Biography of George Bush - Essay Example

George H.W Bush the First Introduction: In the battle for the Pacific, during the Second World War, eight American aviators were shot down on a bombing raid near the nondescript island of Chichi-Jima in the Pacific. All eight aviators were to have their names entered in the history of the United States of America. The first seven though tragically, in that they were captured by the Japanese and imprisoned on Chichi-Jima island tortured, mutilated, and executed. Even more horrifying was the fact that flesh of some of these aviators was eaten by the Japanese soldiers, making it among the few of the recorded instances of cannibalism in the twentieth century. Providence was much kinder to the eighth aviator. The eighth aviator was rescued by an American submarine, and this lone survivor among the ill-fated aviators went on to become the forty-first President of the United States of America. His name was George Herbert Walker Bush. (1) Brief Biography of George H.W. Bush: President George H.W. Bush was born on June 12, 1924. He was in his teens and a student, when the Second World War broke out. As soon as he was eighteen he enlisted in the armed forces, and was the youngest pilot, when he received his flying wings. He saw action in the Pacific Ocean as the pilot of a torpedo bomber a torpedo before he was shot down. His bravery in combat mission s earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross. Returning from action in the Second World War George H.W. Bush re-started his education. He married Barbara Pierce in 1945. The couple had six children. He graduated from Yale University, and initially he chose to seek career prospects in the oil industry of West Texas. George H. W. Bush hailed from a family with traditional links to politics and public service. His father Prescott Bush had served as a Senator from Connecticut in 1952. Thus it was natural that George H.W. Bush would have an inclination for politics and public service. This inclination saw him enter politics and he served as Representative to the Congress from Texas for two terms. He next turned his attention to the Senate and contested twice. On both occasions he was unsuccessful. Though George H. W. Bush was unsuccessful in becoming a Senator, he was given the opportunity to serve the people of the United States of America through several high level postings. These postings included becoming the Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the Peoples Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Ambition was to drive George H.W. Bush to try for the Republican nomination for President in 1980. He failed in this endeavor, but Ronald Reagan made him his running mate. When Ronald Reagan became the President of the United States of America, George H.W. Bush became the Vice-President from where he continued to play a role in domestic and international affairs. In 1988 George H.W. Bush succeeded in gaining the Republican nomination for President. With Senator Dan Quayle as his running mate, he managed to stave of the Democratic challenge of Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the general election, and become the President. It is as President of United States of America that George H.W. Bush comes under then scanner to ascertain his effectiveness as head of the most powerful nation in the world to the citizens of the United States of America and the people of the world. (2). Analysis of the Efficiency of George H. W. Bush as President: The efficiency of the President of nation is gauged by the impact of the benefits that have accrued to the people of the nation. In the case of the United States of America, having become the sole super power, it also becomes essential to analyze the impact of the foreign policy of the President as its effects are felt all round the world. It may not be possible to evaluate all the domestic and international policies and their impacts within the scope of this paper, but an evaluation of a few salient points in either sphere would provide a pointer as to the efficiency of George H.W. Bush as the President of the United States of America. Domestic Scenario: At the very outset it needs to be accepted that George H. W. Bush did not succeed to a seat of comfort. The democrats controlled both the houses and that meant any domestic agenda that George H. W. Bush had in mind would be limited by this constraint, unless he acted forcefully. (3). In addition widespread military related expenditure during the period of Reagan administration had reduced the United States of America from being a creditor nation to the largest debtor nation in the world. The treasury coffers were nearly empty and President George H. W. Bush could not rely on financial strength to push through any of his agendas, and on the contrary this would hamstring him to function under a reduced budget. (4). Leaders of nations are expected to face challenges and the manner in which they face the challenges during their tenure of leadership is a testament of their effectiveness. Therefore the state of affairs at the time of taking over the reins of the nation cannot be used to erase any lack of efficiency. George H. W. Bush during his tenure as President for four years used the vetoed forty-four bills including ten on abortion, which meant he knew hoe to use his powers as President in nudging the legislature that had a majority of political opponents. (3). However the more relevant issue is about how effectively he used his powers to improve the lot of the citizens of the nation. Towards the end of his tenure in 1992 unemployment had climbed to 7.8%, which was the highest since 1984. This meant that at the end of his four years as President more people were finding it difficult to find work. In September 1992, as per the report of the Census Bureau, 14.2 % of all the citizens of lived in poverty, the highest figures since 1983. The domestic agenda during his four years as President reduced his popularity among the people of America to 29%. (5) The assessment of the domestic policies of George H. W. Bush during his tenure as President had reduced the United States of America to having the most number of unemployed and poor citizens in almost a decade, and thus caused people to resent his leadership. This is hardly a glowing testimonial for an effective President. It is widely felt that his domestic agenda cost George H. W. Bush his second term when lost the election in 1992 to President Bill Clinton (5). An analysis of his actions on the domestic front provides us the reason for his failure. His indecisiveness and the middle of the road policy were the reasons for his undoing. One of the famous campaign promises of President George H.W. Bush was “read my lips no new taxes”. He was to renege on this promise. There are those that claim he knew he would not be able to keep the promise, but the issue is not that, but the manner in which he compromised on it. (3) In his attempt to reduce the deficit, his willingness to compromise on tax issues held dear by the Republican Party saw him lose support from within his own party, and he was forced to fall back on the support of the his opponents in the form of the Democratic Party. He delegated most of these budget negotiations to Richard Darman and John Sununu. He accepted the compromise package, much to the chagrin of his Republican Party supporters. The budget package increased marginal tax rate and phased out exemptions for tax payers in the high-income package. This meant that the President had reneged on his promise by compromising key issues in favor of the Democratic Parties requirements in the name of reducing the deficit. (3) President George H. W. Bush was to claim that this was the toughest deficit reduction package ever approved, but the impact was such that it the reduction in the deficit was marginal and hardly did any good for the nation or its people. Leaders need to compromise for effectiveness, but his indecisiveness characteristic was to cause President George H. W. Bush even when there was no good to it to the detriment of any domestic agenda that he had. This hardly makes for an effective President. Cartoonist Gary Trudeau Doonesbury had this to remark on the tenure of President George H. W. Bush “ineffectual and out of touch, a caretaker president with no vision for the country”. This makes a true summary of his impact on the domestic front. (6). International Scenario: Unlike the domestic front, on the international front President George H.W. Bush was on firmer ground. The Cold War era had come to an end and the United States of America strode the world as the lone super power. In addition President George H.W. Bush through his responsibilities as Ambassador to the United Nations had the necessary experience to understand international issues. Thus it is not surprising that there is essential support for the belief that as President George H. W. Bush was far more effective on the international front than he was on domestic issues. He assumed presidency in a uni-polar world. The demise of the Soviet Union had left only one super power in the United States of America. His inaugural speech in 1989 provided the manner in which he as President of the sole world power envisaged his international responsibilities “I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn. For in man’s heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over”. (6) These words of his were to hold out promise that in international dealings the United States of America would not be overbearing, and the world could be reassured that the United States would not misuse this position by adopting a dictatorial attitude. It needs to be said that during his tenure, unlike that of his son George W. Bush, there was greater confidence in the ability of the United States of America to be the leader of the world in a vast majority of nations. (6) Working through this gloss and focusing on the key words of his inaugural speech, “we live in a peaceful time and we need, but we can make it better”, any analysis of the effectiveness of President George H.W. Bush needs to verify the extent to which he made the world a better place to live in. The main trouble spots during the tenure of President H.W. Bush were the Balkans, Somalia, the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and nearer home the American action in Panama. On the trouble spots of Balkans and Panama the actions taken by President George H. W. Bush are commendable, and in keeping with his inaugural speech. Nudged by the United Sates of America, NATO under the auspices of the United Nations acted decisively in the explosive situation in the Balkans, and the crumbling of the state of Yugoslavia. The Dayton Agreement was put in place that has brought peace to the land, where bloodshed and genocide were the rule of the day. (4). In the Panama issue, President George H.W. Bush demonstrated that the United Sates would brook no action detrimental to the security of the region, and removed the corrupt regime of General Manuel Noreiga, by sending American troops into country. The only criticism that ensued is in that Panama was hardly a worthy opponent with “no troops” of its own, and could be taken as an example of the willingness to act decisively. (7) It is this criticism of President George H.W. Bush that holds true in the other two trouble spots of Somalia and the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. The famine in Somalia and the subsequent anarchy in Somalia called for international action. The United Nations efforts there were supported by the presence of American forces to provide security, but the lack of decisiveness and cohesion in objectives allowed the issues to drag on till the time of President Clinton and the events that led to the withdrawal of American presence in Somalia. This flawed and inadequate response to the situation there, in essence due to the unwillingness of President George H.W. Bush to commit to action there led to the situation exacerbating. (8). Somalia is hardly a more peaceful and better place to live in. It remains a smoldering trouble spot in the world. Iraq invaded Kuwait in the summer of 1990. This naked aggression by Saddam Hussein on a smaller nation with friendly ties to the United States of America, and particularly as it threatened the oil life line of the United States of America President George H.W. Bush was spurred to action. Overcoming suggestion of sanctions and resistance to go to war against Iraq by the Congress, President George H.W. Bush got the mandate of the United Nations and collected an international force consisting of several nations including Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and prepared for war on Iraq to liberate Kuwait. (4) In almost all parts of the world there was support for this action and in no time Iraq was liberated. However President George H.W. Bush let his indecisive streak get the better of him and let the opportunity of overthrowing Saddam Hussein, like he did General Manuel Noreiga go by. Instead a sanctions regime and with U.N. weapons inspectors were put in place. The world was to rue this decision of President George H. W. Bush (4) With popular support around the world for Saddam Hussein to be punished, which had moderate Arab support and would have been easy to replace Saddam Hussein and control the situation that would ensue. World opinion and moderate Arab support would have ensured that. Instead a decade later his son decided to do what his father forgot to finish. Only times were different and he chose the wrong reasons. Saddam was overthrown and executed by the subsequent Iraqi government, but Iraq remains a cancerous threat to world peace for which solutions have yet to be found. All this could have been avoided, if President George H. W. Bush had chosen to act at the opportune moment and live up to his words “we live in a peaceful time, but we can make it better”. His indecisive nature would not permit him to be effective and live up to his words. Conclusion: President George H. W. Bush promised a lot in his words on both the domestic, as well as the international fronts. He remained indecisive in deeds and thus turned out to be ineffective on both these fronts. In summation President George H. W. Bush may have promised a lot, but he was an ineffective president in deeds. ( Word Count 2523) Works Cited 1. Bradley, James. Flyboys: A True Story of Courage. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 2003. 2. “GEORGE H. W. BUSH”. The White House. 15 June 2007. . 3. Greene, John Robert. The Presidency of George Bush. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000. 4. Fraser, Cameron. U.S. Foreign Policy After the Cold War: Global Hegemon or Reluctant Sheriff. London: Routledge, 2002. 5. “Bush, George Herbert Walker”. Encyclopedia Americana. 15 June 2007. . 6. O’Reilly, Marc J. & Renfro, Wesley B. “LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON? A COMPARISON OF FOREIGN POLICIES OF GEORGE H. W. BUSH AND GEORGE W. BUSH”. Historia Actual Online, 10, (2006), 17-36. 15 June 2007. . 7. Wallerstein, Immanuel. “The Eagle Has Crash Landed”. Foreign Policy, 131 (2002), 60-68. 8. Holsti, K.J. “Armed Conflict in the Periphery”. In Eds. T.V. Paul & John A. Hall. International Order and the Future of World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999, Pp. 283-310. Read More