Desert Storm

In January 1991, Bush asked Congress to approve a joint resolution authorizing a war against Iraq.[71] Bush believed that the UN resolution had already provided him with the necessary authorization to launch a military operation against Iraq, but he wanted to show that the nation was united behind a military action.[72] Speaking before a joint session of the Congress regarding the authorization of air and land attacks, Bush laid out four immediate objectives: "Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait completely, immediately, and without condition. Kuwait's legitimate government must be restored. The security and stability of the Persian Gulf must be assured. And American citizens abroad must be protected." He then outlined a fifth, long-term objective: "Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective – a new world order – can emerge: a new era – freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, East and West, North and South, can prosper and live in harmony.... A world where the rule of law supplants the rule of the jungle. A world in which nations recognize the shared responsibility for freedom and justice. A world where the strong respect the rights of the weak."[73] Despite the opposition of a majority of Democrats in both the House and the Senate, Congress approved the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 1991.[71]

Bush meets with Robert Gates, General Colin Powell, Secretary Dick Cheney and others about the situation in the Persian Gulf and Operation Desert Shield, January 15, 1991

After the January 15 deadline passed without an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, U.S. and coalition forces began a 39-day bombing of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and other Iraqi positions. The bombing devastated Iraq's power grid and communications network, and resulted in the desertion of about 100,000 Iraqi soldiers. In retaliation, Iraq launched Scud missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia, but most of the missiles did little damage. On February 23, coalition forces began a ground invasion into Kuwait, evicting Iraqi forces by the end of February 27. About 300 Americans, as well as approximately 65 soldiers from other coalition nations, died during the military action.[74] A cease fire was arranged on March 3, and the UN passed a resolution establishing a peacekeeping force in a demilitarized zone between Kuwait and Iraq.[75] A March 1991 Gallup poll showed that Bush had an approval rating of 89 percent, the highest presidential approval rating in the history of Gallup polling.[76]

During the military action, the coalition forces did not pursue Iraqi forces across the border, leaving Hussein and his elite Republican Guard in control of Iraq.[74] Bush explained that he did not give the order to overthrow the Iraqi government because it would have "incurred incalculable human and political costs.... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq."[77] His decision not to press the attack remains controversial.[78] As Secretary of Defense Cheney noted, "Once we had rounded Hussein up and gotten rid of his government, then the question is what do you put in his place?"[79] In the aftermath of the war, the Bush administration encouraged rebellions against Iraq, and Kurds and Shia Arabs both rose against Hussein. The U.S. declined to intervene in the rebellion, and Hussein violently suppressed the uprisings.[80] After 1991, the UN maintained economic sanctions against Iraq, and the United Nations Special Commission was assigned to ensure that Iraq did not revive its weapons of mass destruction program.[81]

China

One of Bush's priorities was strengthening relations between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Bush had developed a warm relationship with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping prior to taking office. Despite the personal rapport between Bush and Deng, human rights issues presented a serious challenge to Bush's China policy.[82] In mid-1989, students and other individuals protested in favor of democracy and intellectual freedom across two hundred cities in the PRC. In June 1989, the People's Liberation Army violently suppressed a demonstration in Beijing in what became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Bush was eager to maintain good relations with the PRC, which had drawn increasingly closer to the United States since the 1970s, but he was outraged by the PRC's handling of the protests. In response to the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the United States imposed economic sanctions and cut military ties.[83] However, Bush also decided that Tiananmen should not interrupt Sino-U.S. relations. Thus he secretly sent special envoy Brent Scowcroft to Beijing to meet with Deng, and, the economic sanctions that had been levied against China were lifted.[84] George Washington University revealed that, through high-level secret channels on 30 June 1989, the US government conveyed to the government of the People's Republic of China that the events around the Tiananmen Square protests were an "internal affair".[85] Fang Lizhi and his wife remained in the US Embassy until 25 June 1990, when they were allowed by Chinese authorities to leave the embassy and board a U.S. Air Force C-135 transport plane to Britain.[86] This resolution partly came about after confidential negotiations between Henry Kissinger, acting on behalf of US President Bush, and Deng.[87] Other factors were a false confession by Fang, an attempted intervention by Scowcroft, and an offer from the Japanese government to resume loans to the PRC in return for the resolution of "the Fang Lizhi problem."[88]

NAFTA

From left to right: (standing) President Carlos Salinas, President Bush, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; (seated) Jaime Serra Puche, Carla Hills, and Michael Wilson at the NAFTA Initialing Ceremony, October 1992

In 1987, the U.S. and Canada had reached a free trade agreement that eliminated many tariffs between the two countries. President Reagan had intended it as the first step towards a larger trade agreement to eliminate most tariffs among the United States, Canada, and Mexico.[89] Mexico had resisted becoming involved in the agreement at the time, but Carlos Salinas de Gortari expressed a willingness to negotiate a free trade agreement after he took office in 1988.[90] The Bush administration, along with the Progressive Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, spearheaded the negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico. In addition to lowering tariffs, the proposed treaty would restrict patents, copyrights, and trademarks.[91]

In 1991, Bush sought fast track authority, which grants the president the power to submit an international trade agreement to Congress without the possibility of amendment. Despite congressional opposition led by House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, both houses of Congress voted to grant Bush fast track authority. NAFTA was signed in December 1992, after Bush lost re-election,[90] but President Clinton won ratification of NAFTA in 1993.[92] NAFTA remains controversial for its impact on wages, jobs, and overall economic growth.[93][94] President Donald Trump denounced NAFTA but signed a new treaty with Canada and Mexico in 2020 that made few changes.[95]

Domestic affairs

Faced with several issues, Bush refrained from proposing major domestic programs during his tenure.[96] He did, however, make frequent use of the presidential veto, and used the threat of the veto to influence legislation.[97]

Economy

Federal finances and GDP during the George H. W. Bush presidency[98]
Fiscal
Year
Receipts Outlays Surplus/
Deficit
GDP (in billions) Debt as a %
of GDP[99]
1989 991.1 1,143.7 −152.6 5,554.7 39.4
1990 1,032.0 1,253.0 −221.0 5,898.8 40.9
1991 1,055.0 1,324.2 −269.2 6,093.2 44.1
1992 1,091.2 1,381.5 −290.3 6,416.3 46.8
1993 1,154.3 1,409.4 −255.1 6,775.3 47.9
Ref. [100] [101] [102]

The U.S. economy had generally performed well since emerging from recession in late 1982, but finally slipped into a mild recession in 1990. The unemployment rate rose from 5.9 percent in 1989 to a high of 7.8 percent in mid-1991. A number of highly publicized early layoffs by companies like Aetna led some to call it a "white-collar recession".[103][104] In point of fact, by late 1991 there had been more than a million blue-collar jobs lost compared to approximately 200,000 white-collar jobs lost for a 5-to-1 ratio. Even so, this was still more of a "white collar" recession by comparison than the early 1980s double-dip recession had been.[103][105][106][107] Explanations for the economic slowdown varied; some Bush supporters blamed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan for failing to lower interest rates.[108]

The large federal deficits, spawned during the Reagan years, rose from $152.1 billion in 1989[109] to $220 billion for 1990;[110] the $220 billion deficit represented a threefold increase since 1980.[97] The chief factors pushing the federal deficit upward going in to 1991 were the weak economy, which was depressing both corporate profits and household incomes, and a bailout for the savings and loans industry,[110] which cost more than $100 billion over multiple years.[111] By the end of 1991, polls showed significant public discontent with Bush's handling of the economy.[112] As the public became increasingly concerned about the economy and other domestic affairs, Bush's well-received handling of foreign affairs became less of an issue for most voters. Several congressional Republicans and economists urged Bush to respond to the recession, but the administration was unable to develop an economic plan.[113]

1990 budget reconciliation process

As he was opposed to major defense spending cuts[114] and had pledged to not raise taxes, the president had major difficulties in balancing the budget.[111] Bush and congressional leaders agreed to avoid major changes to the budget for fiscal year 1990, which began in October 1989. However, both sides knew that spending cuts or new taxes would be necessary in the following year's budget in order to avoid the draconian automatic domestic spending cuts required by the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act.[115]

The administration engaged in lengthy negotiations for the passage of the fiscal year 1991 budget. In January 1990, Bush submitted his budget for fiscal year 1991; the budget included cuts to defense spending and the capital gains tax. In March, Congressman Dan Rostenkowski put forward the Democratic counter-proposal, which included an increase in the gasoline tax.[116] In a statement released in late June 1990, Bush said that he would be open to a deficit reduction program which included spending cuts, incentives for economic growth, budget process reform, as well as tax increases.[117][118] To fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party, Bush's statement represented a betrayal, and they heavily criticized him for compromising so early in the negotiations.[119]

In September 1990, Bush and Congressional Democrats announced a compromise to cut funding for mandatory and discretionary programs while also raising revenue, partly through a higher gas tax. The compromise additionally included a "pay as you go" provision that required that new programs be paid for at the time of implementation.[116] Though he had previously promised to support the bill, House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich led the conservative opposition to the bill. Liberals also criticized the budget cuts in the compromise, and in October, the House rejected the deal, resulting in a brief government shutdown. Without the strong backing of the Republican Party, Bush was forced to agree to another compromise bill, this one more favorable to Democrats. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), enacted on October 27, 1990, dropped much of the gasoline tax increase in favor of higher income taxes on top earners. It included cuts to domestic spending, but the cuts were not as deep as those that had been proposed in the original compromise. Bush's decision to sign the bill damaged his standing with conservatives and the general public, but it also laid the groundwork for the budget surpluses of the late 1990s.[120]

Education

Though Bush generally refrained from making major proposals for new domestic programs, he stated his intention to be an education and environmental president.[121] A 1983 report, titled A Nation at Risk, had raised concern about the quality of the American educational system.[122] Bush proposed the Educational Excellence Act of 1989, a plan to reward high-performing schools with federal grants and provide support for the establishment of magnet schools. Bush's education platform consisted mainly of offering federal support for a variety of innovations, such as open enrollment, incentive pay for outstanding teachers, and rewards for schools that improve performance with underprivileged children.[123] Conservatives, who generally sought to shrink the role of the federal government in education, opposed the bill.[124] Liberals opposed the proposed vouchers for private schools, were wary of the student testing designed to ensure higher educational standards, and favored higher levels of federal spending on educational programs for minorities and the economically disadvantaged. Bush believed that educational costs should primarily be borne by state and local governments, and he did not favor dramatically raising the overall level of federal funding for education.[122] Because of the lack of support from both liberals and conservatives, Congress did not act on his education proposals. Bush later introduced the voluntary "America 2000" program, which sought to rally business leaders and local governments around education reform.[124] Though Bush did not pass a major educational reform package during his presidency, his ideas influenced later reform efforts, including Goals 2000 and the No Child Left Behind Act.[125]

Civil rights

Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

The disabled had not received legal protections under the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, and many faced discrimination and segregation as Bush took office. In 1988, Lowell P. Weicker Jr. and Tony Coelho had introduced the Americans with Disabilities Act, which barred employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities. The bill had passed the Senate but not the House, and it was reintroduced in 1989. Though some conservatives opposed the bill due to its costs and potential burdens on businesses, Bush strongly supported it, partly because his son, Neil, had struggled with dyslexia. After the bill passed both houses of Congress, Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 into law in July 1990.[126] The act required employers and public accommodations to make "reasonable accommodations" for the disabled, while providing an exception when such accommodations imposed an "undue hardship".[127]

After the Supreme Court handed down rulings that limited the enforcement of employment discrimination, Senator Ted Kennedy led passage of a bill known as the Civil Rights Act of 1990 which was designed to facilitate launching employment discrimination lawsuits.[128] In vetoing the bill, Bush argued that it would lead to racial quotas in hiring.[129][130] Congress failed to override the veto, but re-introduced the bill in 1991.[131] In November 1991, Bush signed the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which was largely similar to the bill he had vetoed in the previous year.[128]

Environment

In June 1989, the Bush administration proposed a bill to amend the Clean Air Act. Working with Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, the administration won passage of the amendments over the opposition of business-aligned members of Congress who feared the impact of tougher regulations.[132] The legislation sought to curb acid rain and smog by requiring decreased emissions of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide.[133] The measure was the first major update to the Clean Air Act since 1977.[134] Bush also signed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. However, the League of Conservation Voters criticized some of Bush's other environmental actions, including his opposition to stricter auto-mileage standards.[135]

Savings and loan crisis

In 1982, Congress had passed the Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act, which deregulated savings and loans associations and increased FDIC insurance for savings and loans associations. As the real estate market declined in the late 1980s, hundreds of savings and loans associations collapsed. In February 1989, Bush proposed a $50 billion package to rescue the saving and loans industry, the creation of the Office of Thrift Supervision to regulate the industry, and establishment the Resolution Trust Corporation to liquidate the assets of insolvent companies. Congress passed the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, which incorporated most of Bush's proposals.[136] In the wake of the savings and loan crisis, the Senate Ethics Committee investigated five senators, collectively referred to as the "Keating Five", for allegedly providing improper aid to Charles Keating, the chairman of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association.[137]

Points of Light

President Bush devoted attention to voluntary service as a means of solving some of America's most serious social problems. He often used the "thousand points of light" theme to describe the power of citizens to solve community problems. In his 1989 inaugural address, President Bush said, "I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good."[138] Four years later, in his report to the nation on The Points of Light Movement, President Bush said, "Points of Light are the soul of America. They are ordinary people who reach beyond themselves to touch the lives of those in need, bringing hope and opportunity, care and friendship. By giving so generously of themselves, these remarkable individuals show us not only what is best in our heritage but what all of us are called to become."[138]

In 1990, the Points of Light Foundation was created as a nonprofit organization in Washington to promote this spirit of volunteerism.[139] In 2007, the Points of Light Foundation merged with the Hands On Network with the goal of strengthening volunteerism, streamlining costs and services and deepening impact.[140] Points of Light, the organization created through this merger, has approximately 250 affiliates in 22 countries and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and companies dedicated to volunteer service around the world. In 2012, Points of Light mobilized 4 million volunteers in 30 million hours of service worth $635 million.[141]

Other initiatives

Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990,[142] which led to a 40 percent increase in legal immigration to the United States.[143] The bill more than doubled the number of visas given to immigrants on the basis of job skills, and advocates of the bill argued that it would help fill projected labor shortages for various jobs.[144] Bush had opposed an earlier version of the bill that allowed for higher immigration levels, but supported the bill that Congress ultimately presented to him.[144]

Bush became a member of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) early in 1988 and had campaigned as a "pro-gun" candidate with the NRA's endorsement during the 1988 election.[145] In March 1989, he placed a temporary ban on the import of certain semiautomatic rifles.[146] This action cost him endorsement from the NRA in 1992. In 1995, after leaving office, Bush publicly resigned his life membership in the organization after receiving a form letter from the NRA depicting agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms as "jack-booted thugs".[147]

In the 1989 case of Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional to criminalize burning the American flag. In response, Bush introduced a constitutional amendment empower Congress to outlaw the desecration of the American flag. Congress did not pass the amendment, but Bush did sign the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court.[148]

Bush appointed William Bennett to serve as the first Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, an agency that had been established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. Like Bennett, Bush favored an escalation of the federal role in the "war on drugs", including the deployment of the National Guard to aid local law enforcement.[149]

Pardons

As other presidents have done, Bush issued a series of pardons during his last days in office. On December 24, 1992, he granted executive clemency to six former government employees implicated in the Iran–Contra affair of the late 1980s, most prominently former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.[150] Bush described Weinberger, who was scheduled to stand trial on January 5, 1993, for criminal charges related to Iran-Contra, as a "true American patriot".[150] In addition to Weinberger, Bush pardoned Duane R. Clarridge, Clair E. George, Robert C. McFarlane, Elliott Abrams, and Alan Fiers, all of whom had been indicted and/or convicted of criminal charges by an Independent Counsel headed by Lawrence Walsh.[151] The pardons effectively brought an end to Walsh's investigation of the Iran-Contra scandal.[152]

1992 presidential election

Democrat Bill Clinton defeated President Bush in the 1992 presidential election
Outgoing President George H. W. Bush and President-elect Bill Clinton on November 18, 1992

Bush announced his reelection bid in early 1992; with a coalition victory in the Persian Gulf War and high approval ratings, Bush's reelection initially looked likely.[153] Many pundits believed that Democrats were unlikely even to improve on Dukakis's 1988 showing. As a result, many leading Democrats, including Mario Cuomo, Dick Gephardt, and Al Gore, declined to seek their party's presidential nomination.[154] However, Bush's tax increase had angered many conservatives, and he faced a challenge from the right in the 1992 Republican primaries.[155] Conservative political columnist Pat Buchanan rallied the party's right-wing with attacks on Bush's flip-flop on taxes and his support for the Civil Rights Act of 1991.[156] Buchanan shocked observers by finishing a strong second in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary.[157] Bush fended off Buchanan's challenge and won his party's nomination at the 1992 Republican National Convention, but the convention adopted a socially conservative platform strongly influenced by the Christian right.[158]

As the economy grew worse and Bush's approval ratings declined, several Democrats decided to enter the 1992 Democratic primaries. Former Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts won the New Hampshire primary, but Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas emerged as the Democratic front-runner. A moderate who was affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), Clinton favored welfare reform, deficit reduction, and a tax cut for the middle class. Clinton withstood attacks on his personal conduct and defeated Tsongas, former California Governor Jerry Brown, and other candidates to win the Democratic nomination. Clinton selected Senator Al Gore of Tennessee, a fellow Southerner and baby boomer, as his running mate.[159] Polling taken shortly after the Democratic convention showed Clinton with a twenty-point lead.[160] Clinton focused his campaign on the economy, attacking the policies of Reagan and Bush.[161]

In early 1992, the race took an unexpected twist when Texas billionaire Ross Perot launched a third party bid, claiming that neither Republicans nor Democrats could eliminate the deficit and make government more efficient. His message appealed to voters across the political spectrum disappointed with both parties' perceived fiscal irresponsibility.[162] Perot later bowed out of the race for a short time, then reentered.[163] Perot also attacked NAFTA, which he claimed would lead to major job losses.[164] Perot dropped out of the race in July 1992, but rejoined the race in early October.[165]

Clinton won the election, taking 43 percent of the popular vote and 370 electoral votes, while Bush won 37.5 percent of the popular vote and 168 electoral votes.[166] Perot won 19% of the popular vote, one of the highest totals for a third-party candidate in U.S. history, drawing equally from both major candidates, according to exit polls.[167] Clinton performed well in the Northeast, the Midwest, and the West Coast, while also waging the strongest Democratic campaign in the South since the 1976 election. Bush won a majority of the Southern states and also carried most of the Mountain States and the Plains states. In the concurrent congressional elections, Democrats retained control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.[168]

Several factors were important in Bush's defeat. The ailing economy which arose from recession may have been the main factor in Bush's loss, as 7 in 10 voters said on election day that the economy was either "not so good" or "poor".[169][170] On the eve of the 1992 election, the unemployment rate stood at 7.8%, which was the highest it had been since 1984.[171] Bush's re-election campaign, which could no longer rely on Lee Atwater due to Atwater's incapacity in 1990 and death in 1991, was far less effective than the 1988 Bush campaign. The president was also damaged by his alienation of many conservatives in his party.[172]

According to Seymour Martin Lipset, the 1992 election had several unique characteristics. Voters felt that economic conditions were worse than they actually were, which harmed Bush. A rare event was a strong third-party candidate. Liberals launched a backlash against 12 years of a conservative White House. The chief factor was Clinton's uniting his party, and winning over a number of heterogeneous groups.[173]

Evaluation and legacy

Graph of Bush's approval ratings in Gallup polls

At the elite level, a number of commentators and political experts deplored the state of American politics in 1991–1992, and reported the voters were angry. Many analysts blamed the poor quality of national election campaigns.[174]

Bush was widely seen as a "pragmatic caretaker" president who lacked a unified and compelling long-term theme in his efforts.[175][176][177] Indeed, Bush's sound bite where he refers to the issue of overarching purpose as "the vision thing" has become a metonym applied to other political figures accused of similar difficulties.[178][179][180] Facing a Democratic Congress and a large budget deficit, Bush focused much of his attention on foreign affairs.[181] Later, this would become a point of criticism for his presidency, with opponents such as Bill Clinton and Ross Perot claiming that he ignored domestic issues and exclusively solved foreign ones. His ability to gain broad international support for the Gulf War and the war's result were seen as both a diplomatic and military triumph,[18] rousing bipartisan approval,[182] though his decision to withdraw without removing Saddam Hussein left mixed feelings, and attention returned to the domestic front and a souring economy.[183] Amid the early 1990s recession, his image shifted from "conquering hero" to "politician befuddled by economic matters".[184][185]

Bush's approval ratings (red) compared to his disapproval ratings (blue) for his four-year presidency.

Despite his defeat, Bush climbed back from low election day approval ratings to leave office in 1993 with a 56% job approval rating.[186] Bush's oldest son, George W. Bush, served as the country's 43rd president from 2001 to 2009. The Bushes were the second father and son pair to serve as president, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams.[187] By December 2008, 60% of Americans gave George H. W. Bush's presidency a positive rating.[188] In the 2010s, Bush was fondly remembered for his willingness to compromise, which contrasted with the intensely partisan era that followed his presidency.[189] Polls of historians and political scientists have generally ranked Bush as an average president. A 2018 poll of the American Political Science Association’s Presidents and Executive Politics section ranked Bush as the 17th best president.[190] A 2017 C-SPAN poll of historians ranked Bush as the 20th best president.[191]

Richard Rose described Bush as a "guardian" president, and many other historians and political scientists have similarly described Bush as a passive, hands-off president who was "largely content with things as they were".[192] Historian John Robert Greene notes, however, that Bush's frequent threat of a veto allowed him to influence legislation.[193] Bush is widely regarded as a realist in international relations; Scowcroft labeled Bush as a practitioner of "enlightened realism". Greene argues that the Bush administration's handling of international issues was characterized by a "flexible response to events" influenced by Nixon's realism and Reagan's idealism.[194]

Evaluation of his foreign policy

According to Roger Harrison in reviewing Sparrow's biography of Scowcroft:

What the Bush administration achieved in its four years, as Sparrow reminds us, is perhaps without parallel in any similar period of our history: the peaceful demise of the Soviet Union and the emergence of independent states from what had been its empire, the reunification of Germany and its integration within NATO, and the creation of a broad coalition that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait and crippled Iraq as a disruptive force in the Middle East. None of this was preordained, and much might have gone wrong without the adept diplomacy and level-headed policy of President Bush and his aides.[195]

David Rothkopf argues:

In the recent history of U.S. foreign policy, there has been no president, nor any president’s team, who, when confronted with profound international change and challenges, responded with such a thoughtful and well-managed foreign policy....[the Bush administration was] a bridge over one of the great fault lines of history [that] ushered in a ‘new world order’ it described with great skill and professionalism.”[196]

Michael Beschloss and Strobe Talbott praise Bush's handling of the USSR, especially how he prodded Gorbachev in terms of releasing control over the satellites and permitting German unification—and especially a united Germany in NATO. However Bush had an exaggerated view of Gorbachev as the best leader of a new Russia, and missed the more important role of Boris Yeltsin as the true spokesman for public opinion in Russia in its disdain for Gorbachev and his unyielding devotion to Communism.[197]

Andrew Bacevich judges the Bush administration was “morally obtuse” in the light of its “business-as-usual” attitude towards China after the massacre in Tiananmen Square and the uncritical support of Gorbachev as the Soviet Union disintegrated.[198]

Summing up assessments of Bush's presidency, Knott writes:

George Herbert Walker Bush came into the presidency as one of the most qualified candidates to assume the office. He had a long career in both domestic politics and foreign affairs, knew the government bureaucracy, and had eight years of hands-on training as vice president. Still, if presidential success is determined by winning reelection, Bush was unsuccessful because he failed to convince the American public to give him another four years in office. Generally the Bush presidency is viewed as successful in foreign affairs but a disappointment in domestic affairs. In the minds of voters, his achievements in foreign policy were not enough to overshadow the economic recession, and in 1992, the American public voted for change.[181]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The 1988 presidential election remains the only presidential election since 1948 in which either party won a third consecutive term.[16]

References

  1. ^ Greene (2015), pp. 20–24
  2. ^ a b Hatfield, Mark (with the Senate Historical Office) (1997). "Vice Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1981–1989)" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  3. ^ Greene, pp. 27–30
  4. ^ Greene, pp. 30–31
  5. ^ Apple, R. W. Jr. (February 10, 1988). "Bush and Simon Seen as Hobbled by Iowa's Voting". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  6. ^ Greene, pp. 35–37
  7. ^ "1988: George H. W. Bush Gives the 'Speech of his Life'". NPR. 2000. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  8. ^ Greene, p. 43
  9. ^ Greene, pp. 40–41
  10. ^ Greene, pp. 37–39
  11. ^ Greene, pp. 39, 47
  12. ^ Greene, pp. 44–46
  13. ^ Greene, pp. 47–49
  14. ^ "1988 Presidential General Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  15. ^ Greene, p. 49
  16. ^ Silver, Nate (July 18, 2013). "The White House Is Not a Metronome". FiveThirtyEight.
  17. ^ Patterson (2005), pp. 224–225
  18. ^ a b "George H. W. Bush". The White House. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  19. ^ "George H. W. Bush: Inaugural Address". Bushlibrary.tamu.edu. January 20, 1989. Archived from the original on April 20, 2004.
  20. ^ a b Greene, pp. 53–55
  21. ^ Naftali, pp. 69–70
  22. ^ Greene, pp. 56–57
  23. ^ Greene, pp. 55–56
  24. ^ Greene, pp. 58–59
  25. ^ a b Patterson, p. 232
  26. ^ Greene, p. 58
  27. ^ Naftali, pp. 66–67
  28. ^ Greene, pp. 58–60
  29. ^ Greene, p. 129
  30. ^ Greene, pp. 200–202
  31. ^ "J. Danforth Quayle, 44th Vice President (1989–1993)". United States Senate. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  32. ^ a b Crawford Greenburg, Jan (May 1, 2009). "Supreme Court Justice Souter to Retire". ABC News. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  33. ^ Greene, pp. 81–82
  34. ^ Patterson, pp. 243–244
  35. ^ Totenberg, Nina (October 11, 2011). "Clarence Thomas' Influence On The Supreme Court". NPR. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  36. ^ Levine, Dan (April 6, 2011). "Gay judge never considered dropping Prop 8 case". Reuters. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  37. ^ Congressional Chronicle Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, C-SPAN (March 7, 2000).
  38. ^ Patterson, p. 242
  39. ^ "Travels of President George H. W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  40. ^ George C. Herring, From Colony to Superpower; U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776 (2008). pp 899–925.
  41. ^ Meena Bose, and Rosanna Perotti, eds. From Cold War to new world order: The foreign policy of George H.W. Bush (Greenwood, 2002) .
  42. ^ Meacham, Destiny and Power pp. 355–442.
  43. ^ Patterson, pp. 226–227
  44. ^ Stewart Brewer (2006). Borders and Bridges: A History of U.S.-Latin American Relations. Greenwood. p. 146. ISBN 9780275982041.
  45. ^ Naftali, pp. 67–68
  46. ^ Greene, pp. 110–112
  47. ^ Greene, p. 119
  48. ^ a b Herring, pp. 904–906
  49. ^ a b Greene, pp. 122–123
  50. ^ Greene, pp. 119–120
  51. ^ Naftali, pp. 91–93
  52. ^ Bush, George (June 29, 1990). "Statement on the Copenhagen Declaration of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe". The American Presidency Project. UC Santa Barbara.
  53. ^ Heilbrunn, Jacob (March 31, 1996). "Together Again". New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  54. ^ Herring, pp. 906–907
  55. ^ Greene, pp. 134–137
  56. ^ Greene, pp. 120–121
  57. ^ Herring, pp. 913–914
  58. ^ Naftali, pp. 137–138
  59. ^ Greene, pp. 205–206
  60. ^ Greene, pp. 238–239
  61. ^ a b Patterson, pp. 230–232
  62. ^ Greene, pp. 139–141
  63. ^ H.W. Brands, "George Bush and the Gulf War of 1991." Presidential Studies Quarterly 34.1 (2004): 113–131. online
  64. ^ Herring, pp. 908–909
  65. ^ Greene, pp. 144–145
  66. ^ Patterson, p. 233
  67. ^ Greene, pp. 150–151, 154–155
  68. ^ Greene, pp. 151–154
  69. ^ Greene, pp. 146–147, 159
  70. ^ Greene, pp. 149–151
  71. ^ a b Patterson, pp. 232–233
  72. ^ Greene, pp. 160–161
  73. ^ "George H. W. Bush: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit". September 11, 1990.
  74. ^ a b Patterson, pp. 233–235
  75. ^ Greene, p. 165
  76. ^ Waterman, p. 337
  77. ^ "A World Transformed". Snopes.com. 2003. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  78. ^ Patterson, pp. 235–236
  79. ^ Patterson, p. 237
  80. ^ Herring, pp. 911–912
  81. ^ Patterson, p. 236
  82. ^ Greene, pp. 114–116
  83. ^ Herring, pp. 901–904
  84. ^ Silenced Scream: a Visual History of the 1989 Tiananmen Protests. by Donna Rouviere Anderson, Forrest Anderson. p.145
  85. ^ National Security Archive. "United States State Department "Themes" Declassified 2 July 1998". Gwu.edu. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  86. ^ Lilley, James. China Hands. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. ISBN 1-58648-343-9.
  87. ^ Spence, Jonathan D. Kissinger and China, The New York Review of Books, June 2011.
  88. ^ "My "Confession", Fang Lizhi, translated by Perry Link. The New York Review of Books, 2011.
  89. ^ Wilentz, pp. 313–314
  90. ^ a b Greene, pp. 222–223
  91. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions: NAFTA". Federal Express. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  92. ^ "NAFTA". Duke University. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  93. ^ Amy Skonieczny, "Constructing NAFTA: Myth, representation, and the discursive construction of US foreign policy." International Studies Quarterly 45.3 (2001): 433–454 online[dead link]
  94. ^ Zarroli, Jim (December 8, 2013). "NAFTA Turns 20, To Mixed Reviews". NPR. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  95. ^ Eugene Beaulieu and Dylan Klemen. "You Say USMCA or T-MEC and I Say CUSMA: The New NAFTA-Let's Call the Whole Thing On." The School of Public Policy Publications (2020) online.
  96. ^ Patterson, p. 238
  97. ^ a b Greene, pp. 72–73
  98. ^ All figures, except for debt percentage, are presented in billions of dollars. The receipt, outlay, deficit, GDP, and debt figures are calculated for the fiscal year, which ends on September 30. For example, fiscal year 2020 ended on September 30, 2020.
  99. ^ Represents the national debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP
  100. ^ "Historical Tables". White House. Office of Management and Budget. Table 1.1. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  101. ^ "Historical Tables". White House. Office of Management and Budget. Table 1.2. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  102. ^ "Historical Tables". White House. Office of Management and Budget. Table 7.1. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  103. ^ a b Accepting the Harsh Truth Of a Blue-Collar Recession, New York Times (Archives), Steve Lohr, Dec. 25, 1991.
  104. ^ Blue-collar Towns Have Highest Jobless Numbers, Hartford Courant [Connecticut], W. Joseph Campbell, Sept. 1, 1991.
  105. ^ The Handbook of the Political Economy of Financial Crises, edited by Martin H. Wolfson, Gerald A. Epstein; Oxford, New York, Auckland: Oxford University Press, 2013.
  106. ^ A Brief History of Economics: Artful Approaches to the Dismal Science, 2nd Edition, E. Ray Canterbery; New Jersey, London, Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co., 2011.
  107. ^ Real Gross Domestic Product, FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), St. Louis. This source includes a graph which shows GDP growth over time, with each quarter showing percent change from same quarter of the previous year. Vertical gray boxes show recessions.
  108. ^ Patterson, p. 247
  109. ^ Redburn, Tom (October 28, 1989). "Budget Deficit for 1989 Is Put at $152.1 Billion : Spending: Congress and the White House remain locked in a stalemate over a capital gains tax cut". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  110. ^ a b Uchitelle, Louis (October 27, 1990). "The Struggle in Congress; U.S. Deficit for 1990 Surged to Near-Record $220.4 Billion, but How Bad Is That?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  111. ^ a b "George H. W. Bush: Domestic Affairs". Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. October 4, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  112. ^ Waterman, pp. 338–340
  113. ^ Waterman, pp. 340–341
  114. ^ Patterson, pp. 228–229
  115. ^ Greene, pp. 95–97
  116. ^ a b Greene, pp. 100–104
  117. ^ Balz, Dan; Yang, John E. (June 27, 1990). "Bush Abandons Campaign Pledge, Calls for New Taxes". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  118. ^ Bush, George (June 26, 1990). "Statement on the Federal Budget Negotiations". Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project, University of California Santa Barbara. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  119. ^ Heclo, Hugh (2014). "Chapter 2: George Bush and American Conservatism". In Nelson, Michael; Perry, Barbara A. (eds.). 41: Inside the Presidency of George H. W. Bush. Cornell University Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-8014-7927-4.
  120. ^ Greene, pp. 104–106
  121. ^ Campbell, Colin; Rockman, Bert (1991). The Bush Presidency: First Appraisals. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House Publishers, Inc. pp. 69. ISBN 0-934540-90-X.
  122. ^ a b Patterson, pp. 238–239
  123. ^ Campbell, Colin; Rockman, Bert (1991). The Bush Presidency: First Appraisals. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House Publishers, Inc. pp. 83. ISBN 0-934540-90-X.
  124. ^ a b Greene, pp. 83–86
  125. ^ Patterson, pp. 239–240
  126. ^ Greene, pp. 90–92
  127. ^ Griffin, Rodman (December 27, 1991). "The Disabilities Act". CQPress. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  128. ^ a b Greene, pp. 79–80
  129. ^ Devroy, Ann. "Bush Vetoes Civil Rights Bill; Measure Said to Encourage Job Quotas; Women, Minorities Sharply Critical". The Washington Post October 23, 1990, Print.
  130. ^ Holmes, Steven A. (October 23, 1990). "President Vetoes Bill on Job Rights; Showdown is Set". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  131. ^ Holmes, Steven (January 4, 1991). "New Battle Looming as Democrats Reintroduce Civil Rights Measure". New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  132. ^ Greene, pp. 92–94
  133. ^ "Bush Signs Major Revision of Anti-Pollution Law". New York Times. November 16, 1990. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  134. ^ Shabecoff, Philip (April 4, 1990). "Senators Approve Clean Air Measure By a Vote of 89–11". New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  135. ^ Brown, Elizabeth (March 19, 1991). "Conservation League Gives Bush 'D' on Environment". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  136. ^ Greene, pp. 97–100
  137. ^ Fetini, Alyssa (October 8, 2008). "The Keating Five". Time. Archived from the original on January 19, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  138. ^ a b The Points of Light Movement: The President's Report to the Nation. Executive Office of the President, 1993. 1993.
  139. ^ Perry, Suzanne (October 15, 2009). "After Two Tough Years, New Points of Light Charity Emerges". Chronicle of Philanthropy. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  140. ^ Edward, Deborah (2008). "Getting to Yes: The Points of Light and Hands On Network Merger" (PDF). RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, the University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  141. ^ "Points of Light 2012 Year in Review" (PDF). Points of Light. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  142. ^ "Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics: African Americans and Asian Americans". Jeffrey D. Schultz (2000). Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 282. ISBN 1-57356-148-7
  143. ^ "The Paper curtain: employer sanctions' implementation, impact, and reform". Michael Fix (1991). The Urban Institute. p. 304. ISBN 0-87766-550-8
  144. ^ a b Pear, Robert (October 29, 1990). "Major Immigration Bill Is Sent to Bush". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2016.(subscription required)
  145. ^ Feldman, Richard (2011). Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-13100-8.
  146. ^ Carter, Gregg Lee (2002). Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-57607-268-4.
  147. ^ Tatalovich, Raymond; Byron W. Daynes (1998). Moral controversies in American politics: cases in social regulatory policy (2 ed.). M. E. Sharpe. pp. 168–175. ISBN 978-1-56324-994-5.
  148. ^ Greene, pp. 74–76
  149. ^ Greene, pp. 86–90
  150. ^ a b "Bush pardons Weinberger, Five Other Tied to Iran-Contra". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  151. ^ "Pardons and Commutations Granted by President George H. W. Bush". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  152. ^ Brinkley, A. (2009). American History: A Survey Vol. II, p. 887, New York: McGraw-Hill
  153. ^ Kornacki, Steve (January 2, 2015). "What if Mario Cuomo had run for president?". MSNBC. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  154. ^ Waterman, pp. 337–338
  155. ^ Patterson, p. 246
  156. ^ Greene, pp. 210, 217
  157. ^ Greene, pp. 216–217
  158. ^ Patterson, pp. 251–252
  159. ^ Patterson, pp. 247–248
  160. ^ Greene, pp. 224–225
  161. ^ Patterson, p. 252
  162. ^ "The Perot Vote". President and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  163. ^ Holmes, Steven A (October 27, 1992). "The 1992 Campaign: The Independent; Bush Aide calls Perot's story 'paranoid'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  164. ^ Patterson, p. 251
  165. ^ Greene, pp. 225–226
  166. ^ "1992 Presidential General Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  167. ^ Holmes, Steven A. (November 5, 1992). "The 1992 Elections: Disappointment – News Analysis – An Eccentric but No Joke; Perot's Strong Showing Raises Questions On What Might Have Been, and Might Be –". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  168. ^ Patterson, pp. 252–253
  169. ^ R. W. Apple Jr. (November 4, 1992). "THE 1992 ELECTIONS: NEWS ANALYSIS; The Economy's Casualty –". The New York Times. Pennsylvania; Ohio; New England States (Us); Michigan; West Coast; New Jersey; Middle East. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  170. ^ Lazarus, David (June 9, 2004). "Downside of the Reagan Legacy". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  171. ^ WSJ Research (2015). "How the Presidents Stack Up: A Look at U.S. Presidents' Job Approval Ratings (George H.W. Bush)". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  172. ^ Greene, pp. 230–234
  173. ^ Seymour Martin Lipset, "The significance of the 1992 election." PS: Political Science and Politics 26.1 (1993): 7–16 online
  174. ^ Gil Troy, "Stumping in the bookstores: A literary history of the 1992 presidential campaign." Presidential Studies Quarterly (1995): 697–710. online
  175. ^ "The Independent, ' ' George H. W. Bush". The Independent. UK. January 22, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  176. ^ "The Prudence Thing: George Bush's Class Act". Foreign Affairs. November 1, 1998. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  177. ^ Ajemian, Robert (January 26, 1987). "Where Is the Real George Bush?". Time. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  178. ^ "Quotations : Oxford Dictionaries Online". Askoxford.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2003. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  179. ^ Helen Thomas; Craig Crawford (2009). Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4391-4815-0.
  180. ^ Rothkopf, David (October 1, 2009). "Obama does not want to become known as 'The Great Ditherer'". Foreign Policy. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  181. ^ a b Knott, Stephen (October 4, 2016). "GEORGE H. W. BUSH: IMPACT AND LEGACY". Miller Center. University of Virginia.
  182. ^ "Modest Bush Approval Rating Boost at War's End: Summary of Findings – Pew Research Center for the People & the Press". People-press.org. April 18, 2003. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  183. ^ "George H. W. Bush". American Experience. PBS. October 3, 1990. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  184. ^ "Maybe I'm Amazed". Snopes.com. April 1, 2001. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  185. ^ Rosenthal, Andrew (February 5, 1992). "Bush Encounters the Supermarket, Amazed". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  186. ^ Langer, Gary (January 17, 2001). "Poll: Clinton Legacy Mixed". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 1, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  187. ^ "George H. W. Bush: Life in Brief". Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. October 4, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  188. ^ Paul Steinhauser. "CNN, Views soften on 2 former presidents, CNN poll finds". CNN. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  189. ^ Shesol, Jeff (November 13, 2015). "What George H. W. Bush Got Wrong". New Yorker. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  190. ^ Rottinghaus, Brandon; Vaughn, Justin S. (February 19, 2018). "How Does Trump Stack Up Against the Best — and Worst — Presidents?". New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  191. ^ "Presidential Historians Survey 2017". C-SPAN. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  192. ^ Greene, pp. 255–256
  193. ^ Greene, pp. 258–259
  194. ^ Greene, pp. 108–110
  195. ^ ereview of The Strategist: Brent Scowcroft and the Call of National Security by Bartholomew H. Sparrow Strategic Studies Quarterly (2015) 9#2 pp. 142–147 online, quoting p. 144.
  196. ^ David Rothkopf (2009). Running the World: The Inside Story of the National Security Council and the Architects of American Power. PublicAffairs. p. 261. ISBN 9780786736003.
  197. ^ Michael R. Beschloss and Strobe Talbott, At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War (Boston, 1993), pp 470–72.
  198. ^ Andrew J. Bacevich, American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy (2002), 64–68, quoted in Sparrow, p 143.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Baker, James A. The Politics of Diplomacy: Revolution, War, and Peace, 1989-1992. (1995) online
  • Bush, George H. W., and Brent Scowcroft. A World Transformed (2011). online
  • Gates, Robert M. From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents (1996), director of CIA 1991–1993. online
  • Powell, Colin L. and Joseph Persico. My American Journey: An Autobiography (2003) online
  • Public papers of the Presidents of the United States: George Bush 1989 (1989) online

External links


This page was last edited on 4 July 2024, at 22:36
Basis of this page is in Wikipedia. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported License. Non-text media are available under their specified licenses. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. WIKI 2 is an independent company and has no affiliation with Wikimedia Foundation.