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President George Herbert Walker Bush


Self Description

August 2007: 'George Bush brought to the White House a dedication to traditional American values and a determination to direct them toward making the United States "a kinder and gentler nation." In his Inaugural Address he pledged in "a moment rich with promise" to use American strength as "a force for good."

Coming from a family with a tradition of public service, George Herbert Walker Bush felt the responsibility to make his contribution both in time of war and in peace. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924, he became a student leader at Phillips Academy in Andover. On his 18th birthday he enlisted in the armed forces. The youngest pilot in the Navy when he received his wings, he flew 58 combat missions during World War II. On one mission over the Pacific as a torpedo bomber pilot he was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire and was rescued from the water by a U. S. submarine. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action.

Bush next turned his energies toward completing his education and raising a family. In January 1945 he married Barbara Pierce. They had six children-- George, Robin (who died as a child), John (known as Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy.

At Yale University he excelled both in sports and in his studies; he was captain of the baseball team and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation Bush embarked on a career in the oil industry of West Texas.

Like his father, Prescott Bush, who was elected a Senator from Connecticut in 1952, George became interested in public service and politics. He served two terms as a Representative to Congress from Texas. Twice he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Then he was appointed to a series of high-level positions: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1980 Bush campaigned for the Republican nomination for President. He lost, but was chosen as a running mate by Ronald Reagan. As Vice President, Bush had responsibility in several domestic areas, including Federal deregulation and anti-drug programs, and visited scores of foreign countries. In 1988 Bush won the Republican nomination for President and, with Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate, he defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the general election.

Bush faced a dramatically changing world, as the Cold War ended after 40 bitter years, the Communist empire broke up, and the Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union ceased to exist; and reformist President Mikhail Gorbachev, whom Bush had supported, resigned. While Bush hailed the march of democracy, he insisted on restraint in U. S. policy toward the group of new nations.

In other areas of foreign policy, President Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow the corrupt regime of General Manuel Noriega, who was threatening the security of the canal and the Americans living there. Noriega was brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker.

Bush's greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, then threatened to move into Saudi Arabia. Vowing to free Kuwait, Bush rallied the United Nations, the U. S. people, and Congress and sent 425,000 American troops. They were joined by 118,000 troops from allied nations. After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour land battle dubbed Desert Storm routed Iraq's million-man army.

Despite unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic triumph, Bush was unable to withstand discontent at home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued high deficit spending. In 1992 he lost his bid for reelection to Democrat William Clinton.'

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gb41.html

April 2002: US President 1989-1993, Vice-President under President Ronald Reagan 1980-1988. Father of George W. Bush.

Third-Party Descriptions

December 2008: "Blanton wrote in a 1995 book that Ronald Reagan tried to order the erasure of all electronic backup tapes during his final week in office; the current president's father struck a secret deal with the U.S. archivist shortly before midnight on his final day in office to seal White House e-mails and take them with him to Texas..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/20/AR2008122002102.html

June 2008: "Since the disability law was signed by the first President Bush, advances in technology have made services more available to people with disabilities. But Justice Department officials said they were still receiving large numbers of complaints. In recent months, the federal government has settled lawsuits securing more seats for disabled fans at Madison Square Garden in New York and at the nation’s largest college football stadium, at the University of Michigan."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/washington/16disabled.html

June 2008: "Mr. Bush has long advocated opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling, and in 2006 signed into law a bill that expanded exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. But the topic of coastal drilling has been an extremely sensitive one in the Bush family; Mr. Bush’s father, the first President Bush, signed an executive order in 1990 banning coastal oil exploration, and Mr. Bush’s brother Jeb was an outspoken opponent of offshore drilling when he was governor of Florida."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/washington/18drill.html

February 2008: "But as the public consensus in favor of civil rights grew, racial provocations became more subtle, focusing on controversial policies with racial associations such as immigration, affirmative action and criminal sentencing. In perhaps the most notorious racial insinuation in recent memory, the late GOP political strategist Lee Atwater helped George H.W. Bush win the presidency in 1988 by playing to the racial fears of white voters with a campaign ad that dramatically recounted the sexual crimes of Willie Horton, a felon furloughed from prison under a program supported by Bush's opponent, former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis. The ad featured Horton's menacing mug shot, complete with shaggy Black Panther beard and Afro."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021502895.html

August 2007: "In 1993, George H.W. Bush pardoned Edwin L. Cox, Jr., who had pled guilty five years earlier to bank fraud. Eleven months later, Cox's father pledged support for the Bush library and is now listed as a donor in the '$100,000 to $250,000' range."

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070827&s=editorial082707b

August 2006: The onslaught resulted in the destruction of 2,000 villages, the deaths of at least 50,000 Kurds and the forced resettlement of hundreds of thousands of others. The Reagan-Bush administration remained silent as it helped the Iraqis fight the Iranians; Washington even made sure Iraq was invited to a prestigious international conference on chemical weapons in 1988.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501238.html

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Founder/Co-Founder of Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund Organization Jul 15, 2006
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) US Federal Government - Executive Branch Organization
Supervisor of (past or present) Lee Atwater Person Nov 7, 2012
Supervisor of (past or present) William "Bill" P. Barr Esq. Person Dec 24, 2005
Advised by (past or present) Prof. Michael J. Boskin Ph.D. Person Apr 21, 2012
Appointed/Selected John Hope Bryant Person Aug 21, 2006
Family Member Barbara Bush Person Jul 5, 2007
Family Member President George W. Bush Person Aug 29, 2006
Family Member Gov. John "Jeb" Bush Person Aug 29, 2006
Family Member Laura Bush Person Mar 22, 2008
Family Member Neil Bush Person Jul 5, 2007
Supervisor of (past or present) Vice President Richard ("Dick") B. Cheney Person Jul 13, 2005
Advised by (past or present) Richard A. Clarke Person Feb 10, 2006
Succeeded by President William ("Bill") Jefferson Clinton Person May 14, 2006
Appointed/Selected Gov. Tom Corbett Esq. Person Jul 23, 2012
Advised by (past or present) Commissioner Christopher Cox Esq. Person Dec 9, 2005
Financial Recipient from (past or present) Edwin L. Cox Person Aug 31, 2007
Financial Recipient from (past or present) Supported by (past or present) Ambassador John J. Danilovich Person Feb 27, 2008
Opponent (past or present) Gov. Michael Stanley Dukakis Person Nov 7, 2012
Supervisor of (past or present) Lawrence S. Eagleburger Person Apr 14, 2008
Opponent (past or present) Rep. Geraldine Anne Ferraro Person Nov 16, 2007
Appointed/Selected Steve Forbes Person Aug 14, 2007
Advised by (past or present) Appointed/Selected Robert M. Gates Ph.D. Person Jan 28, 2007
Appointed/Selected Kip Hawley Esq. Person Sep 26, 2006
Opponent (past or present) Saddam Hussein Person Jan 1, 2007
Supervisor of (past or present) Dr. David Aaron Kessler M.D. Person Jul 11, 2008
Advised by (past or present) Prof. Douglas W. Kmiec Esq. Person Oct 4, 2007
Advised by (past or present) Frederic "Fred" V. Malek MBA Person Aug 19, 2005
Supervisor of (past or present) Lynn Martin Person Jun 25, 2009
Friend (past or present) Supervisor of (past or present) Robert Mosbacher Person Mar 1, 2010
Supervisor of (past or present) Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Person Oct 13, 2006
Supervisor of (past or present) Vice-President Dan Quayle Person Nov 13, 2005
Successor to Opponent (past or present) Subordinate of (past or present) President Ronald Wilson Reagan Person May 14, 2006
Supervisor of (past or present) William K. Reilly Person May 23, 2010
Supervisor of (past or present) Ms. Condoleezza Rice Person May 5, 2006
Appointed/Selected Mary L. Schapiro Esq. Person Dec 25, 2008
Advised by (past or present) Brent Scowcroft Person Nov 22, 2005
Supervisor of (past or present) Robert Anthony "Tony" Snow Person May 30, 2008
Appointed/Selected Judge Sonia Sotomayor Esq. Person May 18, 2010
Supervisor of (past or present) Richard "Dick" Thornburgh Esq. Person Sep 9, 2006
Represented by (past or present) Joseph C. Wilson IV Person Jan 24, 2007
Friend (past or present) Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach M.D. Person Nov 22, 2005

Articles and Resources

52 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 20]   [End]

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Sep 13, 2012 Greed and Debt: The True Story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital

QUOTE: the hypocrisy at the heart of Mitt Romney. Everyone knows that he is fantastically rich, having scored great success, the legend goes, as a "turnaround specialist," a shrewd financial operator who revived moribund companies as a high-priced consultant for a storied Wall Street private equity firm. But what most voters don't know is the way Mitt Romney actually made his fortune: by borrowing vast sums of money that other people were forced to pay back.... Romney has piled more debt onto more unsuspecting companies, written more gigantic checks that other people have to cover, than perhaps all but a handful of people on planet Earth.

 Rolling Stone
May 23, 2009 Nuance Is Fine Until It’s a Flip-Flop

QUOTE: It was the kind of careful, nuanced argument...a methodical laying-out of the facts by a president who seems convinced that if he simply explains himself to the American people, they will surely understand his position and forgive him for changing his mind. It is a tactic Mr. Obama has employed repeatedly as president...

 New York Times
Dec 21, 2008 Bush E-Mails May Be Secret a Bit Longer: Legal Battles, Technical Difficulties Delay Required Transfer to Archives

QUOTE: the administration began trying only in recent months to recover from White House backup tapes hundreds of thousands of e-mails that were reported missing from readily accessible files in 2005. The risks that the transfer may be incomplete are also pointed up by a continuing legal battle between a coalition of historians and nonprofit groups over access to Vice President Cheney's records.

 Washington Post
Nov 08, 2008 Bush’s seven deadly environmental sins: How Bush made a mockery of the nation’s environmental laws and values -- and what Obama must do to get us back on track.

QUOTE: It hardly bears repeating that George W. Bush's record on the environment makes his own father look like Teddy Roosevelt by comparison. By taking environmental policymaking away from scientists, and turning it over to industry cronies, Bush has made a mockery of the nation's environmental laws and values.

 Salon
Oct 19, 2008 Many Holes in Disclosure of Nominees’ Health

QUOTE: Fifteen days before the election, serious gaps remain in the public’s knowledge about the health of the presidential and vice-presidential nominees. The limited information provided by the candidates is a striking departure from recent campaigns, in which many candidates and their doctors were more forthcoming.

 New York Times
Sep 22, 2008 Schoolhouse Rock: Fixing The Education System

QUOTE: One potential problem with basing teacher compensation in part on test scores is that it gives teachers an incentive not just to "teach to the test," but to game the test completely... in a series of investigative articles, revealed that at least part of those test-score gains were due to widespread cheating by teachers and administrators.

 Slate
Jul 12, 2008 Germany Denies Being Pressured on Obama: Reports Say White House Objected to Speech Site

QUOTE: The German government strongly denied Friday that it had been pressured by the Bush administration to discourage Sen. Barack Obama from giving an address in front of the landmark Brandenburg Gate during his upcoming European tour. Obama's campaign has declined to confirm the dates of his trip, but politicians here continued to squabble over where, exactly, to lay out the red carpet for the presumptive Democratic nominee, who, in contrast to President Bush, is very popular with the German public.

 Washington Post
Jul 08, 2008 War Powers Act needs fixing, bipartisan panel says

QUOTE: The United States needs a new law requiring that the president consult with Congress before going to war, a blue-ribbon panel led by two former secretaries of state said Tuesday. The current War Powers Resolution is "ineffective, and it should be repealed and it should be replaced," James Baker said in a joint appearance with Warren Christopher, announcing the results of the study they led.

 CNN (Cable News Network)
Jun 30, 2008 Black Lawmakers Seek Restrictions on Menthol Cigarettes

QUOTE: The 43-member caucus is taking aim at a provision in the bill that would ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes but that specifically exempts menthol. In recent weeks the exemption has become the focus of controversy because menthol brands are heavily used by black smokers, who develop a large share of smoking-related cancers and other health risks.

 New York Times
Jun 18, 2008 Bush Will Seek to End Offshore Oil Drilling Ban

QUOTE: ...Senator John McCain of Arizona, used a speech in Houston on Tuesday to say he now favors offshore drilling, an announcement that infuriated environmentalists who have long viewed him as an ally...Even before the disclosure of Mr. Bush’s decision, the drilling issue caused a heated back-and-forth on the campaign trail on Tuesday, as Mr. McCain sought to straddle the divide between environmentalists and the energy industry, while facing accusations from his Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, that he had flip-flopped and capitulated to the oil industry.

 New York Times
Jun 06, 2008 2 Leaders Ousted From Air Force in Atomic Errors

QUOTE: The Air Force secretary, Michael W. Wynne, and the service’s chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, were forced to resign after the inquiry found that the latest in a series of incidents reflected “a pattern of poor performance” in securing sensitive military components, Mr. Gates said at a Pentagon briefing. So deep and serious are the problems, Mr. Gates said, that he has asked a former secretary of defense and of energy, James R. Schlesinger, to head “a senior-level task force” to recommend improvements in the safekeeping of nuclear weapons, delivery vehicles and other sensitive items.

 New York Times
Apr 09, 2008 China Uses Heavy Hand Even With Its Gadflies

QUOTE: Zheng Enchong is a self-taught lawyer and a dogged human rights activist. In many countries, he would be considered a gadfly. But in China during this Olympic year, he is treated like a threat to national security...In recent years, several dozen lawyers have made it their business to use Chinese law to defend people against the government. Like Zheng, a number have suffered retaliation.

 Washington Post
Feb 17, 2008 Play the Race Card At Your Own Peril

QUOTE: ...today's race-baiting tactics do more than just tap into preexisting racial animosity: They actually create and inflame it. And this in turn creates a problem that can last long after the election is over.

 Washington Post
Feb 17, 2008 A Rotten Way to Pick a President

QUOTE: ...caucuses can be highly undemocratic. They eliminate the secret ballot, forcing voters to declare their loyalties publicly, and are thus vulnerable to intimidation and manipulation. If you can't show up at a specific hour, you can't vote...

 Washington Post
Oct 20, 2007 Papers? I Don’t See Any Papers. He says he's 'pro-disclosure,' but Bill has kept Hillary's White House files under wraps.

QUOTE: Nearly three years after the Clinton Library opened—and more than 21 months after its trove of records became subject to the Freedom of Information Act—barely one half of 1 percent of the 78 million pages of documents and 20 million e-mail messages at the federally funded facility are public, according to the National Archives. The lack of access is emerging as an issue in Hillary's presidential campaign: she cites her years of experience as First Lady as one of her prime qualifications to be president.

 Newsweek
Aug 28, 2007 Off the Books

QUOTE: Early reports suggest that George W. Bush plans to raise roughly $500 million for his presidential library, which will likely be based at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and possibly include a public-policy institute. According to The New York Daily News, "Bush loyalists have already identified wealthy heiresses, Arab nations, and captains of industry as mega' donors." It's a strange wrinkle in the law: The president can raise half a billion dollars--even while he's still in office--without any obligation to disclose any of it.

 New Republic, The (TNR)
Jul 15, 2007 In Intelligence World, A Mute Watchdog: Panel Reported No Violations for Five Years

QUOTE: The President's Intelligence Oversight Board… is obligated under a 26-year-old executive order to tell the attorney general and the president about any intelligence activities it believes "may be unlawful." The board was vacant for the first two years of the Bush administration.

 Washington Post
Jul 11, 2007 Ex-Surgeon General Says White House Hushed Him

QUOTE: Former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona yesterday accused the Bush administration of muzzling him on sensitive public health issues...

 Washington Post
Jul 07, 2007 Whistle-Blower's Fight For Pension Drags On: Former Defense Official Seeks Private Relief Bill

QUOTE: Federal investigations found Barlow was unfairly fired, winning him sympathy from dozens of Democratic and Republican lawmakers and public interest groups. But for 17 years, he has fought without success to gain a federal pension, blocked at every turn by legal and political obstacles also faced by other federal intelligence whistle-blowers.

 Washington Post
Jul 02, 2007 Florida election mayhem for 2008: How the home of hanging chads, Katherine Harris and butterfly ballots is shaking up the Democratic primary.

QUOTE: The biggest political event over the past three months in the Democratic presidential race .... came May 21 when Florida Republican Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation moving the Sunshine State's presidential primary to next Jan. 29. ... Six weeks later, it is slowly becoming apparent that Florida destroyed the last vestiges of sanity in the 2008 presidential calendar by moving its primary.

 Salon

52 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 20]   [End]