Welcome to the Jungle: America After Vietnam
                                       AP US History 2007
    George H.W. Bush



Jonathan Chu

Author's Bio


Tom Wicker was born on June 18, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina. Wicker earned his journalism degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1948, after which he wrote for the Winston-Salem Journal for eight years and The Nashville Tennessean for two years. His most notable achievement was writing the "In the Nation" column for the New York Times from 1960 to 1991. His most famous report, written on the assassination of President Kennedy from the perspective of the motorcade following the president, has been praised as the most accurate first-hand account of the shooting.


George H. W. Bush: A Failure or Success?

     "Born January 12, 1924, George Bush grew up steeped in sports in Greenwich, Connecticut, and spent most summers even more deeply immersed in sports at grandfather George H. Walker's 176-acre estate on the seashore at Kennbunkport, Maine."1 Growing up completely dedicated to sports and had no interest in politics George Bush would have never guessed that he would at one time become the President of the United States, have a son that would serve two terms as President of the United Sates, and have another son serve as the governor of Florida. Throughout his life, Bush had created a knack for making friends. This special ability would bring Bush much success in his life.
     Like his father, Prescott Bush, George H. W. Bush had decided to attend Yale. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Bush ignored family tradition and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a fighter pilot on his eighteenth birthday on January 12, 1942. On September 7, 1944, Bush's torpedo bomber took a direct hit from while he was bombing Chichi Jima. Although Bush was able to drop all the bombs and keep the plane aloft long enough to let the crew escape, one crewmember was trapped in the plane and another's chute failed to open. Two hours later, the submarine, Finback, recovered his raft. While aboard the Finback, Bush claimed that he had "made friendships that have lasted a lifetime."2. After the war ended, Bush, like father Prescott Bush, attended Yale Law School on the GI Bill, and also married an old girlfriend, Barbara Pierce. Bush also joined many veterans in a significant postwar migration out of the cities and into the suburbs. After Procter & Gamble, a big soap company, turned him down, Bush also declined to work with his father at Brown Brother Harriman, and rejected an offer to work at G.H. Walker and Company, his grandfather's private Wall Street banking firm. Prescott Bush, a member of the board of directors of Dressen Industries, a Texas oil-drilling supplying company, decided to intervene in his son's career. George Bush was offered work as a clerk at Ideco, a Dressen subsidiary in Odessa, Texas. The booming oil industry looked good, and moreover, Bush wanted to begin a new life. While staying in Texas, he made friends with a neighbor, John Overbey; they eventually formed the Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company. When Bush-Overbey was prospering, a tragedy in Bush's family occurred. Robin Bush, their second-born, was diagnosed with leukemia and died a couple of months later. Robin's death was a devastating blow to both Barbara and George Bush. However, it was easier for Bush to overcome Robin's death because he was moving beyond Bush-Overbey and thinking about his future. He had been making friends with Hugh Lietke Jr., one of the boldest entrepreneurs in Texas oil mining. Together, Lietke and Bush merged their companies into Zapata Petroleum. Zapata struck rich when it leased Coke Country land to mine for oil. As a result of Zapata's success, "Zapata partners became the first Midland independents to reach a net worth of one million dollars apiece."3 In 1958, a second company, Zapata Offshore, was created to satisfy Bush's adventurous, risk-taking attitude towards the oil business.
     Bush's political career started when, in 1964, he won the Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate from Texas. Although he lost to Ralph Yarborough, he was undiscouraged and, in 1966, Bush was elected to the House. In 1970, "President Nixon convinced Bush to relinquish his House seat to again run for the Senate against Democratic Senator Ralph Yarborough, a fierce Nixon critic."4 In the Republican primary, Bush easily defeated conservative Robert Morris, another politician wanting a seat in the Senate. However, when Lloyd Bentsen defeated Yarborough in the Democratic primary, Nixon's support for Bush's campaign waned; as a result, Bush lost the election. After the 1970 election loss, Nixon appointed Bush to United States Ambassador to the United Nations, a position that he served from 1971 to 1973. Bush became chairman for the Republican Party during the Watergate Crisis, when popularity for Nixon and the Republican Party plummeted. When Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal became apparent, Bush focused on defending the Republican Party while still remaining loyal to Nixon. After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Gerald Ford became the next president.
     Bush and Nelson Rockefeller both tried for the vice-presidency, but Bush instead became Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China. In 1976, Ford brought Bush back to the States and appointed him as the DCI, or Director of Central Intelligence. Bush served as the DCI for 355 days, from January 30, 1976, to January 20, 1977, until he became Chairman of the First International Bank in Houston. In 1980 Bush ran for president against Ronald Reagan, stressing his wide range of government experience. Bush represented the moderate wing of the GOP, while Reagan represented the conservative wing. Bush called Reagan's supply side economic plans for tax cuts "voodoo economics." Bush was able to win the Iowa caucus, but Reagan won in New Hampshire. With the growing popularity of the Republican Party, Reagan was able to win most of the other primaries and thus, clinched the nomination. In a bold move, Reagan decided to place opponent Bush on the winning ticket instead of vice-president Gerald Ford. In 1984, the Reagan and Bush ticket again won in a landslide victory against Democrats Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. Come 1988, Bush decided to run for president again. His challengers for the Republican ticket were Bob Dole, a Senator, and Pat Robertson, a Conservative Christian televangelist. Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, behind Robertson and Dole. However, Bush rebounded to win the New Hampshire primary, partly because television commercials portrayed Dole as a tax raiser. Once the multiple-state primaries such as Super Tuesday began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising tactics were impossible for the other candidates to match, and he took the nomination. Bush chose Dan Quayle has his vice-president. Bush, running against Democratic nominee and Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, surprised critics of his lack of eloquence by giving perhaps the best speech of his public career, widely known as the "Thousand points of light" speech. Bush's acceptance speech at a well-managed convention, which included the famous pledge, "Read my lips: no new taxes."5, threw him ahead of Dukakis in the polls, and held the lead for the rest of the race. Bush's campaign was criticized for its highly negative television advertisements. Bush criticized that Dukakis was "soft on crime" because he was against capital punishment. Bush also pointed out that Dukakis was opposed to a bill that would require all students to say the pledge of allegiance. In a landslide victory, Bush defeated Dukakis in the Electoral College, 426 to 111, and received 53.4 percent of popular vote.
     Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency. As the Soviet Union was disintegrating, Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met at the Malta Conference. Unlike many conferences held between U.S. Presidents and Soviet leaders, there were no agreements signed at the Malta Conference. The Malta Conference was primarily a meeting place to provide a place for the United States and the Soviet Union to discuss the rapid changes that was taking place in Europe. According to many, the Malta Conference was the official end to the Cold War. The Iron Curtain, which had separated Eastern and Western Europe for four decades, was lifted. Gorbachev's reform policies, glasnost and perestroika, were a disaster for the Soviet Union. In Poland, the communist government was unable to suppress Solidarity, a democratic movement. Gorbachev, who reiterated that the Brezhnev Doctrine was no longer valid, refused to send Soviet aid to crush uprising in Soviet puppet states. Consequently, Poland ousted Communist leaders and became a democracy. This change in Soviet policy allowed many Communist satellites to embrace democracy. As a result, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Cold War was over. While the issues in Eastern Europe were coming to a close, Middle Eastern problems emerged. Another foreign policy was Operation Just Cause. Operation Just Cause was a U.S. military invasion of Panama that deposed General Manuel Noriega in December 1989. General Manuel Noriega was at one time a U.S. ally, but was increasingly using Panama to aid the drug traffic from South America to the United States. In the 1980s, Manuel Noriega was one of the most recognizable names in the United States, and was constantly covered by the press. The deteriorating situation in Panama, supposedly an American protectorate, was an embarrassment for the Reagan Administration, which President Bush inherited. The invasion, preceded by massive protests in Panama against Noriega, involved an force of 25,000 troops and state-of-the-art military equipment, was the largest American military operation since the Vietnam War. The military action took place under supervision of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Colin Powell who, as National Security Advisor for President Reagan, knew very well of the deteriorating relationship with Panama and Noriega. Although Operation Just Cause was a success, it "provoked sharp criticism in the United States and much of the world for overkill."6 Although Operation Just Cause and the fall of the Soviet Union were notable events, Bush's glory in foreign policy had yet to come.
     As President, Bush is perhaps best known internationally for leading the United Nations coalition in the 1990 to 1991. During the Reagan administration, Saddam was an American ally. Reagan believed that Iraq was a barrier to Iranian penetration or conquest of pro-American states: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. When an Iranian victory seemed possible during a Iraqi-Iranian war, Regain decided to aid Iraq. The Reagan Administration supplied Baghdad with "invaluable intelligence information, billions in trade credits, and an ample supply of arms-including insecticides that could be used in chemical warfare, as well as certain strains of anthrax to be used in biological warfare."7 During the Bush administration, however, US-Iraqi relations worsened due to oil production, territorial disputes, and Iraqi demands that Kuwait pardon its share of Baghdad's 80 billion debt from war with Iran. When Saddam ordered an attack on Kuwait, the United Nations responded by forming a coalition to aid Kuwait. The coalition, known as Desert Shield, sought to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait and prevent further Iraqi invasions of Saudi Arabia. On November 29, the UN passed a resolution establishing a deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. .If the deadline was not met, Kuwait's allies would be authorized to use all necessary means to force an Iraqi withdrawal. Fighting began on January 17, 1991, with U.S.-led air units launching devastating air attacks against Iraq. Desert Shield had become Operation Desert Storm. Fighting lasted only four days, with just 148 killed and 458 wounded Americans. Bush ceased fire after Iraqi troops pulled out from Kuwait.
     Throughout the book, Wicker asserts that "Bush often used family, friends, and political connections to accumulate the experience that supposedly qualified him for the White House"8. This is very true, especially because Bush was only able to rise to power through his friends. Bush's first success was with John Overbey, in which they both created an oil company that would later bring Bush tremendous sums of money. Second, Bush's friend-making skills served him well when he befriended Hugh Lietke Jr. As a result, Bush and Lietke created Zapata Petroleum, which turned in enough money for Bush to pursue politics. Bush's friendship with Nixon proved especially invaluable. Nixon had endorsed and supported Bush while he was campaigning in Texas for the Senate and Congress. Without Nixon's support, Bush would have had such early success in politics. While serving as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Bush made many friends with powerful leaders in the Middle East, and especially, with Gorbachev. When he had headed Desert Shield, he had the approval of many Middle Eastern dictators, who all saw Iraq as a threat. Relations with Gorbachev were also very important during the rough times in the Soviet Union because Bush had to maintain a peaceful relationship with Gorbachev; if Bush had rejoiced and publicly announced that he was happy with the fall of Communist satellites, Gorbachev could have retaliated with nuclear missiles.
     Thomas J. Baldino, a professor at Wilkes University, also realized that "the central theme of the book--and of Bush's political life--is the importance of friendship. Bush made friends easily and maintained contact with them for years; he regarded loyalty to his friends as crucial and drew on them at many critical points in his career."9. After reading Wicker's book, Baldino has also realized that Bush's political success lay with his ability to make friends. Publishers Weekly claims, "Veteran journalist Wicker faults Bush for what the author categorizes as a readiness to alter positions for political advantage and repeated use of 'low blows' to attack electoral opponents like Bob Dole and Michael Dukakis."10 This is very true, but although Wicker talks about the "low blows", he doesn't emphasize how it affected his campaign. Kirkus Review states that while Bush was "in office, Bush accomplished almost nothing and couldn't seem to offer any reason for voters to return him to office--and so they didn't."11 This is both true and false. Bush accomplished great feats with regard to foreign policy, but failed miserably on the home front. Bush was able to oust Saddam out of Kuwait and received 91 percent of the popular vote after his success in Operation Desert Storm; however, on domestic issues, Bush broke his famous no new taxes pledge. "For nine years, eight under Reagan and in the first Bush year, the minimum wag had been frozen; that meant, as inflation rose, that minimum-wage workers effectively suffered a pay cut every year."12 This startling data is a major factor in the recession of 1991 to 1992. As the minimum wage froze and inflation increased, consumers had less money to spend. After a long struggle in congress, Bush accepted and signed the Democrat's Civil Rights Act of 1991. This was Bush's biggest political blunder and probably cost him re-election.
     This book is very fascinating, because it starts from the beginnings of Bush's life and continues to the end of his presidency. Wicker's biography sketches Bush as a man with the faults and virtues of his background: loyalty, friendliness, personal modesty, intense competitiveness, and a shallow mind. Wicker notes that Bush's credentials for the presidency was scanty, but he failed to recognize the impressive-looking r¨¦sum¨¦: two-term congressman, U.N. ambassador, CIA director, GOP chairman, and two terms of vice-president under Reagan. As a famous reporter who wrote about politics from the 1960s to 1991, Wicker had been mostly influenced by the presidencies from Eisenhower to Reagan. Wicker compares Bush's presidency with his predecessors, but fails to give his own critique and comments about Bush's policies. Wicker's book is more like a narrative essay about Bush's political career, especially his three electoral campaigns for the presidency. In each one, Bush needed to convince Republican Party conservatives that he was one of them.
     Wicker's belief that Bush's steadfast and hard work during the Soviet Union breakup is important. George W. Bush, his oldest son, was old enough to participate and learn from his father's campaign tactics and his love for politics. As a result, George W. Bush has been elected president for two terms and is doing a bad job. Inheriting a bad trait of misleading the American people, George W. Bush led troops into Iraq to expel Saddam on the grounds that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Now we know that Bush knew there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Like his father, George H. Bush lied about not raising taxes and breaking his famous pledge "Read my lips- no new taxes."
     According to the author, Bush's presidency had a big impact on America. With Bush's foreign policy, he was able to lead America safely through the rough times when the Soviet Union was crumbling, and was able to avoid nuclear war. Throughout Bush's presidency, he accomplished many goals that would remain in history textbooks forever. According to Wicker, "Desert Shield and Desert Storm are all but alone as monuments to the forty-first president, surely it can be said that they reflect moments of courage and vision worthy of his office."13 Although Bush didn't cause the Soviet Union to dissolve, he is still credited with the fall of the Soviet Union and leading the American people through that time. Even though Operation Desert Storm was the highlight of his career, his son, George W. Bush, has tainted his father's success in Iraq with his failure in the Iraqi War. Overall, Wicker does an excellent job on writing about Bush's life.





Endnotes

1.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 5 2.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 6 3.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 12 4.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 78 5.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 112 6.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 144 7.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 146 8.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 4 9.) Baldino, Thomas. "Reviews the book "George Herbert Walker Bush: A Penguin Life," by Tom Wicker.." Library Journal 129 (2004) 10.) Black, David. "Reviews the book "George Herbert Walker Bush: A Penguin Life," by Tom Wicker.." Publishers Weekly 251 (2004): 11.) "Reviews the book "George Herbert Walker Bush: A Penguin Life," by Tom Wicker.." Kirkus Reviews 72 (2004): 12.) Wicker, Tom. George Herbert Walker Bush. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Books., 2004, 168



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