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Brian Peng
Author's Bio
John Robert Greene was born on April 13, 1955, in Syracuse, NY. He obtained his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1983. Currently teaching at Cazenovia College, he had previously instructed at Syracuse University and Chapman University as a Professor of History, Humanities, and Communication. Greene's works have focused on Republican presidencies in modern American history; as such, he is an advisory board member at the Center for the Study of the Presidency.
George H. W. Bush: Making Do With the Worst
George Herbert Walker Bush may not have been the greatest president in the history of the United States of America, and he may not have been the most popular one either, but the legacy of his Presidency has left a definitive mark in foreign and domestic affair for years to come. The Presidency of George Bush by John Robert Greene analyzes the details of Bush's term in office and the eventual successes--and failures--that his presidency brought to the public. While the vast majority of the public views Bush's tenure as a failure, Greene instead notes that, while Bush's stay may have been riddled with failed objectives, a massive budget deficit, and domestic issues on which Bush had trouble gaining control, it was also a time of strengthened patriotism, success in an international aspect, and strict regulations on ethical characteristics. Indeed, much of Bush's problems could be contributed to the "economic instability and cultural anxiety that the Reagan years" created; therefore, Bush cannot be entirely faulted for doing little to help the country.1 As a result, Bush governed the nation for a full term, deciding on many of its major policies and defining a nation that, even today, contains legacies left by the former president.
The beginning of Bush's legacy as president traces a long and complex path through the years before his term: his birth and pre-presidential activities, the Reagan presidency, and the 1988 election campaign. Born on June 12, 1924, Bush was raised with a "rather disciplined upbringing" that later played a role in defining Bush the person: someone who was highly loyal, heartfelt, and patriotic to his country.2 His devotion eventually led him to become involved in politics, a bridge which laid the foundation for an impressive r¨¦sum¨¦ that would later become the focus point for his campaign and the precursors of his successes in foreign policy. Greene notes the immense amount of experience he gained in the corporate and political world, beginning with his times as President of Zapata Offshore, an ocean oil drilling company. His move as a congressman for Texas's Seventh District began his political career, and as he ascended the ranks of the government, he stayed close to the "feelings of duty" instilled by his parents and the thought of "the right thing to do."3 Later, he worked as the U.N. Ambassador, the chairperson of the Republican National Convention (RNC), the American envoy to the People's Republic of China, and the Director of Central Intelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency. Finally, Bush ran for president in the election of 1980, but his lack of funds to combat the ebullient Ronald Reagan grounded his campaign. Reagan instead selected Bush as a vice-presidential candidate, and the Reagan-Bush ticket won a landslide victory over Carter. During this time, Reagan's policies began to shape the future that the Bush Presidency would later face: much consternation over fiscal policies and the eventual loss of control over the ballooning federal deficit. In addition, Reagan's presidency hurt the "social infrastructure" with which Bush would have to later contend.4 Regardless, although Bush's 1988 campaign for office began with a shoddy start, the help of Harvey LeRoy Atwater--he had the knowledge of campaigns and "jugular politics" that made him the de-facto person for negative politics--allowed him to best the other presidential candidates, including Democratic challenger Michael Dukakis.5 By attacking personal beliefs and striking at weak positions in opponents' platforms, Bush was able to wear down defenses and strike harshly. Yet it was not only the attacks that made Bush seem less of a "wimp"--which constituted the bulk of criticism against him--and more of a take-charge character, but also his brilliant pledge for "no new taxes."6 In this way, his strong position and confident candor to the people of the United States secured him the presidency.
Greene next touches on the domestic policies that plagued Bush during his years in office. One of the first tasks President-elect Bush had to tackle was the appointment of a cabinet, which would serve him in his newfound responsibilities. Yet difficulties popped up as soon as Bush began naming members such as John Tower to Secretary of Defense, which drew heavy opposition. Indeed, the nomination proved to be the "red flag in front of a bull" that foreshadowed many later conflicts between Congress and Bush.7 Eventually, Tower's nomination failed, but Bush stuck with Tower until the end. His attitude of being "loyal to his friends" would later prove to be the backbone of many of his other political relationships.8 As Bush began his term in office, he quickly encountered problems, starting with his mantra for political ethics--no political or personal scandals, hoarding of money, or illegal business deals. His belief in being true to his country made him crack down on those who happened to violate those ethics. After the scare, Bush began to settle into his role as President as he began to work with the problems left over from Reagan and his presidency. One of those problems was the enormously large federal deficit, which made any "broad social agenda too expensive to implement," thus creating a blockade that stymied any future social programs that Bush would have liked to pass.9 As such, he involved himself in many small programs that had personal meaning. Such programs included protection of the flag from burning, strict regulation of abortion, supervision of drugs, and reform of education. In order to sway bills according to his philosophies--the Democrats had majority in Congress and thus would rarely agree with Bush--he frequently used vetoes as his bully pulpit. Greene, however, argues that only two of Bush's reforms were really a victory: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The ADA was seen as "the first real civil rights reformˇsince Nixon" that provided benefits for those who were previously discriminated on the basis of disabilities.10 The Clean Air Act, on the other hand, promised to protect nature and the environment more than any other president since conservationist President Theodore Roosevelt. Yet problems still existed: Bush, going against his campaign promise, raised taxes in order to keep the deficit at a constant rate. In addition, the consequences that Reaganomics delivered were exorbitant, and Bush had to channel his resources to find a way to fix the crisis, something complicated by the state of affairs between Congress and the budget.
On the foreign affairs front, however, Bush proved much more competent in fixing problems than he did in regards to domestic affairs. Here, Bush's previous experiences in foreign politics played a large role in his abilities to heal a touchy situation. Starting with the National Security Council, President Bush took responsibility for all foreign affairs taking place, and in doing so, found a good "crisis manager" in Colin Powell.11 His help would prove invaluable later on during Operation Just Cause and the U.S. invasion of Panama to remove dictator and drug trafficker Manuel Noriega. During this period of foreign affairs revival, Bush and Gorbachev brought the United States and the Soviet Union closer in relations and lessened the threat of nuclear warfare during the Cold War, which finally ended, after 5 decades, in 1989. Soon after, attention shifted to the Middle East. Here, Greene says, Bush made his best efforts in foreign policy, increasing his approval ratings. In Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, both of which involved Kuwait and its takeover by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the United States pledged to send troops to support and protect Saudi Arabian oilfields. In turn, the United States gained a staging ground that led to Operation Desert Storm and the invasion of Kuwait, with only one loss of life. By pulling off a quick military victory and success in driving the Iraqis out of Kuwait, Bush received acclaim for what has become known as his best act during his presidential term.
After his high in foreign affairs and the succeeding end of his presidency, Bush began his search for reelection. This search, however, proved to be disastrous from the start. With the death of his political media organizer Atwater, Bush lost a great ally who had supported Bush's bid for presidency and brought the knowledge to do so. Due to "the elitist factor" and the vast amount of money and education that Bush had, his image made it hard for him to be reelected.12 In fact, the separation between "Bush the politician" and "Bush the man" greatly differed, and this was partly the cause of his loss in the 1992 campaign.13 Although "Bush the man" was charismatic, loyal, and gentle, "Bush the politician" was drab at times and used a shrill, take-no-prisoners approach. As domestic problems built up and Bush's inability to solve most of them worsened, his reelection obstacles increased. In the end, a more charismatic speaker, Bill Clinton, beat Bush. Yet Bush, as he left office, would leave a legacy behind for the incoming Clinton.
John Robert Greene stays sympathetic as he describes how Bush went through his term in office and discusses the difficulties he faced. He asserts that it is a "more than adequate legacy," but even so, Bush is not without his faults.14 Greene notes that most of his domestic policies were failures, and that his chances for reelection were paltry and weak. However, most of his financial problems stemmed from Reagan and the failures that Reagan had in controlling the federal budget, which created an enormous deficit. Per se, Greene asserts that many things were out of Bush's control. Yet Bush's "limited agenda" only exacerbated some problems while fixing little else.15 Greene notes that the only two policies that Bush had any good support for and can be considered victories were the ADA and the Clean Air Act. Therefore, while Bush may have failed on many parts of domestic policy, he at least did well on others. When it came to foreign affairs, however, Greene was much more acclimating to the right moves done in the Middle East, Panama, and the Cold War. As thus, Greene states that Bush's entire presidency, while largely a failure in domestic policies, did well enough in the foreign arena that it elevated him in public opinion. Overall, Greene's assumptions and point of view paints a sympathetic, yet balanced image. Greene, as a history professor, should have quite a lot of background information on Bush. When he wrote this biography in 2000, it was still a time of conservatism. As such, Greene would be more sympathetic to Bush and his conservative policies.
Professionals note that Greene produced a good piece of work that adequately covers the presidency of George Bush. Steven Wagner of Missouri Southern State College states that Greene "fulfilled the aims [of a broad ground between biographies and journalism reporting] admirably."16 Wagner goes on to state that the account is both factually accurate and a "starting point" for future scholars.17 Overall, he applauds Greene's question of "How could he have lost the presidency when he won the war?" and the subsequent evaluation of the final campaign.18 Another reviewer, Malcolm Cross of Tarleton State University, notes that "[Greene's] analysis is usually sound and frequently imaginative" but that some arguments "could have been strengthened with a fuller discussion" of significant facts, such as how the public saw Bush's actions in the Gulf war, and how such actions proved to be a deciding factor in the role the U.S. took.19 Cross does note that Greene touches barely on some items, but also that generally, it is an adequate example solid research and analysis.
The book itself deals with quite a lot, and the insight it leaves is satisfying. Greene does indeed look at all angles, noting the way the previous president shaped Bush's term in office. Then, Greene glances at all aspects of Bush's presidency in order to gain a clear understanding of how Bush left his mark in the U.S. As such, Greene creates a comprehensive and well-rounded look into Bush's Presidency. However, Greene, at the expense of including so much material, sacrifices detail at points that may have further supported an argument. For example, Greene discusses the "negotiations with Gorbachev from strength" and the "concessions won" by doing so.20 What Greene does not do is explain, in more detail, Soviet-American relations. In fact, much on the relationship with the Soviet Union lacks detail, something where Greene's biography falls short. Greene also fails to talk more about Bush's previous experiences and how they played an important role in defining Bush as a politician. He only touches briefly, in one chapter, about Bush's early life, when in fact much of what Bush learned in regards to handling foreign rulers and diplomats came from his experiences as the chairperson of the RNC, as the UN ambassador, as the Chinese political envoy, and as the Director of Central Intelligence. Other than that, however, Greene delivers a well-written and clear argument in saying that Bush's term was a tribute to excellent decision making even though he had little room to do so.
During Bush's presidency, he instilled little change on economic policies. Although he was able to change Savings & Loan rates in order to maintain control over a run-away economy, generally Bush was too burdened with Reagan's budget problems to devote much time toward the market. Instead, Bush made advances in social and political history. With the passage of the ADA, Bush provided more benefits to the underprivileged and allowed some protection to those being discriminated. In addition, Bush made the disabled now seem like "active consumers in business."21 As such, the previous idea that the disabled were retarded and unworthy of attention was changed, and attention was drawn to the crippled and the disabled as just regular people. Today, the ADA has designated handicapped parking spots, ramps, and a host of other features across the country to help the disabled function in their daily lives, creating a better society for all.
Politically, Bush made great process in foreign affairs. One of the biggest changes he made was relations with the Soviet Union. Instituting a policy called "pauza," or pause, Bush created an atmosphere of deliberate introspection, allowing an unprecedented watershed in reopening friendly interaction with the Soviet Union.22 Bush was able to show, through talks with Gorbachev, that the Soviet Union was lessening in its hard stance, instead allowing "perestroika to succeed" and relations to improve.23 By doing so, Bush gave people the message that the Soviet Union was not only cracking, it was also available for treaties if the USSR improved its political and ethical status. Indeed, once the Cold War ended, with the toppling of the Berlin Wall, relations with the United States and the Soviet Union hit an all-time high. The effect of such a change, consequently, has been the fact that the Cold War ended and allowed Russian-American relations to regain a semblance of unity again.
In the end, Bush's presidency seems dull, especially when viewing his domestic achievements. However, his foreign policy achievements still stand strong, and the changes he made have echoed to today, the consequences or benefits still felt. It is true that his "careful stewardship" made the nation more stable, guaranteeing Bush that he had created "a more than adequate legacy."24 Regardless of what we might remember him as, a man or as a politician, his actions will continue to reverberate within the nation for years to come.
Endnotes
1. Greene, John Robert. The Presidency of George Bush. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000, 1.
2. Greene, John Robert 11.
3. Greene, John Robert 18.
4. Greene, John Robert 9.
5. Greene, John Robert 29.
6. Greene, John Robert 37.
7. Greene, John Robert 51.
8. Greene, John Robert 53.
9. Greene, John Robert 61.
10. Greene, John Robert 74.
11. Greene, John Robert 104.
12. Greene, John Robert 142.
13. Greene, John Robert 144.
14. Greene, John Robert 186.
15. Greene, John Robert 61.
16. Wagner, Steven. "Review of John Robert Greene, The Presidency of George Bush."H-Pol, H-Net Reviews. June 2000. 28 May 2007. : 1.
17. Wagner, Steven 3.
18. Greene, John Robert 151.
19. Cross, Malcolm L. "Book Reviews: The Presidency of George Bush." The Journal of Politics 63.1 (Feb. 2001): 316-317.
20. Greene, John Robert 108.
21. Greene, John Robert 75.
22. Greene, John Robert 90.
23. Greene, John Robert 98.
24. Greene, John Robert 186.
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