1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent look at Bush 41 Presidency, August 7, 2007
This review is from: Presidency of George Bush (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover)) (Hardcover)
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 Hussein overthrew the emir of Kuwait which gave him control of 21 percent of the world's oil reserves. Bush was concerned with protecting Saudi Arabia because if Hussein took them that would give Iraq 40 percent of the world's known oil reserves (115). Economic sanctions were imposed on Iraq in order to obtain cooperation from Hussein, but Bush was never convinced they would work.
The U.S. also needed help in financing the war. Bush turned to the coalition for help. It cost $28.9 million a day to keep troops in Saudi Arabia. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) paid for 62% of the costs. Germany, Japan and Korea paid 26%. Over 70% of the foreign commitment came in the form of cash (118). President Bush formed a coalition and declared war on Iraq on January 16, 1991 which became known as DESERTSTORM. Before Bush declared war he insisted on the backing of Congress because he did not want Hussein thinking he was just a "trigger happy president" but that the whole nation was behind his decision (126). The press referred to the war as the "Nintendo war" because of the new technology that was used (132). The biggest question that arose from the Gulf War was when President Bush would end the war (135). The American people never had a doubt as to what the outcome of the war would be. Patriotism was revived due to the Gulf War which ended February 27, 1991.
When it was time for re-election President Bush had quite a few obstacles against him. The most frequently asked question about the Bush presidency is "How could he have lost the presidency when he won the war?" (151) The consensus for the main reason was his inability to keep his promise of not raising taxes. Additionally, his re-election campaign was anything but successful. Bush lost Atwater to a terminal brain tumor and the Republican National Convention never recovered. Due to a lack of campaign funds, Bush had to spend his time fund-raising instead of making appearances. Bush also had to endure the media circus of Clarence Thomas being charged with sexual harassment. Bush also received pressure from his administration to drop Gorbachev and support Boris Yeltsin. Bush upheld his beliefs but received great animosity from the conservatives.
The recession arrived in August 1990 (161). Bush decided the best way to deal with it would be to close a number of military bases. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) was formed which is an independent commission that critiques the list of bases being marked for extinction by the secretary of defense (163). Bush approved some thirty closings which again left him incredibly unpopular with the nation. Bush's decisions on these issues did not increase his popularity and with the election getting closer his opponents were looking more appealing to the American public. Bush's reelection campaign had many problems in and of itself. It lacked focus, discipline, and conceptual strategy. The reason for most of this was that Bush had no one running his campaign that had any previous experience with national campaigns (176). George Bush was best known for his patience and prudence throughout his presidency. Although he has become known as the lido-nothing" president to most critics, Bush accomplished a number of major feats in a short four year term. He had weak areas while holding office; however, when his term was complete he was able to leave a more stable nation to his successor than he had inherited from his predecessor (186).
As a graduate student, I recommend this book for anyone interested in Bush, American History, and Cold War History.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A quick, respectable look at a forgotten administration, January 27, 2000
This review is from: Presidency of George Bush (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover)) (Hardcover)
The title of this book is "The Presidency of George Bush." Needless to say, to adequately cover even the most insignificant president you need more than the paltry 200 pages that this book provides. So if Mr. Greene believes that he has written a major book on the Bush administration, he falls well short. Nevertheless, perhaps Mr. Greene sought to write a book offering fewer facts but more analysis. In that case, he also falls a bitshort. The final result is a hybrid of newspaper reporting, old and new facts, and a sprinkle of original analysis. It makes for a repectable work that is worth reading. Mr. Greene's final analysis of the Bush presidency is a positive one. He finds that "Poppy's" virtues of prudence and patience worked well in dealing with foreign countries and in conducting the Persian Gulf War. While admitting a dearth of domestic accomplishments, the author does praise Bush for the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Clean Air Act, both passed in 1990. One thing that stands out in particular is the author's emphasis on Bush's charcater. He sees the ex-president as a genuinely warm friend and gentle family man. This is absolutely true. In comparison to the other post-WWII presidents, George Bush probably would be the one you would most want to be your father. Nevertheless, I do not see why this quality should be an end in and of itself. This goes back to the recent debate over the role that character has for those who preside in the Oval Office. I do not believe that private values are an end. Instead, they should be a means to articulating public values. This lesson has been imprinted on Bill Clinton. Bush was a decent man but his public values were either a failure or more likely, unknown, because he never artiuclated them. The "vision thing" plagued him throughout his public life and his four years on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue did not awaken him to this essential aspect of any great presidency. There are three significant features when looking at the Bush presidency. First was the ending of the Cold War. Bush is given credit for this development even by many of his critics. But let's not forget that in 1989 when Bush took the oath of office, the die had been cast. The USSR was dying of a terminal disease. Bush largely sat and observed. He does deserve credit for not tipping the boat but that's hardly a compliment to build a legacy on. Bush deserves real applause for his handling of Germany's reuinfication. It was there that the Loan Star Yankee took an active and positive role. But should we ignore his appeasement of China following the Tiananmen Square masacre or his shiflessness on the ethnic cleasness in Yugoslavia? Its a mixed record. The second key issue was the Persian Gulf War. And clearly Bush's orchestartion of the allied campaign against Iraq was nearly flawless. But for every compliment that Bush receives here, he deserves criticism for his policies toward Iraq immediately prior to and following Deset Storm. With a little less prudence and more decisiveness, we could have either avoided the invasion of Kuwait completely or is so, removed Saddam Hussein from power following the war. The third issue was Bush's undoing: his lack of a domestic agenda of any shape or form. In 1989 it is true that he faced severe limitations when working with the legislative branch. But after the Gulf War he could have gotten a 30-acre personal mansion from Congress if he requested it. Instead, he rested on his own laurels, convinced that there was nothing he could do to help an American public, hurt and restless in the midst of an economic recession. He chose to do nothing and worst of all, he seemed blind to the concerns of his citizens. Who will ever forget the supermarket scanner? The result was a re-election fight that ended with 62% of the voting public unmoved by his pleas for a second chance. George Bush is a good man and he was not a bad president, per se. But he obviously had serious shortcomings as both a president and a public leader.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
