WEBVTT

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Read my lips, no new taxes. It's one of the most

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famous and definitely later most controversial

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pledges ever made by a presidential candidate.

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Absolutely. It really defined a moment, didn't

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it? Yeah. For better or worse. It did. And it

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was uttered by George Herbert Walker Bush, the

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41st president of the United States. Today, we're

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embarking on a deep dive into the Well, the extraordinary

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life of a man just full of remarkable contradictions,

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unexpected policy shifts, and a life of unparalleled

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service that, you know, truly defined an era.

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His career spans so much World War II, oil fields,

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high level diplomacy, the CIA, VP. Exactly. You

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might think you know his story, but we're going

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to unpack the surprising facts, the pivotal decisions

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and those personal moments that really shaped

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him. We want you to walk away with a richer,

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more nuanced understanding of this complex leader.

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And our mission for you, our listener, is really

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to help you get a rapid but still thorough grasp

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of Bush's significant contributions, the challenges

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he faced, and the enduring aspects of his often

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let's say complicated legacy. Right. We'll synthesize

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the key info, highlight those aha moments, and

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make sure you feel well -informed, but not, you

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know, overwhelmed. Exactly. We're not just tracing

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a timeline. We're exploring that fundamental

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tension in leadership. Conviction versus pragmatism.

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That's it. How does a man of immense privilege

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and deep personal conviction navigate a world

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demanding constant compromise? We'll see how

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that tension shaped his journey from, well, war

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hero to president. and left this often contradictory

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legacy. And what's really fascinating about George

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H .W. Bush is how his early life, you know, steeped

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in that specific kind of New England privilege,

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it fundamentally shaped his character, but then

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it also spurred him to actively seek experiences

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beyond that. Right, to push himself. Yeah, this

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drive for independence coupled with a deep -seated

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sense of public duty, it really sets the stage

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for a leader who valued service and practicality

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over pure ideology. That's a female here again

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and again. I think that tension is so key right

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from the start. So to really get the man, we

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have to go back the formative years. George Herbert

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Walker Bush, born June 12th, 1924, Milton, Massachusetts,

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into a world that for him was pretty much untouched

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by hardship. Established wealthy family. Yeah.

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Childhood mostly in Greenwich, Connecticut, those

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classic New England summers in Kennebunkport,

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Maine. even visits to his maternal grandparents'

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plantation down in South Carolina. This wasn't

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just old money. It was like a lineage of American

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power. It really was. His family tree was quite

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impressive. Prominent figures in industry, finance

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on both sides. Like who? Well... His paternal

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grandfather, Samuel P. Bush, was a big railroad

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executive. And his maternal grandfather, his

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namesake, George Herbert Walker, the Walker in

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his name, led a Wall Street investment bank,

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W .A. Harriman & Co. Ah, the namesake. Yeah.

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And that grandfather, George Herbert Walker,

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he was known as Pop. And that's where young Bush

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got his nickname, Poppy. Poppy Bush. OK. And

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it's important to remember, you know, he was

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born right as the roaring 20s were ending, but

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the Great Depression. His family's wealth meant

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he was largely unaffected by the hardship that

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defined that era for so many. He grew up with

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this inherent sense of stability, opportunity.

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And he wasn't just coasting. He attended these

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elite schools, Greenwich Country Day, then Phillips

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Academy and Andover. Top tier places. And even

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there, as a teenager, he was already showing

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incredible leadership. Senior class president.

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secretary of the student council, president of

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community fundraising, on the school paper's

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editorial board. Wow, dizzy kid. And captain

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of both varsity baseball and soccer. It's clear

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this wasn't just a bright kid, he was a natural

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leader already drawn to responsibility. Which

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raises that question. How does that background,

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all those advantages, prepare you for the, well,

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the harsh realities of the world? Especially

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a world suddenly at war. Exactly. Because on

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his 18th birthday, literally the day he turned

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18, right after graduating from Phillips Academy

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in 1942, he made this pivotal, deeply personal

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choice, enlisted in the United States Navy as

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a naval aviator. Wow. Voluntarily. Not drafted.

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No. Straight into active combat. A stark, courageous

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departure from that life of privilege. It was

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his first real independent act of service. And

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his rise was fast. By June 43, he's commissioned

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as an ensign in the Naval Reserve, one of the

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youngest pilots in the Navy, just 19. Out in

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44, he's flying a Grumman TBM Avenger. That's

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a torpedo bomber from the Pacific Theater assigned

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to the USS Santa Cinto. And he got a nickname

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there too, right? Not Poppy? No, his squadron

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mates called him Skin because he was so lanky.

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Quite a contrast. Skin, okay. His first combat

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mission, May 44, bombing Wake Island. Promoted

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to Lieutenant Junior grade by August, he was

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really in the thick of it. And here's where things

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get really intense and profoundly personal. This

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moment defines a spiritual journey that lasted

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his whole life. Okay. During an attack on a Japanese

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base in Chichijima, Bush's plane gets hit by

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enemy fire. It goes down. Both of his crewmates,

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William White and John Delaney, tragically died.

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Bush, though, he manages to bail out, parachutes

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into the ocean. Wow. He spends several harrowing

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hours in a life raft before being rescued by

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the submarine USS Finbeck. Just imagine that,

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alone in the Pacific. And it gets worse. He later

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learned that several other American fliers shot

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down in that same attack were captured, executed,

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and even cannibalized by the Japanese forces

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on the island. Oh, horrific. Absolutely horrific.

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So this close brush with death, knowing what

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happened to others, it deeply irrevocably shaped

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him. It led him to ask that profound question.

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Why had I been spared? And what did God have

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for me? You can see how that would change everything.

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Not just survival, but the search for meaning.

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Exactly. A spiritual reckoning. It really set

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his future trajectory. And he was decorated for

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his bravery, right? The distinguished flying

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cross for that mission. It was. And he didn't

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just go home. He kept flying. An astonishing

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58 missions in total. 58? Yeah. completed 128

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carrier landings, logged over 1 ,200 hours of

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flight time before Japan surrendered in September

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45. Incredible service, especially after that

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trauma. Just amazing dedication at such a young

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age. Truly. And amidst all this intense wartime

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service, his personal life was also taking shape.

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He met Barbara Pierce at a Christmas dance back

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in December 41. Before he even enlisted. Right.

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They got engaged in December 43, married January

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6, 1945, in Rye, New York, while he was on leave.

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A wartime wedding. Yep. And their marriage would

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become the longest presidential marriage in American

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history at that point. 73 years. Barbara was

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absolutely his rock. They built a big family,

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six kids, George W., Robin, Jeb, Neil, Marvin,

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and Doro. But life dealt them another terrible

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blow. Yeah, the loss of their daughter Robin.

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Their oldest daughter Robin died of leukemia

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in 1953. Just devastating. It profoundly impacted

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the whole family. Another moment reinforcing

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that sense of life's fragility he must have carried

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from the war. Exactly. It really cemented his

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faith, his sense of purpose. After the war, he

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enrolled at Yale. Accelerated program. Graduated

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Phi Beta Kappa in 48 with a BA in economics.

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Yeah. in just two and a half years. Still driven.

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Oh yeah. And his Yale years weren't just academics.

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He was still involved in the, you know, the crappings

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of his background, but also eager to prove himself

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elsewhere. Like what? Well, president of the

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DKE fraternity, member of the elite Skull and

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Bone Secret Society. Right, the establishment

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stuff. But he also captained the Yale baseball

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team. played first base in the first two College

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World Series, showed that competitive drive.

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A lefty first base when I read. That's right.

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And like his father, he was even on the year

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cheerleading squad, a real all -rounder, blending

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the serious and the spirited. So an Ivy League

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war hero from this incredibly privileged background,

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you'd expect him to go straight to Wall Street,

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right? Follow his dad, his grandpa. That would

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be the logical path. But Bush, always that individual

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streak, had other plans. This is where that narrative

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of deliberate independence really kicks in. OK,

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so what did he do? He didn't go to Wall Street.

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No. After Yale, he made a very conscious decision.

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packed up his young family, Barbara and little

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George W., and moved them to West Texas. West

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Texas? From Connecticut? That's a huge change.

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Huge. Biographer John Meacham points out it was

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a deliberate effort to step out of the daily

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shadow of his Wall Street father and grandfather

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Walker. Because he's his own man. Exactly. But

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he's also pragmatic. He knew he could still,

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you know, call on their connections if he needed

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to raise capital. Smart. Independence, but with

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a safety net. That blend of ambition and practicality,

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wanting to chart his own course but not ignoring

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resources, that's foundational to understanding

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him. It pops up again and again. And this is

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where he becomes a wildcatter, right? Drilling

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for oil. That's it. His first job was actually

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selling oil field equipment for dresser industries,

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run by a family friend, Neil Mallon. He moved

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the family around these, you know, often gritty

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oil towns, Odessa, Texas, Ventura, Bakersfield,

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Compton in California, then Midland, Texas. A

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far cry from Greenwich. Oh, yeah. A real immersion

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into a different slice of America. And he quickly

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went from salesman to owner. Showed a real business

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sense. In 51, he co -founded Bush Over Bay Oil

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Development with John Over Bay, backed by Mallon

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and his uncle, George Herbert Walker, Jr. Using

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those connections pragmatically. Right. Then

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in 53, co -found Zapata Petroleum Corporation,

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drilling in the Permian Basin. By 54, he's president

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of Zapata Offshore Company, specializing in offshore

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drilling. Moved the company and family to Houston

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in 59. Building something from scratch. Exactly.

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Proving his worth outside the family name. And

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it's in Houston he meets James Baker. Yes, a

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friendship that became absolutely crucial. Baker

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would be one of his most enduring political allies,

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a connection forged in Texas that paid off for

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decades. And the oil business was good to him.

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Very. He eventually sold his stock in Zapata

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in the mid 60s for about one million dollars,

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a testament to his success. Which was a lot of

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money back then. A significant sum. Now, speaking

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of this time, there's that recurring footnote,

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the allegation he worked for the CIA in the 60s.

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Yeah, the Nation article in 88. Right. He always

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denied it. And no real evidence ever surfaced.

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Yeah. But it's one of those things that pops

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up occasionally. Interesting aside. So this period,

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it shows his drive, his self -reliance. He built

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this career. On his own terms, mostly. And that

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success, his growing profile in Texas, naturally

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pulled him towards politics. By the early 60s,

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people saw him as a promising candidate. Democrats

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even tried to recruit him. They did. But he turned

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them down. He felt the National Democratic Party

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favored big centralized government. So you see

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this early conservative philosophy developing

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that distrust of federal overreach. So he was

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a Republican at heart and ready to get involved.

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Definitely. Motivated by Republican gains in

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Texas like John Tower winning a Senate seat in

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61 and wanting to counter the far -right John

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Birch Society, he ran for and won the chairmanship

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of the Harris County Republican Party in February

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63. OK, get his feet wet. Then he backed Barry

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Goldwater in the 64 Republican primaries, aligning

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himself with the growing conservative movement.

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And that led to his first big run. His first

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Senate bid, yeah, in 1964, challenging the liberal

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Democrat Ralph Yarbrough. He won the Republican

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primary runoff. How'd the general election go?

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Well, this is where it gets a bit complicated.

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He attacked Yarbrough's vote for the Civil Rights

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Act of 1964, arguing it was federal overreach.

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Which was a common conservative position then,

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especially in the South. It was, but tellingly,

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he was privately uncomfortable with the racial

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politics of it, which kind of foreshadows his

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later willingness to buck the party on civil

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rights. Interesting. So he lost that race. He

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did 44 percent to 56 percent. But even then,

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the New York Times called him a rising star,

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a best prospect for Texas Republicans, a loss.

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But it put him on the map, a learning experience.

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So he pivoted to the U .S. House in 66. He won

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a newly created seat in Houston, Texas, his seventh

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district. And here's a sign of the respect he

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already had. He got a freshman appointment to

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the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Wow, that's

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huge for a freshman. First one since 1904, apparently.

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Incredible. Shows the connections and the promise

00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:38.299
people saw. What was his record like in the House?

00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:41.379
Generally conservative. Supported Nixon on Vietnam,

00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.659
but, again, that independent streak showed up.

00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:47.379
Oh, so? He broke with many Republicans to support

00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:51.460
birth control. And, significantly, he voted for

00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:54.519
the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the Fair Housing

00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:56.840
Act, even though it was unpopular in his district.

00:12:57.059 --> 00:12:59.529
He can stand. Yeah, a glimpse of the pragmatist,

00:12:59.809 --> 00:13:01.529
willing to go against the grain for what he thought

00:13:01.529 --> 00:13:04.690
was right. In 68, he also gave the Republican

00:13:04.690 --> 00:13:07.070
response to the State of the Union, focusing

00:13:07.070 --> 00:13:09.529
on fiscal responsibility, a theme he'd stick

00:13:09.529 --> 00:13:12.830
with. He backed Nixon in 68, right? Nixon even

00:13:12.830 --> 00:13:15.470
considered him for VP. He did. Nixon went with

00:13:15.470 --> 00:13:17.669
Agnew, but it shows Bush was already on the national

00:13:17.669 --> 00:13:20.370
radar. He won reelection to the House unopposed

00:13:20.370 --> 00:13:22.549
that year. But he still wanted that Senate seat.

00:13:22.610 --> 00:13:26.929
He did. Tenacious. In 1970, with Nixon's encouragement,

00:13:27.429 --> 00:13:29.350
he gave up his safehouse seat to run against

00:13:29.350 --> 00:13:32.190
Yarborough again. Second time's the charm. Well,

00:13:32.490 --> 00:13:34.929
Bush won the Republican primary easily, but then

00:13:34.929 --> 00:13:37.549
Yarborough lost the Democratic primary to more

00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:41.149
centrist Democrat Lloyd Benson. Ah, Benson. Senator,

00:13:41.350 --> 00:13:44.090
you're no Jack Kennedy. Then to Benson. And Benson

00:13:44.090 --> 00:13:48.250
ended up beating Bush 53 .5 percent to 46 .5

00:13:48.250 --> 00:13:51.600
percent. Another Senate loss. Tough break. But

00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:53.320
it set him up for something else, right? That

00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:55.940
ladder of service. Exactly. These losses didn't

00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:59.000
derail him. Instead, they led to this remarkable

00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:01.679
series of appointments, crucial roles that really

00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.820
broadened his expertise, especially in foreign

00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:07.200
policy. This was his master class in global statecraft.

00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:10.019
Where did that letter start? 1971. President

00:14:10.019 --> 00:14:12.139
Nixon appoints him U .S. ambassador to the United

00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:14.620
Nations, his first big dive into foreign policy,

00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:16.679
firsthand experience dealing with the Soviets,

00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:19.399
the Chinese during the Cold War. A baptism by

00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:22.340
fire? pretty much. He had to navigate Nixon's

00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:24.360
policy of to taunta easing tensions with the

00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:27.279
big communist powers. But he also faced a major

00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:29.340
diplomatic defeat right away. What happened?

00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:32.059
October 71, the UN General Assembly votes to

00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:34.259
kick out Taiwan, the Republic of China, and give

00:14:34.259 --> 00:14:36.440
the seat to the People's Republic of China, mainland

00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:39.799
China, a huge geopolitical shift. And Bush was

00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:42.610
on the losing side. Ouch. But did he show any

00:14:42.610 --> 00:14:46.009
independence there? He did. During the 1971 Pakistan

00:14:46.009 --> 00:14:49.129
crisis involving genocide in East Pakistan, now

00:14:49.129 --> 00:14:51.990
Bangladesh, he actually supported an Indian motion

00:14:51.990 --> 00:14:54.909
condemning Pakistan. That clash directly with

00:14:54.909 --> 00:14:57.629
Nixon's prey Pakistan stance showed some early

00:14:57.629 --> 00:14:59.590
principle. And that moral discomfort you mentioned

00:14:59.590 --> 00:15:02.230
earlier. Yeah. In 72 over US bombing in Vietnam,

00:15:02.370 --> 00:15:04.549
he was clearly uneasy defending the administration

00:15:04.549 --> 00:15:07.049
line, told reporters, I think the best thing

00:15:07.049 --> 00:15:09.950
I can do on the subject is shut up. Wow. Quite

00:15:09.950 --> 00:15:12.269
an admission for an ambassador. Speaks volumes.

00:15:12.490 --> 00:15:15.429
It does. After Nixon's landslide reelection in

00:15:15.429 --> 00:15:17.909
72, he appoints Bush chairman of the Republican

00:15:17.909 --> 00:15:21.350
National Committee, RNC chair. Okay. Fundraising,

00:15:21.529 --> 00:15:24.690
recruiting, being the party's face. Just as Watergate

00:15:24.690 --> 00:15:27.149
was exploding. Exactly. The Watergate crucible.

00:15:27.629 --> 00:15:30.429
A huge test of loyalty and leadership. Initially,

00:15:30.450 --> 00:15:32.889
he defended Nixon strongly. Loyalty was big for

00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:35.710
him. But as the evidence mounted. Right. As Nixon's

00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:38.750
complicity became undeniable, Bush shifted focus.

00:15:39.129 --> 00:15:41.649
defended the Republican Party as an institution,

00:15:41.889 --> 00:15:44.029
trying to salvage its integrity. Smart move.

00:15:44.250 --> 00:15:46.830
Was he considered for VP, then, after Agnew resigned?

00:15:46.990 --> 00:15:50.809
He was. But Nixon, and then Ford, went with Gerald

00:15:50.809 --> 00:15:54.789
Ford. When the smoking gun tape came out, proving

00:15:54.789 --> 00:15:57.850
Nixon's involvement in the cover -up, Bush joined

00:15:57.850 --> 00:16:00.070
other party leaders in telling Nixon it was time

00:16:00.070 --> 00:16:02.750
to go. Must've been incredibly difficult. His

00:16:02.750 --> 00:16:05.289
diary entry on Nixon's resignation captured it

00:16:05.289 --> 00:16:08.549
perfectly. An aura of sadness like somebody died.

00:16:08.779 --> 00:16:11.620
A new spirit, a new lift when Ford was sworn

00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:14.419
in. A moment of national trauma he helped navigate.

00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:17.200
So, next rung on the ladder. Another fascinating,

00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:19.980
incredibly significant posting. Head of the U

00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:24.039
.S. Liaison Office in China, 1974 -75. Basically

00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:26.580
the de facto ambassador before full normalization.

00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:28.919
Why China? Well, he'd been passed over for VP

00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:31.840
by Ford, partly due to a briefly damaging, though

00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:34.580
later clear, news report about a secret fund

00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:37.980
in his 1970 Senate campaign. China was a challenging,

00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:40.159
high -profile alternative. And that experience

00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:42.980
really shaped his worldview. Profoundly. It convinced

00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:45.059
him that American engagement was vital for global

00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:47.179
stability. He developed this idea that the U

00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:50.000
.S. needed to be visible, but not pushy, muscular,

00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:52.980
but not domineering. That nuanced view, learned

00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:55.200
firsthand in China, would guide his own presidency

00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:59.620
later. Okay, from China to the CIA. Director

00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:04.380
of Central Intelligence, 1976 -77. Ford appointed

00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:08.329
him DCI. The agency's reputation was in tatters

00:17:08.329 --> 00:17:11.849
after Watergate, Vietnam, various scandals. His

00:17:11.849 --> 00:17:16.130
job was to restore morale, public trust. A huge

00:17:16.130 --> 00:17:18.250
management challenge. A complex time for the

00:17:18.250 --> 00:17:21.309
CIA, too, right? Operation Condor in Latin America?

00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:23.650
Yes, that's part of the context. During his tenure,

00:17:23.789 --> 00:17:25.670
the U .S. security apparatus was involved in

00:17:25.670 --> 00:17:28.029
supporting Operation Condor and various right

00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:30.609
-wing dictatorships there. a reminder of the

00:17:30.609 --> 00:17:33.250
difficult geopolitical realities and moral complexities

00:17:33.250 --> 00:17:35.869
leaders operate within. Ford considered him for

00:17:35.869 --> 00:17:39.309
VP again in 76. He did, but chose Bob Dole instead.

00:17:39.930 --> 00:17:42.309
After Carter won, Bush provided security briefings

00:17:42.309 --> 00:17:44.369
to Carter as candidate and president -elect,

00:17:44.789 --> 00:17:46.690
then stepped down gracefully on Inauguration

00:17:46.690 --> 00:17:49.269
Day, showed real class, commitment to smooth

00:17:49.269 --> 00:17:52.210
transitions. So by 1977, he's out of public office

00:17:52.210 --> 00:17:54.829
for the first time in ages. What did he do? Stayed

00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:57.150
busy. chaired an executive committee at a bank

00:17:57.150 --> 00:17:59.589
in Houston, part -time professor at Rice University,

00:17:59.970 --> 00:18:01.829
stayed active in foreign policy circles like

00:18:01.829 --> 00:18:03.609
the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral

00:18:03.609 --> 00:18:05.750
Commission. Laying the groundwork. Absolutely.

00:18:06.450 --> 00:18:09.029
Meticulously setting the stage for his own presidential

00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:11.730
run. Gathering intellectual capital, keeping

00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:15.029
connections warm, preparing for the biggest step.

00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:18.039
And that step was the 1980 campaign tumultuous

00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.079
is the word. Oh, yeah. He's up against Ronald

00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:22.940
Reagan, the clear front runner and others. Bush

00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:25.859
positions himself as this youthful, pragmatic

00:18:25.859 --> 00:18:28.460
conservative, kind of like Eisenhower. He hammers

00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:30.779
his foreign policy experience. Soviet invasion

00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:33.559
of Afghanistan, Iran hostage crisis playing in

00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:35.420
the background. And he started strong. Right.

00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:38.720
Iowa won Iowa a close victory. Thirty one point

00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:40.779
five percent to Reagan's twenty nine point four

00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:43.420
percent. Famously declared, he had the Big Mo

00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:46.380
momentum, the Big Mo. But it didn't last. New

00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:49.220
Hampshire. New Hampshire was brutal. The Nashua

00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:51.819
debate incident. Bush and Reagan initially agreed

00:18:51.819 --> 00:18:54.359
to a two -person debate. Then Reagan ambushes

00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:56.579
him, invites four other candidates on stage.

00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:59.099
Bush refuses to debate them. Which is kind of

00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:02.190
stubborn. Maybe elitist. It played badly. damaged

00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:04.430
his campaign severely. He lost New Hampshire

00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:06.829
decisively. A tough lesson in political theater.

00:19:06.970 --> 00:19:09.130
And it was during this campaign he hit Reagan

00:19:09.130 --> 00:19:12.130
with that famous line. Voodoo economics criticizing

00:19:12.130 --> 00:19:14.829
Reagan's big supply side tax cuts. Was that just

00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:17.609
politics or did he mean it? I think he meant

00:19:17.609 --> 00:19:21.029
it. It reflected a genuine fiscal concern. Bush

00:19:21.029 --> 00:19:24.190
favored lower taxes, too, but he genuinely feared

00:19:24.190 --> 00:19:26.670
huge cuts without spending cuts would blow up

00:19:26.670 --> 00:19:29.430
the deficit, cause inflation. It was a core policy

00:19:29.430 --> 00:19:32.150
difference rooted in his pragmatism. A difference

00:19:32.150 --> 00:19:34.170
that would come back to haunt him. Oh, absolutely.

00:19:35.069 --> 00:19:37.150
Despite winning a few primaries like Massachusetts,

00:19:37.250 --> 00:19:39.910
he couldn't stop Reagan. Reluctantly dropped

00:19:39.910 --> 00:19:41.950
out after Reagan locked up the delegates. Ended

00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:45.690
the dream. Seemed like it. But then the convention.

00:19:46.390 --> 00:19:49.190
Reagan's team tries to negotiate this dream ticket

00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:52.309
with Gerald Ford as VP, like a co -presidency.

00:19:52.710 --> 00:19:54.450
It falls apart dramatically at the last minute.

00:19:54.690 --> 00:19:56.750
Right. I remember that drama. So Reagan needs

00:19:56.750 --> 00:20:00.559
a running mate. Fast. He picks Bush. Wow. After

00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:03.259
all the voodoo economics stuff, conservatives

00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:05.839
weren't thrilled. No, man, he weren't. But Reagan

00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:08.180
saw Bush's appeal to moderate Republicans as

00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:11.720
crucial to unifying the party. A safe pick. And

00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:14.019
Bush, thinking his shot was over, eagerly accepted.

00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.059
Politics make strange bedfellows. An unlikely

00:20:17.059 --> 00:20:19.960
alliance born of necessity. And adaptability

00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:22.759
on Bush's part. Totally. The Reagan -Butch ticket.

00:20:22.890 --> 00:20:25.690
then focuses hard on the economy, rides that

00:20:25.690 --> 00:20:28.450
conservative wave, defeats Jimmy Carter in a

00:20:28.450 --> 00:20:33.569
landslide. 50 .7 % popular vote, 489 electoral

00:20:33.569 --> 00:20:35.990
votes. And just like that, the critic of voodoo

00:20:35.990 --> 00:20:38.450
economics is vice president to his architect.

00:20:38.890 --> 00:20:41.690
Incredible turn. Highlights the pragmatism required

00:20:41.690 --> 00:20:44.509
in high stakes politics. So how do you serve

00:20:44.509 --> 00:20:46.809
eight years under someone whose signature policy

00:20:46.809 --> 00:20:48.869
you trashed? With remarkable skill, actually.

00:20:49.210 --> 00:20:51.809
Bush navigated that delicate balance from 81

00:20:51.809 --> 00:20:56.009
to 89. He kept a notably low profile, meticulously

00:20:56.009 --> 00:20:59.269
respected the VP's constitutional limits, avoided

00:20:59.269 --> 00:21:01.309
any public criticism of Reagan. Learned from

00:21:01.309 --> 00:21:03.609
Mondale under Carter, maybe? Exactly. That was

00:21:03.609 --> 00:21:05.930
his model. It earned him Reagan's deep trust,

00:21:06.269 --> 00:21:08.349
eased any lingering tension from the primaries.

00:21:08.450 --> 00:21:10.390
And he worked well with Reagan's staff. Very

00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:12.410
well. He deliberately avoided turf battles, had

00:21:12.410 --> 00:21:14.130
excellent relations, especially with his old

00:21:14.130 --> 00:21:16.250
friend James Baker, Reagan's first chief of staff.

00:21:16.690 --> 00:21:18.390
He served as president of the Senate, liaison

00:21:18.390 --> 00:21:21.390
to Congress, kept Reagan looped in, a trusted,

00:21:21.650 --> 00:21:25.029
discreet operator. Then came March 1981, the

00:21:25.029 --> 00:21:27.750
assassination attempt on Reagan. A shocking moment.

00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:32.359
Bush was in Texas, flew back immediately. Critically,

00:21:32.380 --> 00:21:35.059
when he landed, he rejected advice to take a

00:21:35.059 --> 00:21:36.720
helicopter straight to the White House lawn.

00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.619
Why? He worried it would look like he was usurping

00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:43.740
power in a crisis. That thoughtful, constitutionally

00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:46.680
respectful move made a huge positive impression

00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:49.220
on Reagan, led to regular Thursday lunches in

00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:51.880
the Oval Office, solidified their bond. Reagan

00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:54.220
seemed to genuinely value his experience. He

00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:56.880
did. He put Bush in charge of two important task

00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:00.220
forces, one on deregulation, another on international

00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:02.920
drug smuggling. both popular with conservatives,

00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:05.339
helped Bush burnish his credentials with the

00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:07.440
right wing. The deregulation one especially,

00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:10.400
reviewing hundreds of rules. Right, making recommendations

00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:13.279
to curb federal government size. Bush also oversaw

00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:15.079
the National Security Crisis Management Group,

00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:18.680
usually the NSA's job. In 83, he successfully

00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.640
toured Europe, advocating for Pershing II missile

00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:23.720
deployment, a key part of Reagan's strategy,

00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:26.339
a real utility player. And he made history briefly

00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:30.779
in 85. July 13th, 1985, became the first VP to

00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:32.900
serve as acting president for about eight hours

00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:36.000
while Reagan had colon surgery. Brief, but showed

00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.160
the stability of the system and his readiness.

00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:40.740
As Reagan's second term went on, the Cold War

00:22:40.740 --> 00:22:44.579
landscape started shifting. Gorbachev. Huge changes.

00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:48.519
Glasnost. Perestroika. Bush was deeply involved

00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:51.160
in those discussions. He sat in on negotiations

00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:54.599
for the INF Treaty in 87, the Intermediate -Range

00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:56.720
Nuclear Forces Treaty. Already sinking ahead.

00:22:56.890 --> 00:22:58.829
Definitely. He signaled he wanted to continue

00:22:58.829 --> 00:23:02.329
improving relations if he succeeded Reagan, positioning

00:23:02.329 --> 00:23:05.230
himself as the steady hand ready for a changing

00:23:05.230 --> 00:23:07.390
world. But the Reagan years weren't all smooth

00:23:07.390 --> 00:23:10.490
sailing, Iran -Contra. The big scandal of the

00:23:10.490 --> 00:23:14.049
second term, 1986, administration officials secretly

00:23:14.049 --> 00:23:16.549
sold weapons to Iran, diverted the money to fund

00:23:16.549 --> 00:23:19.269
Contra rebels in Nicaragua, bypassing Congress.

00:23:19.430 --> 00:23:21.509
Where's Bush in all this? He stated he was out

00:23:21.509 --> 00:23:23.369
of the loop on the diversion of friends to the

00:23:23.369 --> 00:23:25.289
Contras. But was he? Well, this is where it's

00:23:25.289 --> 00:23:28.029
nuanced. Biographer John Meachum found no evidence.

00:23:28.329 --> 00:23:31.049
proving Bush was aware of the diversion. However,

00:23:31.309 --> 00:23:33.369
Meacham did criticize the out of the loop claim

00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:36.569
because Bush was aware of the trading arms for

00:23:36.569 --> 00:23:40.170
hostages part of the deal. So not directly implicated

00:23:40.170 --> 00:23:43.009
in the illegal diversion, but close enough to

00:23:43.009 --> 00:23:45.910
the scandal to raise questions. Exactly. It remained

00:23:45.910 --> 00:23:49.170
a political liability. Then in July 88, he had

00:23:49.170 --> 00:23:51.990
to defend the US at the UN after the Navy cruiser

00:23:51.990 --> 00:23:54.890
USS Vincennes accidentally shot down an Iranian

00:23:54.890 --> 00:23:58.400
passenger jet, Iran Air Flight 655. a very tough

00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:00.920
diplomatic spot. All these experiences, oil,

00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:05.140
UN, RNC, China, CIA, eight years as VP, they

00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:07.500
all built toward his own run in 88. He started

00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:10.140
planning right after the 84 election. Officially

00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:12.640
entered the race in October 87. Powerful campaign

00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:15.500
team, Lee Atwater, his son George W, media guru

00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:18.920
Roger Ailes. He'd moved right during the VT years,

00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:21.579
endorsed a human life amendment, backed off voodoo

00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:24.380
economics. But conservatives still weren't totally

00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:27.119
sold. No, many still question his ideological

00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:29.400
purity. He finished a disappointing third in

00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:32.200
the Iowa caucus behind Bob Dole and Pat Robertson.

00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.240
Looked like a tough slog. But he turned it around

00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:36.940
in New Hampshire, like Reagan did in 80. Exactly.

00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:40.319
Reorganized, focused hard on New Hampshire, got

00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:43.400
help from Governor John Sununu, ran tough ads

00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:46.819
attacking Dole on taxes. Overcame a polling deficit,

00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:49.559
one with 39 percent. That was the turning point.

00:24:49.900 --> 00:24:52.640
His big mo finally arrived. Swept super Tuesday

00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:55.259
after that. Pretty much. Rivals started dropping

00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:57.559
out. He secured the nomination. His acceptance

00:24:57.559 --> 00:24:59.960
speech at the convention was a big moment. The

00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:02.059
thousand points of light. Very well received.

00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:04.839
Laid out his vision, endorsed core conservative

00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:07.880
values, pledge of allegiance, school prayer,

00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:11.440
capital punishment, gun rights. And of course,

00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:14.539
read my lips. The iconic and ultimately fateful

00:25:14.539 --> 00:25:17.079
promise. Congress will push me to raise taxes

00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.680
and I'll say no, read my lips. No new taxes.

00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:22.779
Delivered with such conviction, became his rallying

00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:25.460
cry and later, his Achilles heel. He picked Dan

00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:27.859
Quayle as his running mate. Little known Indiana

00:25:27.859 --> 00:25:29.920
senator. Yeah, aimed to appeal to conservatives,

00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:32.579
younger voters. A controversial pick that drew

00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:35.000
a lot of scrutiny. The Democrats nominated Michael

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:37.220
Dukakis, Massachusetts governor. He was ahead

00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:40.339
early on. Dukakis was, but ran a surprisingly

00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:43.539
passive, low risk campaign. The Bush campaign,

00:25:43.539 --> 00:25:46.539
led by Atwater, was aggressive. Attacked Dukakis

00:25:46.539 --> 00:25:50.019
as unpatriotic, liberal, soft on cram, famously

00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:53.019
using the Willie Horton case. It got nasty. Became

00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:55.460
known for negative campaigning. It did, though

00:25:55.460 --> 00:25:57.160
some argue it wasn't that different from past

00:25:57.160 --> 00:26:01.960
elections. Ultimately, Bush won decisively. 426

00:26:01.960 --> 00:26:05.839
electoral votes to Dukakis is 111, 53 .4 % of

00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:08.500
the popular vote. A big win. Fourth sitting VP

00:26:08.500 --> 00:26:10.680
elected president, first to succeed someone from

00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:13.500
his own party since Hoover in 29. Remarkable.

00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:15.759
Truly cemented his place at the top. So January

00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:18.900
20, 1989, Inauguration Day, a new breeze is blowing.

00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:20.980
And a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn.

00:26:21.539 --> 00:26:23.539
He immediately put together a strong, experienced

00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:26.559
cabinet. His buddy James Baker at State, Dick

00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:28.880
Cheney at Defense, kept some Reagan foes like

00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:31.339
Nick Brady at Treasury, John Sununu as chief

00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:33.440
of staff, Brent Scowcroft as national security

00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:35.480
advisor, a team built for serious governing.

00:26:35.609 --> 00:26:37.630
And his presidency became defined by foreign

00:26:37.630 --> 00:26:39.710
affairs, didn't it? Architect of a new world

00:26:39.710 --> 00:26:42.309
order. More than perhaps any other modern president,

00:26:43.190 --> 00:26:45.109
especially with the end of the Cold War unfolding

00:26:45.109 --> 00:26:48.509
right as he took office. Initially, he was cautious,

00:26:48.930 --> 00:26:51.369
paused Reagan's détente. His team was split on

00:26:51.369 --> 00:26:53.490
Gorbachev, real reformer, or just try to save

00:26:53.490 --> 00:26:55.789
the Soviet system. Typical Bush caution. But

00:26:55.789 --> 00:26:58.150
events overtook caution pretty quickly in 89.

00:26:58.289 --> 00:27:00.430
Dramatically, communist governments collapsing

00:27:00.430 --> 00:27:04.130
across Eastern Europe, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia,

00:27:04.329 --> 00:27:07.450
East Germany. And crucially, Gorbachev refused

00:27:07.450 --> 00:27:09.930
to send in the Soviet military, abandoned the

00:27:09.930 --> 00:27:12.269
Brezhnev doctrine. The U .S. wasn't directly

00:27:12.269 --> 00:27:14.710
involved, but how did Bush handle it? Carefully.

00:27:15.250 --> 00:27:17.349
They deliberately avoided gloating, didn't want

00:27:17.349 --> 00:27:19.990
to undermine reforms or provoke a backlash. That

00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:22.470
restraint was key, showed real diplomatic skill.

00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:26.799
Then the Malta summit, December 89, meeting Gorbachev.

00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:29.700
Pivotal. Bush came away trusting Gorbachev, believing

00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:32.319
he'd negotiate in good faith. From then on, Bush

00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.660
sought cooperation, saw Gorbachev as the partner

00:27:34.660 --> 00:27:38.000
for peace. The big issue then became German reunification.

00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:40.140
Which Britain and France weren't thrilled about.

00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:44.539
Old anxieties. Right. But Bush, working closely

00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:47.109
with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, pushed hard

00:27:47.109 --> 00:27:49.589
for it, believed it was vital for American and

00:27:49.589 --> 00:27:52.849
European interests. A bold move navigating complex

00:27:52.849 --> 00:27:55.470
history. And it worked. Paid off spectacularly.

00:27:55.809 --> 00:27:59.210
After tough negotiations, Gorbachev agreed. A

00:27:59.210 --> 00:28:02.390
reunified Germany could be part of NATO. Monumental.

00:28:02.890 --> 00:28:05.660
Reshaped Europe peacefully. Germany officially

00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:09.559
reunified October 1990. But then things got tricky

00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:12.339
within the Soviet Union itself, nationalist movements.

00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:14.960
Yeah, Gorbachev used force against independence

00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:17.480
movements like in Lithuania. Bush was in a tough

00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:19.839
spot. Needed Gorby's cooperation on Germany,

00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:22.180
arms control, but also worried about instability

00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:24.940
if the USSR collapsed too fast. So how did he

00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:27.900
react? Mild protests, but carefully avoided direct

00:28:27.900 --> 00:28:30.329
intervention. walking a tightrope between human

00:28:30.329 --> 00:28:33.269
rights and global stability. His famous 1991

00:28:33.269 --> 00:28:36.049
Chicken Keef speech even warned Ukrainians against

00:28:36.049 --> 00:28:38.529
suicidal nationalism, showed his deep concern

00:28:38.529 --> 00:28:41.009
about a chaotic Soviet breakup. But he kept working

00:28:41.009 --> 00:28:43.450
with Gorbachev. Yes. Signed the Starde Treaty

00:28:43.450 --> 00:28:45.890
in July 91, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

00:28:45.910 --> 00:28:48.750
Yeah. Committed to 30 % cuts in strategic nukes.

00:28:48.950 --> 00:28:51.369
Master class in pragmatic high stakes diplomacy.

00:28:51.690 --> 00:28:55.069
Then the August 91 coup against Gorbachev. The

00:28:55.069 --> 00:28:57.559
hardline communist coup failed quickly. but it

00:28:57.559 --> 00:28:59.559
broke the power of the central Soviet government.

00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:02.579
The USSR officially dissolved between August

00:29:02.579 --> 00:29:06.660
and December 91. 15 new states emerged. The end

00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:10.259
of an empire. Just like that. Bush met with Russian

00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:13.400
President Boris Yeltsin in February 92, declared

00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:16.099
a new era of friendship and partnership. They

00:29:16.099 --> 00:29:19.079
even agreed to start two in January 93, right

00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:22.319
before Bush left office, for more cuts. This

00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:24.920
whole period navigating the Cold War's end peacefully

00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:27.579
is almost universally seen as his greatest foreign

00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:30.279
policy triumph. Steady hand during an unprecedented

00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:32.960
global shift. But that wasn't his only foreign

00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:36.400
policy test early on. Panama. December 1989.

00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:38.940
Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama.

00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:41.680
The leader, Manuel Noriega, had old ties to U

00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:44.119
.S. intelligence back to Bush's DCI days, but

00:29:44.119 --> 00:29:46.339
was deep into drug traffic and in all democratic

00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:48.740
elections. So after a U .S. serviceman was shot,

00:29:49.140 --> 00:29:51.900
Bush acted? Decisively. U .S. forces took control

00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:54.420
quickly. Noriega was captured, eventually imprisoned

00:29:54.420 --> 00:29:56.859
in the U .S. Twenty -three Americans died, but

00:29:56.859 --> 00:29:58.940
it was seen as a swift success. And it signaled

00:29:58.940 --> 00:30:01.039
something new. Historian Stuart Brewer argues

00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:04.190
it marked a new era. Because Bush justified it

00:30:04.190 --> 00:30:06.730
based on U .S. interests, not just the old Monroe

00:30:06.730 --> 00:30:10.289
Doctrine or anti -communism, proactive American

00:30:10.289 --> 00:30:12.470
engagement. Which brings us to another defining

00:30:12.470 --> 00:30:16.690
moment, the Gulf War, 1990 -91. Saddam Hussein's

00:30:16.690 --> 00:30:20.450
Iraq invades oil -rich Kuwait in August 90. Bush

00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:23.250
acts immediately, sanctions building a massive

00:30:23.250 --> 00:30:26.109
multinational coalition. Why such a strong reaction?

00:30:26.329 --> 00:30:28.609
Fear Saddam might attack Saudi Arabia or Israel

00:30:28.609 --> 00:30:31.450
next. Huge concerns about global oil access.

00:30:31.630 --> 00:30:34.109
Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia controlled almost

00:30:34.109 --> 00:30:37.269
half the world's oil then. Bush insisted on deterring

00:30:37.269 --> 00:30:39.509
unanswered aggression. Big principle for him.

00:30:39.730 --> 00:30:42.049
And he was a master diplomat building that coalition.

00:30:42.450 --> 00:30:44.230
Absolutely. Leveraged all those years of experience.

00:30:44.509 --> 00:30:46.690
Got a UN Security Council resolution in November

00:30:46.690 --> 00:30:49.190
1990 authorizing force if Iraq didn't withdraw

00:30:49.190 --> 00:30:52.319
by January 1591. Gorbachev's support and China

00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:55.059
abstaining were key there. Crucial. Showed his

00:30:55.059 --> 00:30:57.779
ability to build consensus across divides, secured

00:30:57.779 --> 00:30:59.960
financial backing and troops from dozens of nations.

00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:03.259
Germany, Japan, South Korea, Arab nations. An

00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:05.460
astonishing diplomatic achievement. And he went

00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:08.140
to Congress, too, even though he had U .N. approval.

00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:10.940
Strategic move. Believed he needed congressional

00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:14.099
approval for national unity. Got it in January

00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:16.440
91, though the vote was closer in the Senate.

00:31:16.779 --> 00:31:19.500
Then Operation Desert Storm. Massive air campaign

00:31:19.500 --> 00:31:22.660
first, then the ground invasion in February 91.

00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:25.660
Iraqi forces were routed from Kuwait in about

00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:27.880
a hundred hours of ground combat. Relatively

00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:30.420
low coalition casualties. Remarkably low for

00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:33.019
such a large operation. Right. Around 300 American

00:31:33.019 --> 00:31:36.319
deaths, about 65 coalition deaths total. And

00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:39.079
the public reaction back home. Incredible. Bush's

00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:42.160
approval rating hit 89 % in March 91. The highest

00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:44.400
gallop had ever recorded for a president at that

00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:47.799
time. cemented his image as a foreign policy

00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:50.220
giant, a conquering hero. What happened after

00:31:50.220 --> 00:31:53.460
the war? UN sanctions stayed on Iraq. A UN special

00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:56.259
commission, UN as a comm, worked to dismantle

00:31:56.259 --> 00:31:59.500
Iraq's WMD programs. A lasting, though obviously

00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:01.619
imperfect, containment strategy was put in place.

00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:03.660
Shifting gears slightly, another major foreign

00:32:03.660 --> 00:32:05.980
policy initiative was NAFTA. The North American

00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:09.079
Free Trade Agreement. Building on a U .S.-Canada

00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:12.680
deal from 87... Bush's team, with Canada's PM

00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:16.180
Brian Moroney, started talks with Mexico, lower

00:32:16.180 --> 00:32:19.160
tariffs, intellectual property rights, aiming

00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:22.380
for continental economic integration. A big vision,

00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:25.339
but controversial. Very. To push it through,

00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:27.920
Bush secured fast -track authority from Congress,

00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:30.220
meant Congress had to vote yes or no on the final

00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:33.339
deal, no amendments, streamlined it, but angered

00:32:33.339 --> 00:32:35.599
opponents who feared job losses or wanted more

00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:37.500
environmental labor protections. He signed it

00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:39.970
right at the end. Signed it December 92. after

00:32:39.970 --> 00:32:41.910
he lost the election. Bill Clinton actually got

00:32:41.910 --> 00:32:44.450
it ratified in 93. It remained controversial

00:32:44.450 --> 00:32:47.250
for decades, eventually replaced in 2020. A major

00:32:47.250 --> 00:32:49.829
policy, but with a long, complicated legacy.

00:32:50.049 --> 00:32:52.130
If you connect NAFTA back, it really shows his

00:32:52.130 --> 00:32:54.509
belief in global economic engagement. Trade is

00:32:54.509 --> 00:32:57.329
a pillar of foreign policy. Absolutely. But while

00:32:57.329 --> 00:33:00.369
foreign policy was his undeniable strength, universally

00:33:00.369 --> 00:33:03.789
praised, his domestic agenda, especially the

00:33:03.789 --> 00:33:07.269
economy, faced much rougher seas. And that ultimately

00:33:07.269 --> 00:33:09.859
decided his political fate. Right. The economy

00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:12.539
slipped into a mild recession in 1990. Unemployment

00:33:12.539 --> 00:33:16.660
ticked up from 5 .9 % in 89 to 7 .8 % by mid

00:33:16.660 --> 00:33:19.319
-91. And those federal deficits inherit from

00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:23.509
Reagan. They shit $220 billion in 1990. tripled

00:33:23.509 --> 00:33:26.890
since 1980. Tackling the deficit became Bush's

00:33:26.890 --> 00:33:29.329
top domestic priority. But he was boxed in, right?

00:33:29.390 --> 00:33:31.670
Imposed major defense cuts, and then there was

00:33:31.670 --> 00:33:34.369
that pledge. No new taxes. The ultimate test

00:33:34.369 --> 00:33:37.190
of conviction versus pragmatism. Which led to

00:33:37.190 --> 00:33:39.710
the broken pledge, maybe the defining domestic

00:33:39.710 --> 00:33:43.250
moment of his presidency. June 1990, Bush reverses

00:33:43.250 --> 00:33:45.750
course, says he's open to tax increases as part

00:33:45.750 --> 00:33:48.539
of a deficit reduction deal. Fiscal conservatives

00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:51.079
felt utterly betrayed, said he compromised too

00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:53.180
early. It split his base wide open. But what

00:33:53.180 --> 00:33:55.599
was the choice? Stick to the pledge and let the

00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:57.839
deficit spiral or break the pledge for fiscal

00:33:57.839 --> 00:34:00.579
health, a classic leadership dilemma. Agonizing,

00:34:00.779 --> 00:34:02.759
he clearly felt the fiscal imperative was stronger.

00:34:02.940 --> 00:34:05.519
despite the political cost. After an initial

00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:07.619
deal failed, leading to a brief government shutdown,

00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:10.500
he signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

00:34:10.500 --> 00:34:13.760
of 1990, OBRA 90, in October. What'd it do? Cut

00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:16.519
some domestic spending, raised revenues, notably

00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:19.639
by increasing income taxes on top earners. Not

00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:22.019
as deep cuts or high taxes as some wanted, but

00:34:22.019 --> 00:34:25.000
a significant package. Damaged him politically.

00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:28.400
Hugely. But... In hindsight, it did help reduce

00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:31.199
the deficit and arguably set the stage for the

00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:33.380
budget surpluses of the late 90s under Clinton.

00:34:34.099 --> 00:34:36.699
Proved economically prudent, even if politically

00:34:36.699 --> 00:34:40.059
costly. Courageous, maybe? Courageous or politically

00:34:40.059 --> 00:34:43.179
naive. Debatable. Beyond the budget, though,

00:34:43.260 --> 00:34:46.079
he signed some truly groundbreaking laws on discrimination,

00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:48.679
often overlooked. Totally. The Americans with

00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:52.409
Disabilities Act of 1990, the ADA. Yeah. Monumental.

00:34:52.789 --> 00:34:55.329
Before that, disabled individuals had few legal

00:34:55.329 --> 00:34:57.150
protections against widespread discrimination.

00:34:57.429 --> 00:34:59.530
And Bush strongly supported it, had a personal

00:34:59.530 --> 00:35:01.769
connection. He did. His Sunday ill had dyslexia,

00:35:01.829 --> 00:35:03.530
which made it personal. He threw his weight behind

00:35:03.530 --> 00:35:06.010
the bill, signed it till all 1990, called it

00:35:06.010 --> 00:35:08.010
the most sleeping anti -discrimination law since

00:35:08.010 --> 00:35:10.869
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, required reasonable

00:35:10.869 --> 00:35:13.550
accommodations. He famously said it took a sledgehammer

00:35:13.550 --> 00:35:16.300
to another wall. A conservative president championing

00:35:16.300 --> 00:35:19.619
a major civil rights expansion shows that pragmatism,

00:35:19.619 --> 00:35:22.139
again, may be rooted in personal conviction this

00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:25.099
time. Absolutely. Recognizing fundamental rights

00:35:25.099 --> 00:35:27.840
transcend ideology. He also signed the Civil

00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:30.920
Rights Act of 1991, finding a compromise on a

00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:33.800
bill he vetoed earlier over concerns about racial

00:35:33.800 --> 00:35:36.760
quotas. What about the H. A. Vades epidemic that

00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:39.059
was raging then? He signed the Ryan White Care

00:35:39.059 --> 00:35:42.460
Act in August 90. the largest federally funded

00:35:42.460 --> 00:35:45.039
program for people with HIV AIDS, a significant

00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:47.780
step. However... Critics felt he didn't do enough,

00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:51.219
wasn't urgent enough. Yes. Activist groups like

00:35:51.219 --> 00:35:53.880
ACTUP were highly critical, felt there was a

00:35:53.880 --> 00:35:56.460
lack of urgency, especially as HIV became the

00:35:56.460 --> 00:35:59.559
leading cause of death for young men by 92. A

00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:02.000
complex, often criticized part of his record,

00:36:02.340 --> 00:36:04.940
where many felt more leadership was needed. Environmentally,

00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:07.480
he also made some big moves. He did, again showing

00:36:07.480 --> 00:36:09.599
that pragmatic streak. Worked with Democratic

00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:11.519
Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to pass

00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:14.599
the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. Major update

00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:17.880
curving acid rain smog. Also signed the Oil Pollution

00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:21.320
Act of 1990 after the Exxon Valdez spill. Significant

00:36:21.320 --> 00:36:25.199
bipartisan wins. But not a total environmentalist.

00:36:25.360 --> 00:36:28.329
No. He faced criticism from environmental groups

00:36:28.329 --> 00:36:30.869
for opposing stricter auto mileage standards,

00:36:31.429 --> 00:36:33.449
balancing Act Again. And that thousand points

00:36:33.449 --> 00:36:37.409
of light theme, that was consistent. Very. Championed

00:36:37.409 --> 00:36:40.110
voluntary service to solve social problems. Tied

00:36:40.110 --> 00:36:42.969
back to his personal faith, sense of duty, believed

00:36:42.969 --> 00:36:45.869
in the power of citizens, community groups. The

00:36:45.869 --> 00:36:48.389
Points of Light Foundation, created in 1990,

00:36:48.869 --> 00:36:51.610
is a lasting legacy of that belief in volunteerism.

00:36:51.789 --> 00:36:53.889
Judicial appointments always huge for a president.

00:36:54.150 --> 00:36:56.809
He got two Supreme Court picks. First, David

00:36:56.809 --> 00:37:00.150
Suter in 1990. Largely unknown state judge from

00:37:00.150 --> 00:37:02.469
New Hampshire. Easily confirmed. But turned out

00:37:02.469 --> 00:37:04.590
to be more liberal than expected. Much more.

00:37:04.889 --> 00:37:07.389
Join the liberal bloc. Big disappointment for

00:37:07.389 --> 00:37:09.630
Bush and conservatives shows how unpredictable

00:37:09.630 --> 00:37:11.929
judicial legacies can be. Then came the second

00:37:11.929 --> 00:37:14.530
appointment in 91, replacing Thurgood Marshall.

00:37:14.750 --> 00:37:16.769
He nominated Clarence Thomas, a conservative

00:37:16.769 --> 00:37:19.670
federal judge, also black. Faced intense opposition

00:37:19.670 --> 00:37:22.800
pro -choice groups, NAACP. Then the explosive

00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:25.039
confirmation hearings with Anita Hill's accusations

00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:27.860
of sexual harassment. Incredibly divisive. Hugely.

00:37:28.300 --> 00:37:32.599
Thomas was narrowly confirmed. 52 -48. Became

00:37:32.599 --> 00:37:34.599
one of the most conservative justices of his

00:37:34.599 --> 00:37:37.380
era. Those two appointments really highlight

00:37:37.380 --> 00:37:39.599
the long -term impact a president has on the

00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:42.079
courts. What about other domestic issues? Education?

00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:45.360
Immigration. On education, he pushed for federal

00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:48.099
support for things like open enrollment, merit

00:37:48.099 --> 00:37:51.000
pay for teachers, ideas that influence later

00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:54.079
reforms like No Child Left Behind, and immigration.

00:37:54.199 --> 00:37:56.380
He signed the Immigration Act of 1990. What did

00:37:56.380 --> 00:37:59.179
that do? It seems counterintuitive for a Republican,

00:37:59.440 --> 00:38:01.500
then. Quite forward thinking, actually. It led

00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:04.280
to a 40 % increase in legal immigration, doubled

00:38:04.280 --> 00:38:06.880
visas for job skills, granted temporary protected

00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:09.420
status to people from certain countries, lifted

00:38:09.420 --> 00:38:12.019
pre -naturalization English testing, and and

00:38:12.019 --> 00:38:14.380
notably eliminated the exclusion of homosexuals

00:38:14.380 --> 00:38:17.780
from entering the country. Wow. That's significant.

00:38:17.860 --> 00:38:19.860
He even said, immigration is not just a link

00:38:19.860 --> 00:38:21.800
to our past, but it's also a bridge to America's

00:38:21.800 --> 00:38:24.320
future, a remarkably positive stance for the

00:38:24.320 --> 00:38:25.900
time. And he had to deal with the savings and

00:38:25.900 --> 00:38:28.650
loan crisis, too. Yeah, big financial mess inherited

00:38:28.650 --> 00:38:31.929
from the 80s. He proposed a 50 billion dollar

00:38:31.929 --> 00:38:34.369
rescue package, created the Office of Thrift

00:38:34.369 --> 00:38:36.969
Supervision. These were largely adopted in the

00:38:36.969 --> 00:38:40.789
area bill of 1989. So you see these significant

00:38:40.789 --> 00:38:44.110
domestic actions, often bipartisan, but they

00:38:44.110 --> 00:38:46.170
just got overshadowed. Right. Because despite

00:38:46.170 --> 00:38:48.949
all this foreign policy triumphs, domestic achievements,

00:38:49.150 --> 00:38:52.110
his public image became a problem. The pragmatic

00:38:52.110 --> 00:38:55.190
caretaker label stuck. Lacked the vision thing,

00:38:55.489 --> 00:38:57.710
as he famously maybe awkwardly put it. Yeah,

00:38:57.849 --> 00:38:59.530
that phrase didn't help. And then that bogus

00:38:59.530 --> 00:39:01.429
New York Times story about him being amazed by

00:39:01.429 --> 00:39:03.690
a supermarket scanner. Which wasn't even true,

00:39:03.929 --> 00:39:06.210
but it fed the narrative. Exactly. Exacerbated

00:39:06.210 --> 00:39:08.369
that perception of being out of touch with everyday

00:39:08.369 --> 00:39:11.369
Americans. Unfair, but politically damaging.

00:39:11.610 --> 00:39:14.210
And that narrative really took hold as the economy

00:39:14.210 --> 00:39:17.280
soured. Precisely. Public focus shifted sharply

00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:19.679
from the Gulf War victory to jobs, the recession.

00:39:20.179 --> 00:39:22.059
His approval rating plummeted from that record

00:39:22.059 --> 00:39:25.219
high 89 percent after the war in March 91, down

00:39:25.219 --> 00:39:28.179
below 50 percent by January 92. Went from conquering

00:39:28.179 --> 00:39:31.539
hero to politician befuddled by economics. A

00:39:31.539 --> 00:39:33.579
stunningly fast turnaround. It really raises

00:39:33.579 --> 00:39:37.539
the question, can huge foreign policy success

00:39:37.539 --> 00:39:40.920
ever truly outweigh domestic economic pain for

00:39:40.920 --> 00:39:43.480
voters, especially heading into reelection? Apparently

00:39:43.480 --> 00:39:46.449
not enough in 92. His reelection campaign faced

00:39:46.449 --> 00:39:49.289
huge hurdles. That tax hike alienated so many

00:39:49.289 --> 00:39:51.449
conservatives. Pat Buchanan challenged him in

00:39:51.449 --> 00:39:53.389
the primaries, got a surprising chunk of the

00:39:53.389 --> 00:39:55.590
vote in New Hampshire. Bush won the nomination,

00:39:55.929 --> 00:39:57.989
but the party convention platform was heavily

00:39:57.989 --> 00:40:00.010
influenced by the Christian right, showing the

00:40:00.010 --> 00:40:01.889
internal tensions. Then the general election.

00:40:02.250 --> 00:40:04.989
Bill Clinton, the charismatic Democrat, and Ross

00:40:04.989 --> 00:40:08.670
Perot. The wild card. Texas billionaire H. Ross

00:40:08.670 --> 00:40:11.829
Perot ran a strong third party bid. hammered

00:40:11.829 --> 00:40:14.530
the deficit, attacked NAFTA, appealed to voters

00:40:14.530 --> 00:40:16.809
frustrated with both parties. How much did Perot

00:40:16.809 --> 00:40:19.789
affect the outcome? He got 19 % of the popular

00:40:19.789 --> 00:40:21.690
vote, one of the highest third -party shares

00:40:21.690 --> 00:40:23.949
ever. It's hard to say exactly who he took votes

00:40:23.949 --> 00:40:26.250
from, but he definitely fragmented the electorate.

00:40:26.269 --> 00:40:27.969
Complicated things for Bush probably hurt him

00:40:27.969 --> 00:40:30.429
more overall. And the result? Bush lost to Clinton.

00:40:30.849 --> 00:40:34.250
Got 37 .5 % of the popular vote, 168 electoral

00:40:34.250 --> 00:40:37.630
votes. Clinton got 43 % and 370 electoral votes.

00:40:37.849 --> 00:40:41.610
Why the loss? Primarily the economy. Overwhelmingly,

00:40:41.889 --> 00:40:44.650
7 in 10 voters said the economy was not so good

00:40:44.650 --> 00:40:48.269
or poor. Unemployment was 7 .8 percent on election

00:40:48.269 --> 00:40:51.389
eve. Plus, the alienation of conservatives over

00:40:51.389 --> 00:40:54.090
the tax hike definitely played a role. Couldn't

00:40:54.090 --> 00:40:55.829
hold his base together while reaching for the

00:40:55.829 --> 00:40:58.690
center. Still, he left office with decent approval

00:40:58.690 --> 00:41:01.489
ratings. Yeah, 56 percent job approval in January

00:41:01.489 --> 00:41:04.889
93. Respect for his service remained, even if

00:41:04.889 --> 00:41:07.289
people wanted a change on the economy. One last

00:41:07.289 --> 00:41:10.269
controversial act before leaving. The Iran -Contra

00:41:10.269 --> 00:41:13.650
pardons. Right. In his final days, Christmas

00:41:13.650 --> 00:41:17.690
Eve, 1992, he pardoned six former officials implicated

00:41:17.690 --> 00:41:20.389
in Iran -Contra, most notably former Defense

00:41:20.389 --> 00:41:22.769
Secretary Caspar Weinberger, whose trial was

00:41:22.769 --> 00:41:25.409
about to start. Effectively shut down the investigation.

00:41:25.789 --> 00:41:27.889
Why? Controversial. Critics said it was a cover

00:41:27.889 --> 00:41:30.269
-up, protecting himself or his colleagues. Supporters

00:41:30.269 --> 00:41:31.829
said the officials had suffered enough. It was

00:41:31.829 --> 00:41:34.570
time to move on. A final act of loyalty, maybe,

00:41:34.710 --> 00:41:36.889
but one that drew fire. After leaving the White

00:41:36.889 --> 00:41:39.219
House, he didn't just disappear. built a different

00:41:39.219 --> 00:41:41.519
kind of life. Yeah, built a retirement home in

00:41:41.519 --> 00:41:44.559
Houston, kept the Kennebunkport place, declined

00:41:44.559 --> 00:41:47.260
corporate boards but gave paid speeches, advised

00:41:47.260 --> 00:41:49.760
that Carlisle Groves stayed active, engaged,

00:41:49.880 --> 00:41:52.300
and reflected on his time in office. Co -wrote

00:41:52.300 --> 00:41:55.420
World Transformed in 98 with Brent Scowcroft

00:41:55.420 --> 00:41:58.050
about his foreign policy. published parts of

00:41:58.050 --> 00:42:00.389
his letters, diaries, gave his glimpses into

00:42:00.389 --> 00:42:02.369
his thinking. And his legacy wasn't entirely

00:42:02.369 --> 00:42:05.869
behind him, that assassination plot in Kuwait.

00:42:06.150 --> 00:42:08.769
Right. 1993, Iraqi intelligence tried to kill

00:42:08.769 --> 00:42:10.909
him during a visit. President Clinton retaliated

00:42:10.909 --> 00:42:13.530
with missile strikes, shows how deeply intertwined

00:42:13.530 --> 00:42:16.289
his actions were with ongoing world events, even

00:42:16.289 --> 00:42:18.750
after he left office. His family carried the

00:42:18.750 --> 00:42:21.809
political torch, of course. Big time. Sons George

00:42:21.809 --> 00:42:25.739
W. and Jeb ran for governor in 94. George W.

00:42:25.820 --> 00:42:28.340
won Texas, Jeb lost Florida then but won later

00:42:28.340 --> 00:42:31.219
in 98. His advice to them, chart your own course.

00:42:31.760 --> 00:42:33.780
Underscoring his own belief in finding your own

00:42:33.780 --> 00:42:36.300
path like he did going to Texas. Exactly. And

00:42:36.300 --> 00:42:38.900
then George W.'s presidential wins in 2000 and

00:42:38.900 --> 00:42:42.199
2004 made them only the second father -son duo

00:42:42.199 --> 00:42:45.059
to be president, Adamses and Bushes. Led to the

00:42:45.059 --> 00:42:47.920
whole Bush 41 versus Bush 43 thing. Right, needed

00:42:47.920 --> 00:42:51.070
to distinguish them. Bush 41 advised his son

00:42:51.070 --> 00:42:54.170
on some things approved of Cheney for VP, but

00:42:54.170 --> 00:42:56.329
wasn't consulted on everything, like bringing

00:42:56.329 --> 00:42:58.809
back his old rival Donald Rumsfeld as defense

00:42:58.809 --> 00:43:00.269
secretary. One of the most surprising things

00:43:00.269 --> 00:43:02.849
post presidency, that friendship with Bill Clinton.

00:43:03.050 --> 00:43:05.750
Totally unexpected. His former political rival,

00:43:06.289 --> 00:43:08.769
they teamed up for humanitarian work, tsunami

00:43:08.769 --> 00:43:11.849
relief, Hurricane Katrina relief, showed a real

00:43:11.849 --> 00:43:14.849
spear of bipartisanship, setting aside past battles

00:43:14.849 --> 00:43:17.710
for the common good. resonated hugely. But he

00:43:17.710 --> 00:43:20.329
wasn't afraid to be critical later on, even of

00:43:20.329 --> 00:43:22.190
his son's administration. In those interviews

00:43:22.190 --> 00:43:24.610
with Meacham, yeah, he voiced concerns about

00:43:24.610 --> 00:43:27.130
Rumsfeld, Cheney, aspects of George W.'s foreign

00:43:27.130 --> 00:43:30.389
policy post 9 -11, showed a remarkable willingness

00:43:30.389 --> 00:43:32.969
to reflect critically, sticking to his own pragmatic

00:43:32.969 --> 00:43:35.170
foreign policy principles, regardless of who

00:43:35.170 --> 00:43:37.269
was in charge. He stayed engaged in politics

00:43:37.269 --> 00:43:39.789
in his later years, supported McCain, Romney.

00:43:39.909 --> 00:43:41.980
He did. and received the Presidential Medal of

00:43:41.980 --> 00:43:44.539
Freedom from President Obama in 2011, a great

00:43:44.539 --> 00:43:48.019
moment of bipartisan respect. Then 2016, a real

00:43:48.019 --> 00:43:51.239
departure. Supported his son Jeb's run, obviously.

00:43:51.800 --> 00:43:54.239
But when Trump won the nomination, neither George

00:43:54.239 --> 00:43:57.980
H .W. nor George W. endorsed him. And Bush 41

00:43:57.980 --> 00:44:01.099
even revealed he voted for Hillary Clinton. Wow.

00:44:01.460 --> 00:44:03.719
A former Republican president voting Democrat

00:44:03.719 --> 00:44:06.739
speaks volumes about his priorities. Values over

00:44:06.739 --> 00:44:09.719
party loyalty in that instance, clearly. He and

00:44:09.719 --> 00:44:12.300
George W. also put out a joint statement condemning

00:44:12.300 --> 00:44:15.139
bigotry after the Charlottesville rally in 2017.

00:44:15.320 --> 00:44:18.079
His health declined significantly in later years.

00:44:18.380 --> 00:44:21.559
Paddle Graves' disease, then vascular Parkinson's,

00:44:21.719 --> 00:44:24.599
relied on a wheelchair from around 2011, and

00:44:24.599 --> 00:44:28.119
then Barbara died in April 2018, age 92. His

00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:31.159
partner of 73 years. Her funeral was quite a

00:44:31.159 --> 00:44:33.260
gathering. Five presidents and first ladies,

00:44:33.699 --> 00:44:35.519
a testament to the respect they commanded as

00:44:35.519 --> 00:44:38.179
a couple. His own final public act was voting

00:44:38.179 --> 00:44:40.960
early in the 2018 midterms. George H .W. Bush

00:44:40.960 --> 00:44:44.159
died November 30, 2018, age 94, longest -lived

00:44:44.159 --> 00:44:46.519
president at the time. Jimmy Carter later surpassed

00:44:46.519 --> 00:44:48.539
him. He lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda,

00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:50.860
received a state funeral at the National Cathedral,

00:44:51.320 --> 00:44:53.139
buried at his presidential library in Texas,

00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:55.280
next to Barbara and their daughter Robin. Full

00:44:55.280 --> 00:44:58.519
circle. George W.'s eulogy was very moving. He

00:44:58.519 --> 00:45:00.659
looked for the good in each person, and he usually

00:45:00.659 --> 00:45:04.099
found it. A fitting tribute. So how do historians

00:45:04.099 --> 00:45:07.329
rank him now? Generally in the top half. Polls

00:45:07.329 --> 00:45:10.230
put him around 17th, 20th, often described as

00:45:10.230 --> 00:45:12.809
that guardian president, the pragmatic caretaker,

00:45:13.409 --> 00:45:15.650
maybe largely content with things as they were.

00:45:16.289 --> 00:45:19.230
But does that capture it all? That's the question.

00:45:19.650 --> 00:45:22.090
Is it an underestimation? His foreign policy

00:45:22.090 --> 00:45:25.110
leadership is almost universally praised. David

00:45:25.110 --> 00:45:26.989
Rothkopf called his administration's foreign

00:45:26.989 --> 00:45:29.730
policy thoughtful and well -managed, ushering

00:45:29.730 --> 00:45:32.349
in that new world order. End of the Cold War,

00:45:32.650 --> 00:45:35.789
Germany Gulf War. masterful navigation, prevented

00:45:35.789 --> 00:45:39.050
potential chaos. But the domestic side, often

00:45:39.050 --> 00:45:41.909
seen as a disappointment by critics. Time magazine

00:45:41.909 --> 00:45:44.570
hit him on drugs, homelessness, racial hostility,

00:45:44.869 --> 00:45:47.269
education gaps, environment. Argued his handling

00:45:47.269 --> 00:45:49.750
set a poor example. Fair criticisms from that

00:45:49.750 --> 00:45:51.909
perspective. The home front definitely felt less

00:45:51.909 --> 00:45:54.469
of a priority to some, and those problems persisted.

00:45:54.670 --> 00:45:56.869
But here's the reappraisal. In recent years,

00:45:57.070 --> 00:45:59.469
especially compared to intense partisanship later,

00:45:59.809 --> 00:46:01.809
he's remembered fondly for his willingness to

00:46:01.809 --> 00:46:05.530
compromise. Exactly. Vox highlighted those bipartisan

00:46:05.530 --> 00:46:09.469
domestic wins. OBRA 90, the tax hike, the ADA,

00:46:09.929 --> 00:46:12.170
the Clean Air Act amendments, that surprisingly

00:46:12.170 --> 00:46:15.630
progressive immigration act of 1990. Significant

00:46:15.630 --> 00:46:18.010
achievements often overshadowed showing a commitment

00:46:18.010 --> 00:46:20.630
to practical solutions beyond pure ideology.

00:46:20.750 --> 00:46:23.010
He racked up the honors too. Time man of the

00:46:23.010 --> 00:46:26.530
year 90, Houston Airport renamed. CIA HQ named

00:46:26.530 --> 00:46:28.989
after him. World Golf Hall of Fame, the aircraft

00:46:28.989 --> 00:46:32.050
carrier USS George H .W. Bush. Permanent markers

00:46:32.050 --> 00:46:34.139
of his impact. And tying back to the beginning,

00:46:34.460 --> 00:46:36.840
that spiritual dimension, his faith deepened

00:46:36.840 --> 00:46:39.360
after the war after losing Robin. Clearly reflected

00:46:39.360 --> 00:46:41.599
in The Thousand Points of Light, his pro -life

00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:43.719
stance, and that touching story that came out

00:46:43.719 --> 00:46:46.360
after his death, secretly sponsoring a Filipino

00:46:46.360 --> 00:46:48.920
boy's education in food for 10 years through

00:46:48.920 --> 00:46:51.619
Compassion International, using the alias George

00:46:51.619 --> 00:46:54.519
Walker. Wow, just a quiet act of personal service.

00:46:54.760 --> 00:46:56.739
Embodies that deep sense of purpose he carried

00:46:56.739 --> 00:46:59.380
his whole life. What an incredible journey. From

00:46:59.380 --> 00:47:02.869
that young pilot asking, why me? to the leader

00:47:02.869 --> 00:47:04.869
steering the world through the Cold War's end.

00:47:06.030 --> 00:47:09.409
As we've seen, George H .W. Bush's life was just

00:47:09.409 --> 00:47:12.369
this testament to service marked by deep convictions,

00:47:12.449 --> 00:47:15.469
but also that essential pragmatism. You've heard

00:47:15.469 --> 00:47:17.530
about the spared pilot, the president navigating

00:47:17.530 --> 00:47:20.610
global shifts, the unexpected policy turns like

00:47:20.610 --> 00:47:23.949
the tax pledge, the big bipartisan wins like

00:47:23.949 --> 00:47:27.190
ADA and clean air, the complexities of his image.

00:47:27.269 --> 00:47:30.090
And the presidency. once criticized for lacking

00:47:30.090 --> 00:47:32.769
the vision thing, is now often appreciated for

00:47:32.769 --> 00:47:35.429
its stability, that masterful navigation of a

00:47:35.429 --> 00:47:37.750
transforming world, even if the domestic side

00:47:37.750 --> 00:47:40.349
faced tougher reviews. So reflecting on his whole

00:47:40.349 --> 00:47:42.469
career, especially that shift from voodoo economics

00:47:42.469 --> 00:47:45.090
critic to tax hiker and later questioning his

00:47:45.090 --> 00:47:47.730
own son's administration's foreign policy, it

00:47:47.730 --> 00:47:49.550
really makes you think, what is the toughest

00:47:49.550 --> 00:47:52.110
challenge for any leader? Is it staying rigidly

00:47:52.110 --> 00:47:53.889
true to your stated principles, no matter what?

00:47:54.079 --> 00:47:57.480
Or is it adapting pragmatically to changing realities,

00:47:57.780 --> 00:48:00.000
even if it means alienating your base, breaking

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:02.960
a promise? His life is just such a compelling

00:48:02.960 --> 00:48:05.760
case study of that constant tension, conviction

00:48:05.760 --> 00:48:08.960
versus adaptability. It resonates so much today,

00:48:09.079 --> 00:48:11.619
doesn't it? Forces you to consider the true cost

00:48:11.619 --> 00:48:14.079
and maybe the ultimate value of political courage.