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George H. W. Bush

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: USA Presidents

   George Herbert Walker Bush
   George H. W. Bush
     __________________________________________________________________

   41st President of the United States
   In office
   January 20, 1989 –  January 20, 1993
   Vice President(s)   J. Danforth Quayle
   Preceded by Ronald Reagan
   Succeeded by Bill Clinton
     __________________________________________________________________

   43rd Vice President of the United States
   In office
   January 20, 1981 –  January 20, 1989
   President Ronald Reagan
   Preceded by Walter F. Mondale
   Succeeded by J. Danforth Quayle
     __________________________________________________________________

   Born June 12, 1924 (age 82)
   United States Milton, Massachusetts, USA
   Political party Republican
   Spouse Barbara Bush
   Religion Episcopal
   Signature

   George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President
   of the United States of America serving from 1989 to 1993. Prior to his
   presidency, Bush had been the 43rd Vice President of the United States
   under President Ronald Reagan. He was also a U.S. Congressman from
   Texas ( 1967– 1971), United States Ambassador to the United Nations
   (1971–1973), Republican National Committee Chairman (1973–1974), Chief
   of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China
   (1974–1976), and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
   (1976–1977).

   George Bush is the son of Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. He was
   born in Milton, Massachusetts, and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut.
   Bush is the father of the 43rd and current President, George Walker
   Bush, and the current Governor of Florida, John Ellis Bush.

Early years

   He was born at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts on June 12,
   1924. Adams Street is named for the family of Presidents John Adams and
   John Quincy Adams, who lived on the same street just a few miles south
   in Quincy, Massachusetts. The Bush Family soon afterward moved from
   Milton to Greenwich, Connecticut. The Victorian house where he was born
   is privately owned and not open to the public.

   George began his formal education at the Greenwich Country Day School
   in Greenwich. Beginning in 1936, Bush attended Phillips Academy in
   Andover, Massachusetts, an elite private preparatory school for boys,
   where he held a large number of leadership positions and was a member
   of A.U.V., or "Auctoritas, Unitas, Veritas" (Latin for "Authority,
   Unity, Truth"), an exclusive fraternity. As a student at Phillips
   Academy, Bush learned of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on
   December 7, 1941.

World War II

   George H. W. Bush met Babe Ruth as a student at Yale.
   Enlarge
   George H. W. Bush met Babe Ruth as a student at Yale.

   After graduating from Phillips Academy in June 1942, he joined the U.S.
   Navy on his 18th birthday to become an aviator. After completing the
   10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval
   Reserve at Corpus Christi, Texas on June 9, 1943, just three days
   before his 19th birthday, which made him the youngest naval aviator to
   that date.

   After finishing flight training, he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron
   (VT-51) as photographic officer in September 1943. As part of Air Group
   51, his squadron was based on the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) in the
   spring of 1944. San Jacinto was part of Task Force 58 that participated
   in operations against Marcus and Wake Islands in May, and then in the
   Marianas during June. On June 19, the task force triumphed in one of
   the largest air battles of the war. On his return from the mission,
   Bush's aircraft made a forced water landing. A submarine rescued the
   young pilot, although the plane was lost as well as the life of his
   navigator. On July 25, Bush and another pilot received credit for
   sinking a small cargo ship off Palau.
   George H. W. Bush flying TBM Avenger off the carrier USS San Jacinto in
   1944
   Enlarge
   George H. W. Bush flying TBM Avenger off the carrier USS San Jacinto in
   1944

   After Bush's promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade on August 1, the San
   Jacinto commenced operations against the Japanese in the Bonin Islands.
   On September 2, 1944, Bush piloted one of four Grumman TBM Avenger
   aircraft from VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichi
   Jima. For this mission his crew included Radioman Second Class John
   Delaney and Lieutenant Junior Grade William White, who substituted for
   Bush's regular gunner. During their attack, four Avengers from VT-51
   encountered intense antiaircraft fire. While starting the attack,
   Bush's aircraft was hit and his engine caught on fire. Despite the fact
   that his plane was on fire, he completed his attack and released the
   bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine
   on fire, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one
   other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft.
   However, the other man's parachute did not open, and he fell to his
   death. It was never determined which man bailed out with Bush. Both
   Delaney and White were killed in action. While Bush waited four hours
   in his inflated raft, several fighters circled protectively overhead
   until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback. For this
   action Bush received the Distinguished Flying Cross. During the month
   he remained on the USS Finback, Bush participated in the rescue of
   other pilots.

   Bush subsequently returned to San Jacinto in November 1944 and
   participated in operations in the Philippines. When San Jacinto
   returned to Guam, the squadron, which had suffered 50 percent
   casualties of its pilots, was replaced and sent to the United States.
   Through 1944, he had flown 58 combat missions for which he received the
   Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit
   Citation awarded aboard the San Jacinto.

   Because of his valuable combat experience, Bush was reassigned to
   Norfolk Navy Base and put in a training wing for new torpedo pilots. He
   was later assigned as a naval aviator in a new torpedo squadron,
   VT-153. With the surrender of Japan, he was honorably discharged in
   September 1945 and then entered Yale University.

Marriage, Yale, and Skull & Bones

   Almost immediately upon his return from the war in December 1944,
   George Bush married Barbara Pierce. Their marriage later produced six
   children: George Walker Bush, Pauline Robinson Bush ("Robin",
   1949–1953, died of leukemia), John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, Neil Mallon Bush,
   Marvin Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch.

   While at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was
   elected president. He also captained the Yale baseball team, and as a
   left-handed first baseman, played in the first College World Series.
   Late in his junior year he was, like his father Prescott Bush (1917),
   tapped for membership by the Skull and Bones secret society. Some
   people believe that through this organization, also known as "the
   Order", Bush made connections with other influential people and
   families which would shape his career.

Business ventures

   After graduating from Yale in 1948, Bush went into the Texas oil
   exploration business. He was given a position with Dresser Industries,
   a subsidiary of Brown Brothers Harriman, where his father served on the
   board of directors for 22 years. His son, Neil Mallon Bush, is named
   after his employer at Dresser, Henry Neil Mallon, who was a close
   family friend dating back to Skull & Bones at Yale in 1918 along with
   Prescott. Zapata Corporation was created by Bush and the Liedtke
   brothers in 1953 as Zapata Oil. (Authors Webster Tarpley, Kevin
   Phillips, Daniel Yergin, and others suggest that Bush had ties to the
   Central Intelligence Agency at this time.)

Campaigns for Senate and Congress

   In 1964 Bush won the Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate
   from Texas. His opponent was the incumbent Democratic Senator Ralph
   Yarborough. Bush attacked Yarborough as a left-wing extremist, a
   supporter of civil rights, and a demagogue. Yarborough called Bush a
   "tool of the eastern kingmakers" and a right-wing extremist. Bush lost
   the election.

   Bush did not give up on elective politics and was elected in 1966 to
   the United States House of Representatives from the 7th District of
   Texas, defeating Democrat Frank Briscoe with 57% of the vote. Despite
   being a first-term congressman, Bush was appointed to the powerful
   House Ways and Means Committee.

   In 1968, Bush briefly lobbied to be Richard Nixon’s running mate in the
   1968 presidential election. However, once Bush realized that Nixon was
   looking for someone with more experience than a single term in the U.S.
   House, Bush ran for reelection. Bush was unopposed in the general
   election.

   In 1970, President Nixon convinced Bush to relinquish his House seat to
   again run for the Senate against Democratic Senator Ralph Yarborough, a
   fierce Nixon critic. In the Republican primary, Bush easily defeated
   conservative Robert Morris, a defeated 1964 candidate, by a margin of
   87.6 percent to 12.4 percent. However, former Congressman Lloyd
   Bentsen, a native of Mission, Texas, defeated Yarborough in the
   Democratic primary, 816,641 votes (53 percent) to 724,122 (47 percent).
   Yarborough then endorsed Bentsen. With Yarborough defeated in the
   primary, Nixon’s support for Bush’s campaign waned.

   Because there was no presidential election in 1970, turnout in Texas
   was unusually low in the general election. Bentsen defeated Bush by a
   margin similar to that in his primary victory over Yarborough. Bentsen
   later became the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in the
   1988 presidential election and, teamed with Massachusetts Governor
   Michael Dukakis, lost to Bush. In 1993, Bentsen became Secretary of the
   Treasury in the Clinton Administration.

1970s

   After the 1970 election loss, President Richard Nixon appointed Bush to
   United States Ambassador to the United Nations, at which he served from
   1971 to 1973.

   After Nixon was re-elected President in 1972, he asked Bush to become
   Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Bush held this position
   during the Watergate scandal, when the popularity of both Nixon and the
   Republican Party plummeted. Bush defended Nixon steadfastly, but later
   as Nixon's complicity became clear he focused more on defending the
   Republican Party while still maintaining loyalty to Nixon.

   After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Vice President Gerald R. Ford became
   President, and Bush was one of the two leading contenders to be
   appointed vice president by Ford, but he lost to the other leading
   contender, Nelson Rockefeller. Bush had the support of many
   conservative elements in the Republican Party, particularly Barry
   Goldwater, against Rockefeller for the vice presidency . Ford appointed
   Bush to be Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of
   China. (Since the United States at the time maintained official
   relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan and not the People's
   Republic of China, the Liaison Office did not have the official status
   of an embassy and Bush did not formally hold the position of
   "ambassador" even though he unofficially acted as one.)

   In 1976, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become Director of
   Central Intelligence. Bush served in this role for 355 days, from
   January 30, 1976 to January 20, 1977. The CIA had been rocked by a
   series of revelations, including revelations based on investigations by
   the Senate's Church Committee, about the CIA's illegal and unauthorized
   activities, and Bush was credited with helping to restore the agency's
   morale.

   After a Democratic administration took power in 1977, Bush became
   Chairman of the First International Bank in Houston. He also became an
   adjunct professor of Administrative Science at Rice University in the
   Jones School of Business in 1978, the year it opened. The course,
   Organization Theory, involved lectures from Bush regarding the
   organizations he headed—the Central Intelligence Agency, the National
   Republican Party, a U.S. congressional office, the USA Representative
   Office to China, and an oil exploration company. Just months before
   Bush hit the presidential campaign trail, he was also candid about his
   internal debate to enter the primaries.

   He also became a board member of the Committee on the Present Danger.

1980 presidential campaign

   In the 1980 presidential election, Bush ran for the office, stressing
   his wide range of government experience. In the contest for the
   Republican Party nomination, despite Bush's establishment backing, the
   front-runner was Ronald Reagan, former Governor of California who was
   now running for the third time for President.

   In the contest Bush represented the centrist wing in the GOP, whereas
   Reagan represented the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Bush
   labeled Reagan's supply side-influenced plans for massive tax cuts
   "voodoo economics." During the election, Reagan once famously described
   Bush as a " Brooks Brothers Republican," in response to which Bush
   opened his jacket at a press conference, smiling, to reveal a J. Press
   logo.

   Bush won the Iowa caucus to start the primary season, then told the
   press that he had "Big Mo" (or momentum). However, Reagan came back to
   decisively win the New Hampshire primary, and Bush's "mo" was gone.
   With a growing popularity among the Republican voting base, Reagan won
   most of the remaining primaries and the nomination.

   After some preliminary discussion of choosing former President Gerald
   Ford as his running mate, Reagan selected Bush as his Vice President,
   placing him on the winning Republican presidential ticket of 1980. Bush
   had declared he would never be Reagan's Vice President. Bush was many
   things Reagan had not been — a life-long Republican, a combat veteran,
   and an internationalist with UN, CIA, and China experience. Bush was
   also more moderate in his economic positions and political philosophy
   than Reagan.

Vice President

        Order:      43rd Vice President
   Term of Office:  January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
     Preceded by:   Walter Mondale
    Succeeded by:   Dan Quayle
      President:    Ronald W. Reagan
   Political party: Republican

   The Reagan/Bush ticket won again by a huge landslide in 1984 against
   the Democrats' Walter Mondale/ Geraldine Ferraro ticket.

   During his second term as Vice President, Bush became the first Vice
   President to become Acting President when, on July 13, 1985, President
   Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon. Bush served
   as Acting President for approximately eight hours, most of which he
   passed playing tennis.

   When the Iran-Contra Affair broke in 1986, Bush stated that he had been
   "out of the loop" and unaware of the Iran initiatives related to arms
   trading.

1988 presidential campaign

   1988 presidential electoral votes by state.
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   1988 presidential electoral votes by state.

   In 1988, after nearly eight years as Vice President, Bush again ran for
   President. His challengers for the Republican presidential nomination
   included U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole and ultraconservative
   televangelist Pat Robertson.

   Though considered the early frontrunner for the Republican nomination,
   Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, beaten by winner Dole and
   runner-up Robertson. However, Bush rebounded to win the New Hampshire
   primary, partly because of television commercials portraying Dole as a
   tax raiser. Once the multiple-state primaries such as Super Tuesday
   began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were
   impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was
   his.

   Leading up to the 1988 Republican National Convention, there was much
   speculation as to Bush's choice of running mate. In a move anticipated
   by few and later criticized by many, Bush chose little-known U.S.
   Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana. On the eve of the convention, Bush
   trailed Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, then Massachusetts
   governor, by double digits in most polls.
   President-elect George Bush, President Ronald Reagan, and Soviet
   Premier Mikhail Gorbachev at New York City in 1988
   Enlarge
   President-elect George Bush, President Ronald Reagan, and Soviet
   Premier Mikhail Gorbachev at New York City in 1988

   Bush, often criticized for his lack of eloquence when compared to
   Reagan, surprised many by giving perhaps the best speech of his public
   career, widely known as the "Thousand points of light" speech for his
   use of that phrase to describe his vision of American community. Bush's
   acceptance speech and a generally well-managed Convention catapulted
   him ahead of Dukakis in the polls, and he held the lead for the rest of
   the race. Bush's acceptance speech at the convention included the
   famous pledge, Read my lips: no new taxes.

   The campaign was noted for its highly negative television
   advertisements. One advertisement run by the Bush campaign showed
   Dukakis awkwardly riding in a U.S. Army tank. Bush blamed Dukakis for
   polluting the Boston Harbour as the Massachusetts governor. Bush also
   pointed out that Dukakis was opposed to the law that would require all
   students to say the pledge of allegiance. Another, produced and placed
   by an independent group supporting Bush, referred to murderer Willie
   Horton, a man who had committed a rape and assault while on a weekend
   furlough from a life sentence being served in Massachusetts.

   Dukakis's unconditional opposition to capital punishment also led to a
   pointed question during the U.S. presidential debates. Moderator
   Bernard Shaw asked Dukakis hypothetically if Dukakis would support the
   death penalty if his wife were raped and murdered. Dukakis's response
   appeared to many oddly wooden and technical, and helped characterize
   him as "soft on crime." These images helped enhance Bush's stature as a
   possible Commander-in-Chief compared to the Massachusetts governor.

   Bush beat Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen soundly in the Electoral
   College, by 426 to 111 (Bentsen received one vote). In the nationwide
   popular vote, Bush took 53.4% of the ballots cast while Dukakis gained
   45.6%. Bush was the first serving Vice President to be elected
   President since 1836.

Presidency 1989-1993

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

Policies

   Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency from its first days. In his
   January 20, 1989, Inaugural Address upon taking the Presidency, 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."

   Leading up to the first Gulf War, on September 11, 1990, President Bush
   addressing a joint session of Congress stated: "Out of these troubled
   times, our fifth objective — a New World Order — can emerge: a new era"

   With these words President Bush gave the order to start the military
   action which would later be known as the Gulf War.

Manuel Noriega

   Operation Just Cause was the U.S. military invasion of Panama that
   deposed General Manuel Noriega in December 1989. Involving an
   expeditionary force of 25,000 troops and state-of-the-art military
   equipment, the invasion was the largest American military operation
   since the Vietnam War. General Manuel Noriega was at one time a U.S.
   ally, who was increasingly using Panama to facilitate the drug traffic
   from South America to the United States. In the 1980s, dictator Manuel
   Noriega was one of the most recognizable names in the United States,
   being constantly covered by the press. The deteriorating situation in
   Panama, supposedly an American protectorate, was a growing
   embarrassment for the Reagan Administration, which President Bush
   inherited. The military implementation took place under supervision of
   Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Colin Powell who—as National
   Security Advisor for President Reagan—knew well the Panama situation
   and dictator Noriega. The invasion was preceded by massive protests in
   Panama against Noriega. Bush's Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney visited
   American troops in Panama right after the invasion. President Bush
   visited Panama with his wife in June 1992, to give support to the first
   post-invasion Panamanian government.

Gulf War

   President Bush visited American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving
   Day, 1990
   Enlarge
   President Bush visited American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving
   Day, 1990

   As President, Bush is perhaps best known internationally for leading
   the United Nations coalition in the 1990–1991 Gulf War. In 1990, Iraq,
   led by Saddam Hussein invaded its oil-rich neighbour to the south,
   Kuwait. The broad coalition, in an operation known as Desert Shield,
   sought to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait and ensure that Iraq did not
   invade Saudi Arabia. Bush claimed that his position was summed up
   succinctly when he said, "This aggression will not stand," and, "This
   is not a war for oil. This is war against aggression." On November 29,
   the UN passed a resolution establishing a deadline that authorized the
   nations allied with Kuwait 'to use all necessary means' if Iraq did not
   withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. Fighting began on January 17,
   1991, when U.S.-led air units launched a devastating series of air
   attacks against Iraq, with this operation referred to as Desert Storm.

   In a foreign policy move that would later be questioned, President Bush
   achieved his stated objectives of liberating Kuwait and forcing Iraqi
   withdrawal, then ordered a cessation of combat operations —allowing
   Saddam Hussein to stay in power. His Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney
   noted that invading the country would get the United States "bogged
   down in the quagmire inside Iraq." Bush later 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".

   In explaining to Gulf War veterans why he chose not to pursue the war
   further, President Bush said, "Whose life would be on my hands as the
   commander-in-chief because I, unilaterally, went beyond the
   international law, went beyond the stated mission, and said we're going
   to show our macho? We're going into Baghdad. We're going to be an
   occupying power — America in an Arab land — with no allies at our side.
   It would have been disastrous."

   President Bush's popularity rating in America soared during and
   immediately after the apparent success of the military operations, but
   it later fell dramatically because of an economic recession in
   combination with perceived failures about the end of the war.

Post-Soviet breakup

   As the Soviet Union was unraveling, President Bush and Soviet President
   Mikhail Gorbachev declared a U.S.-Soviet strategic partnership at the
   summit of July 1991, decisively marking the end of the Cold War.
   President Bush declared that U.S.-Soviet cooperation during the Persian
   Gulf War in 1990–1991 had laid the groundwork for a partnership in
   resolving bilateral and world problems.
     * Malta Summit

     * Arms control: START I, Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction

NAFTA

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

   Bush's government, along with the Progressive Conservative Canadian
   Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, spearheaded the negotiations of the
   North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Bill Clinton signed
   in 1993.

Pardons

   Bush's last controversial act in office was his pardon of six former
   government employees implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal on December
   24, 1992, most prominently former Secretary of Defense Caspar
   Weinberger. Weinberger had been scheduled to stand trial on January 5,
   1993, for allegedly lying to Congress regarding his knowledge of arms
   sales to Iran and concealing 1700 pages of his personal diary detailing
   discussions with other officials about the arms sales.

   As Weinberger's private notes contained references to Bush's
   endorsement of the secret shipments to Iran, some believe that Bush's
   pardon was an effort to prevent an order for Bush to appear before a
   grand jury or possibly to avoid an indictment. Weinberger's indictment
   stated that Weinberger's notes contradicted Bush's assertions that he
   had only peripheral knowledge of the arms for hostages deal. Lawrence
   Walsh, the Independent Counsel assigned to the case, charged that "the
   Iran-contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has
   now been completed." Walsh likened the pardons to President Richard
   Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre. Bush responded that the Walsh probe
   constituted an attempt to criminalize a policy dispute between the
   legislative and executive branches. In addition to Weinberger, Bush
   pardoned Duane R. Clarridge, Clair E. George, Robert C. McFarlane,
   Elliott Abrams, and Alan G. Fiers Jr., all of whom had been indicted
   and/or convicted of charges by the Independent Counsel.

Administration and Cabinet

   The official White House portrait of President George H.W Bush
   Enlarge
   The official White House portrait of President George H.W Bush
   OFFICE           NAME                     TERM
   President        George H. W. Bush        1989–1993
   Vice President   J. Danforth Quayle       1989–1993
   State            James A. Baker III       1989–1992
                    Lawrence Eagleburger     1992–1993
   Treasury         Nicholas F. Brady        1989–1993
   Defense          Richard B. Cheney        1989–1993
   Justice          Richard L. Thornburgh    1989–1991
                    William P. Barr          1991–1993
   Interior         Manuel Lujan, Jr.        1989–1993
   Commerce         Robert A. Mosbacher      1989–1992
                    Barbara Hackman Franklin 1992–1993
   Labor            Elizabeth Hanford Dole   1989–1991
                    Lynn Martin              1991–1993
   Agriculture      Clayton K. Yeutter       1989–1991
                    Edward Madigan           1991–1993
   HHS              Louis W. Sullivan        1989–1993
   Education        Lauro Cavazos            1989–1990
                    Lamar Alexander          1991–1993
   HUD              Jack F. Kemp             1989–1993
   Transportation   Samuel K. Skinner        1989–1992
                    Andrew H. Card           1992–1993
   Energy           James D. Watkins         1989–1993
   Veterans Affairs Edward J. Derwinski      1989–1993

Supreme Court appointments

   Bush appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the
   United States:
     * David Souter – 1990
     * Clarence Thomas – 1991, making Bush the first Republican President
       to appoint an African American Supreme Court justice.

1992 re-election campaign

   1992 presidential electoral votes by state.
   Enlarge
   1992 presidential electoral votes by state.

   The tail end of the late 1980s recession, that had plagued most of
   Bush's term in office, was a contributing factor to his defeat in the
   1992 Presidential election to Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas. The
   coalition victory in the Persian Gulf War led to a feeling that Bush's
   re-election was almost assured, but the economic recession coupled with
   a perceived failure to end the war properly reduced his popularity.
   Bush was also perceived as being "out of touch" with the American
   worker. One incident that was said to lend credence to this suspicion
   occurred during a technology trade show in which Bush appeared "amazed"
   upon seeing a demonstration of a supermarket scanner. However, Andrew
   Rosenthal, the reporter who broke the story was not present during the
   demonstration. He had relied on his own interpretation of a pool report
   by Gregg McDonald. The New York Times stood by its interpretation of
   the event, but Newsweek and Mark Duffy of Time Magazine, as well as the
   man who demonstrated the product for Bush, all took issue with
   Rosenthal's characterization. Nevertheless, media outlets reported the
   story as it tied in with and supported the notion that the president
   was out of touch with the common man.

   Several other factors were key in his defeat, including agreeing in
   1990 to raise taxes despite his famous " Read my lips: no new taxes"
   pledge not to institute any new taxes. In doing so, Bush alienated many
   members of his conservative base, losing their support for his
   re-election. Bush raised taxes in an attempt to address an
   ever-increasing budget deficit, which some at the time attributed the
   to the Reagan tax cuts of the 1980s. Despite these tax cuts, overall
   tax revenues had doubled in the 1980s, from $517 billion to $1.031
   trillion. . During the same period, however, growth in domestic
   spending had outpaced the increase in revenue. George H.W. Bush had
   been supported in 1988 by conservatives to continue the Reagan
   revolution, and was seen as a failure in this regard. Ironically, Bush
   had previously admonished Reagan's supply side tax cuts in the 1980
   presidential primary when he referred to Reagan's tax proposals as
   "voodoo economics."

   Ross Perot won 19% of the popular vote, the highest total for a
   third-party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt on the ticket of the
   Bull-Moose Party. In early 1992 a Gallup poll found the President's
   approval rating to be at an all-time low, 29%. Despite his defeat,
   George H.W. Bush left office in 1993 with a 56 percent job approval
   rating.

Post-presidency

   President George W. Bush talks about the Tsunami disaster in Indonesia
   as former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush look on.
   Enlarge
   President George W. Bush talks about the Tsunami disaster in Indonesia
   as former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush look on.

   Since his final election campaign, Bush has mostly retired from public
   life. He and his wife live most of the year at their home in the
   exclusive neighbourhood of Tanglewood in Houston, with a presidential
   office nearby, and the remainder at their summer home Walker's Point in
   Kennebunkport, Maine. He holds his own fishing tournament in
   Islamorada, an island in the Florida Keys.

   In April 1993, the Iraqi Intelligence Service attempted to assassinate
   former President Bush via car bomb during a visit to Kuwait. However,
   Kuwaiti security foiled the car bomb plot. On June 26, 1993, the U.S.
   launched a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters
   in retaliation for the attempted attack against Bush.

   In 1998, Bush made a speech in Tokyo on behalf of Global Crossing,
   Ltd., a startup telecommunications company. Bush accepted shares of
   stock in the company in place of his normal $80,000 speaking fee.
   Global Crossing made a public offering a few months later. SEC records
   indicate that Bush sold the stock for $4,505,000 in two sales that
   occurred on November 16, 1999 and March 13, 2000. In January 2002,
   Global Crossing declared chapter 11 bankruptcy, making it the fourth
   largest insolvency in United States history.

   Bush has never written a memoir of his political life, and says he does
   not plan to write one. He has, however, published a book containing a
   series of collected letters (All The Best, George Bush, 1999), and
   co-authored a book on recent foreign policy issues with his former
   National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft ( A World Transformed,
   1998).

   He has given numerous speeches and participated in business ventures
   with the Carlyle Group, a private equity fund with close ties to the
   government of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, he held the position of
   Senior Advisor to the Carlyle Group's Asia Advisory Board from April
   1998 to October 2003. In January 2006, Bush wrote a letter to the
   Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the People's Republic of China on
   behalf of the Carlyle Group. In the letter, Bush urged the Chinese
   government to approve an impending deal in which the Chinese government
   would sell 85% share ownership of the troubled Guangdong Development
   Bank to a consortium led by Citibank. In addition to praising Citibank
   and the other foreign member of the consortium, the Carlyle Group, Bush
   also intimated that a successful acquisition would be “beneficial to
   the comprehensive development of Sino-US relations.”

   Robert Parry, an American investigative journalist, and others have
   criticized Bush's allegedly close relationship with Sun Myung Moon, a
   controversial religious figure.
   Bush, along with his son President George W. Bush, his daughter-in-law,
   Laura, and former President Bill Clinton, pay their respects to Pope
   John Paul II before the pope's funeral.
   Enlarge
   Bush, along with his son President George W. Bush, his daughter-in-law,
   Laura, and former President Bill Clinton, pay their respects to Pope
   John Paul II before the pope's funeral.

   On June 12, 2004, he went skydiving in honour of his 80th birthday. It
   was his third parachute jump since World War II. The day before his
   80th birthday jump, he and his son both took part in eulogizing his
   predecessor, Ronald Reagan, at the latter's state funeral.

   On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named
   Bush and the other living former Presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter,
   and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World
   Trade Centre.

   On January 3, 2005, Bush and Bill Clinton were named by the current
   President Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the
   Indian Ocean tsunami. Bush and Clinton both appeared on the Super Bowl
   XXXIX pre-game show on Fox in support of their bipartisan effort to
   raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps,
   an action which Bush described as "transcending politics." Thirteen
   days later, they both traveled to the affected areas to see how the
   relief efforts are going.

   In August 31, 2005, following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by
   Hurricane Katrina, Bush again teamed with Clinton to coordinate private
   relief donations. Reports were common that Bush and Clinton had
   developed a friendship by now, despite the latter having defeated the
   former in the 1992 election. (Such friendships were not unknown, as
   Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter had developed one despite a similar
   history.). Almost a year later, on May 13, 2006, they received Honorary
   Diplomas from Tulane University at the school's commencement ceremony.

   Bush and his wife Barbara could also be seen sitting in the front row
   behind home plate at Minute Maid Park in Houston, supporting the
   Houston Astros during the 2005 World Series.

   On September 21, 2006, Bush attended the Centennial Celebration of
   Suffolk University as a guest speaker for the event, where he received
   an Honorary Diploma from the Beacon Hill based institution.

Tributes

   Former President George H. W. Bush views a model of the aircraft
   carrier that has been named in his honor
   Enlarge
   Former President George H. W. Bush views a model of the aircraft
   carrier that has been named in his honour

   The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the
   southwest corner of the campus of Texas A&M University in College
   Station, Texas.
     * George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, was renamed
       after the former President in 1997.
     * The first modified Nimitz-class aircraft carrier George H. W.
       Bush-subclass will be named USS George H. W. Bush when it is
       launched in 2008.

   In 1999, the CIA headquarters facility in Langley, Virginia, was
   renamed the George Bush Centre for Intelligence.

   In 2001, he became the first President since John Adams to be father of
   another President, when his son George W. Bush, previously Governor of
   Texas, took office as President of the United States. During his term
   of office, George H. W. Bush was simply known as President George Bush,
   since his son had never held elective office and was not especially
   well-known to the public. He is now referred to by various nicknames
   and titles, including "Former President Bush," "Bush the Elder," "the
   first President Bush," "Bush 41," "Papa Bush," and simply "41", in
   order to avoid confusion between his presidency and that of his son.
   Although the names of the two men are similar, they are not identical —
   George W. Bush lacks his father's middle name Herbert — so they are not
   known as "senior" and "junior"; however, this has not stopped people
   from using these two terms to refer Bush and his son.

   In 2004, The Korea Society awarded George H.W. Bush with its annual
   James A. Van Fleet Award.

   In 2006, he won the Philadelphia Liberty Medal.

Trivia

     * He was the first President to have two middle names. He was known
       as simply George Bush during his time in office due to his son
       George W. Bush not being as prominent at the time.
     * On January 8, 1992, Bush vomited on the lap of the Prime Minister
       of Japan, Kiichi Miyazawa, during a state dinner. He then fainted.
       The incident, which Bush claimed was nothing more than the flu, was
       caught on camera and raised questions about his health, in addition
       to being a major source of embarrassment. The Japanese named a verb
       for this incident: "bushu-suru", meaning "to commit an instance of
       embarrassing public vomiting", or literally "to do the Bush thing".
       At a subsequent state dinner for Japan in Washington DC, Bush
       quipped that "this time, dinner is on me".
     * On October 22, 1994, Bush appeared on Saturday Night Live, via
       satellite. He joined guest host Dana Carvey as the latter did his
       trademark impression of Bush. He again appeared with Carvey in the
       television show's special "Presidential Bash 2000."
     * Bush is one of two former Presidents to be given the honorary title
       Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) by Queen
       Elizabeth II. (The other is Ronald Reagan. Dwight D. Eisenhower
       also received the title, but before he became President.)
     * He is the only President to have been CIA director, and the only
       President to have headed the American liaison office in the
       People's Republic of China.
     * He is the only President to have been a World War II U.S. Navy
       combat aviator. He was the last U.S. President to have been a
       veteran of that war. The other World War II veterans were
       Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.
     * Bush was diagnosed with Graves disease in 1991. (His wife Barbara
       was also diagnosed with Graves, as was his White House pet, Millie,
       a Springer Spaniel.)
     * Despite being defeated by Bill Clinton in 1992 for the presidency,
       the two have since become close friends. They have worked together
       on several causes helping out the current administration despite
       philosophical differences.
     * There was a Bush or Bob Dole on every Republican presidential
       ticket from 1976 to 2004. (Ford-Dole, Reagan-Bush, Reagan-Bush,
       Bush-Quayle, Bush-Quayle, Dole-Kemp, Bush-Cheney, Bush-Cheney).
     * Except for 1964, there was a Bush, Richard Nixon, or Bob Dole on
       every Republican presidential ticket from 1952 to 2004.
       (Eisenhower-Nixon, Eisenhower-Nixon, Nixon-Lodge, Goldwater-Miller,
       Nixon-Agnew, Nixon-Agnew).
     * Bush was the first President born in June, according to the
       Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (2001 edition), and now Presidents
       have been born in all 12 months.
     * Bush banned broccoli from the White House and Air Force One: "I'm
       President of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more
       broccoli!" This spawned a routine on the TV show Histeria! which
       portrayed him and Loud Kiddington doing a Green Eggs and Ham-type
       routine. Also, because of this, an article was printed in Taste of
       Home magazine for February and March 1998 that talked about a
       presidential theme party whose menus said, "No broccoli permitted."

     * Bush was the first sitting Vice President to be elected President
       since 1836.
     * Bush held a bag of cocaine up during a speech in 1989. The cocaine
       was allegedly purchased in the Presidential Park across the street
       from the White House.
     * Bush appeared with Barbara on an episode of the animated television
       series The Simpsons, entitled " Two Bad Neighbors". The former
       First Couple move into Springfield and leave after George gets
       involved in a feud with Homer and Bart Simpson (the latter in a
       style reminiscent of Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson; Barbara acts
       just like Mrs. Wilson, even using her catchphrase "Oh, George...").
       Their sons George and Jeb are mentioned and appear as cutouts. Bush
       was voiced by Simpsons cast member Harry Shearer.
     * All three major candidates for President in 1992 were left-handed,
       President Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot.
     * Bush was the 41st president to serve but the 40th to be born being
       born in 1924 the same year as Jimmy Carter (who was born October
       1), who was actually the 41st president in terms of birth order.
       John F Kennedy was the 39th president in birth order, born in 1917.
     * Bush is the third former president to have a ship of the United
       States Navy named for him while still alive. Like former president
       Jimmy Carter, he is likely to be still alive and in good health
       when his namesake, the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush
       (CVN-77), is commissioned in 2009.
     * Bush is a member of the exclusive Bohemian Club.

Quotes

     * "The aggression will not stand."
     * "If you don't feel something strongly you're not going to achieve."
     * "I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor
       should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under
       God."

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