George H. W. Bush - The American Experience

I voted for Dukakis in 1988, like a good Democrat. I did not like Bush - apparently I never gave him a chance.

Perhaps I never knew that his term as head of the CIA in the 1970s was in response to a call for help to "clean up" the agency.

If he had not been a Republican, if he had not been sandwiched between the desolations of the Reagan administration and the economic success of the Clinton Administration, would we not have noticed how much he accomplished in a single term? Think about these actions:

• His development of relationships and maintaining phone contact with leaders in the US and all over the world
• His acceptance of the role of helping Reagan get elected, as distasteful as it was to him personally.
• The fall of the Berlin wall, due mostly to his relationship with Gorbachev
• The passage of the ADA (Americans with Disability Act)
• The success of Desert Shield, then Desert Storm, through careful development of coalitions, then the good judgment to stop at the Iraqi border.
• The budget deal - which may well have set up the Clinton Administration for its economic success (including the acceptance of a tax increase, despite our having "read his lips.")

I don't think I ever before appreciated how much we as Americans owe this man for his constant eye on what was most important for the country, and steady hand to make good long-term decisions - even (or perhaps especially) in situations in which he had to accept the blame for going back on his political promises (..."read my lips...").