Like Winston Smith in George Orwell's
1984, I see the telling of recent history changing before my eyes.
This past week, commentators across the political spectrum praised the
late President
George H.W. Bush. But I don't recall him having gotten much love
during his political career.
Here are my memories
of Bush during the years 1980 to 1992. Yours might differ.
* Voodoo Economics
I first noticed Bush during his 1980 presidential run. Ronald Reagan
was espousing "supply
side economics," the theory that cutting tax rates increases
productivity, and thus revenue. Bush derided that as "voodoo
economics." That did not endear Bush to conservatives. They saw him as
an "eastern elitist Rockefeller Republican," a once powerful, but even
then dwindling, GOP clique.
Reagan won the Republican nomination, but he was considered by some to
be dangerously far to the right. Opponents painted him as an extremist
who would start a nuclear war with the Soviets. (Some leftists called
him "Ronnie Ray-Gun" -- ha, ha, such wit!) And so Reagan was advised
to balance his ticket with a safe, trusted, establishment man. Like
George H.W. Bush.
Breaking with presidential tradition, Reagan was not a member of the
CFR or
Trilateral Commission. When he was shot, conspiracy theories
abounded that the CFR had arranged the hit to reclaim the presidency.
I saw posters to that effect in lower Manhattan, put up by a local
Trotskyite party. No, I didn't believe it. But on both political
extremes, "Bush the Trilateralist" was part of Bush's reputation at
the time, so I mention it.
Over the next eight years, Bush's reputation evolved into that of a
loyal, do-nothing vice president. It was pretty much what was expected
of VPs then and now.
Dick Cheney was the first, and only, active VP in my memory.
Bush's main task was to attend funerals for foreign leaders. He
attended three for Soviet heads of state in under two and a half
years. Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko had died in quick succession.
Here's a joke I heard at the time:
Q: What did Bush say upon meeting
Gorbachev?
A: Hello. I'm George Bush, Vice President of the United States of
America. If you die, I get to go to your funeral.
* A Kinder, Gentler Nation
When Bush ran for president in 1988, he described America as "a
thousand points of light." A poetic summarization of his belief that
Americans were eager to help the less fortunate.
Randians didn't care for the catchphrase's altruistic assumptions,
but libertarians could at least appreciate that Bush called for
voluntarism rather than state handouts.
More problematic was Bush's call for "a kinder, gentler nation."
Kinder than what? Than it had been under Reagan? The phrase seemed a
rebuke. It didn't endear Bush to conservatives. Bush was selling
himself as a former liberal who'd seen the light while serving under
Reagan. Yet this "kinder, gentler" talk implied that the "voodoo
economics" liberal still lurked beneath his born-again Reaganism.
Both those catchphrases from 1988 (and the following) were attributed
to speechwriter
Peggy Noonan.
* Read My Lips
More pleasing to conservatives was Bush's "read my lips, no new taxes"
pledge. It was from his speech wherein he promised to dig in his heels.
No way, no how, no matter the circumstances, would he raise taxes.
Some say Bush didn't win in 1988. Reagan did. Bush merely served out
Reagan's third term. Maybe so. But Bush's "read my lips" catchphrase
overcame many conservatives' doubts about him being a closet liberal. The
speech certainly helped him win the election.
It arguably lost him reelection four years later.
* Read My Hips
I first saw the clip on C-SPAN. Bush had signed a deal with the
Democrats to raise taxes. Following Bush on a morning jog, reporters
badgered him about his breaking his "read my lips" pledge. They wanted a
comment. Bush retorted with a dismissive "read my hips."
Conservatives were outraged. It wasn't so much that Bush broke his
promise. It was his flippancy. It was said that conservatives were the
only group that Bush genuinely disliked. He was respectful to everyone --
expect to conservatives. His "read my hips" brushoff reminded
conservatives that Bush had never been one of us.
I don't think that Bush, or his people, ever appreciated the deep and
lasting damage his flippant "finger" of a remark did to his support among
conservatives. We loved Reagan. We accepted Bush. No more.
There were other, sometimes small things, that revealed Bush's inner
liberal. He was quoted as telling aides, "I want to sign a civil rights
bill." What I found noteworthy about this quote was its vague goal. He
didn't cite a specific problem that needed fixing. He wanted to sign "a"
civil rights bill. Any civil rights bill. Something for his legacy. He got
his wish with the
ADA. Did he sign it because he believed in its particular mandates? Or
because it was the civil rights bill that happened to fall on his desk?
Bush hoped to win the admiration of polite (liberal) society by
betraying his conservative base. Many Republicans have tried it and come
away empty handed. Democrats continued to hate Bush. In 1992, The New
Republic published
Bushisms, a book that ridiculed him. I still own a copy.
In the leadup to the
Gulf War, Bush called for "a New World Order." This tone deaf call to
arms reminded conservatives of Bush's Trilateralist ties.
Pat Buchanan's insurgency campaign (populist, nationalist,
proto-Trumpian) demonstrated conservatives' growing disgust with "King
George" (as Buchanan called him). After Buchanan dropped out of the race,
his "Buchanan Brigades" turned to
Ross Perot instead of returning to the GOP.
Further cementing Bush's "silver spoon" reputation was the UPC scanner
scandal, wherein Bush supposedly revealed his ignorance about the device.
I think the accusation was unfair. Bush's defenders insisted that he
knew about UPC scanners, and had simply remarked about them. That the
media had taken his remark out of context, to make him appear
ignorant. I'm inclined to believe Bush on this score.
* No Fire in the Belly
Bush ran a remarkably inept reelection campaign (to the extent that he
even campaigned). Like many moderate Republicans, he spent more energy
defeating a conservative rival for the nomination than in fighting the
Democrat once he secured the nomination. Clinton began campaigning in
1991 and never stopped. Bush stopped after Buchanan dropped out.
As his poll numbers dipped, Bush demonstrated remarkable complacency.
Critics said he had no "fire in the belly." I remember driving down
Sunset Blvd., listening to Rush Limbaugh interview the leader of the
Orange County
Young Americans for Freedom. The
Los Angeles riots had hurt Bush's support in California. The smug
YAF leader "personally guaranteed" that Orange County would deliver
California to Bush. Instead, California went blue for the first time
since 1964. It's stayed blue ever since.
Bush denied that he had no "fire in the belly." His announced strategy
was to wait for the October debates. Trying to sound enthusiastic,
he'd say, "Oh boy, I can't wait to get in there and debate!" And yet
he did wait. By which time, he was too far behind to catch up.
Did Bush even want to win? Former New York City mayor
Edward I. Koch didn't think so. After the election, Koch spoke of
having met Bush at the White House in 1992. Bush had said to him, "Oh
boy, I can't wait to get out of here." Koch said he knew the feeling,
having himself served three wearying terms as mayor.
After his half-hearted campaign, Bush got his
wish and Clinton got the White House.
Bush's domestic
policies were liberal. His post-Cold War foreign policy was
expansionist, ignoring a golden opportunity to reduce American
military spending and promote peace by matching Soviet withdrawals
from Eastern Europe and the Mideast with similar American withdrawals.
His legacy on both the domestic and international front leaves little
to brag about.
