The Presidency of George Bush

I read this book for a graduate class in American history. George Bush is something of an enigma to the American public. His privileged life afforded him the opportunity to pursue a career that was both rewarding and volatile. His passion for government was profiled in his commitment to reach the presidency. Once he achieved that goal he worked fervently to make as many positive changes and improvements for the nation as possible. George Bush had big shoes to fill after Ronald Reagan completed his two terms as President. Reagan cut taxes with his "Supply Side Economics" and created the greatest buildup of arms in American history. The 1980's turned into an age of entrepreneurism, cultural voyeurism, narcissism, and anxiety. Although President Reagan developed policies that were considered to be "revolutionary" he was not without inaccuracy. He stumbled in the Iran Contra affair by allowing White House aides to sell arms to Iran in order to gain support of Iran in the release of American hostages that were being held in Lebanon. While Reagan would be a tough act to follow, he left an unstable economy and social infrastructure behind. While President Bush had to suffer the consequences of the Iran-Contra affair, he promoted ethics throughout his administration. When he first got into office he put the "Scrub" Team" together which was responsible for "scrubbing" all potential appointments to make sure their loyalties were to Bush and not Reagan. Bush's eldest son, George W. chaired the group (46). The New York Times nicknamed the Bush administration "The Untouchables" after the incorruptible team of federal agents who chased gangsters during prohibition because of Bush's promise to make his administration more ethical than Reagan's (54). When Bush began his presidency he knew he had to pick his battles. He was successful in doing so in that he vetoed 44 bills and 43 were upheld in four years (62). He addressed the difficult and important issues of abortion, education, and drug policy. He also had to compensate for Reaganomics which left him with a budget deficit that hindered his administration from instituting new policies and programs due to insufficient funds. The deficit was also responsible for him compromising the one big pledge he made during his campaign "no new taxes". This would playa major role in his next election. President Bush's stronger attribute was foreign policy. He had agreed with little of Reagan's foreign policy. An example of this was his relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev of the U.S.S.R.; however, Bush chose to apply the brakes to the Soviet-American relationship, pull over to the side of the road, and study the map for a while." (90) Although Bush moved at his own pace, he stepped up the pace after the Tiananmen Square massacre. Due to the handling of the massacre by the People's Republic of China, Bush imposed sanctions on the country. President Bush's pace was not an issue when DESERT SHIELD was instituted. Saddam