PBS's "American Experience: George H. W. Bush"

[headexplode]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/index.html

I never knew much about H. W., so this biography was very interesting to me. It is a fairly positive portrait, but it gave me a better perspective on the man and what he did for his country. He often seemed uncomfortable as a politician, but, at least from this biogaphy's perspective, tried to make principled decisions even knowing the cost he would personally face (reminding me of another President whose biography was made into a recent HBO miniseries).

His presidency is a good indicator of how fickle the American public can be. Here is a man who spent the last forty or more years serving his country and they decide to elect a huckster from Arkansas who had little experience but could talk a good game (this, by the way, is not a comment on the current race:) ).

My favorite part of the documentary is the two quotes from James Baker and Colin Powell, who both seperately said that people used to ask them why they didn't go into Baghdad when they had the chance, but that no one asks them that, now.

Of course, I'm sure that there is a lot more to H. W. than this biography presented, but, to me, after sixteen years of Clinton and W., a reasonable like H. W. could be just the thing we need (again, not an endorsement of anyone currently running:) ).

[PeterMP]

I've happily voted for him 3 times (I wrote him in 2004).

I think when judged by history he will be considered one of, if not the best, one term President.

[headexplode]

I've happily voted for him 3 times (I wrote him in 2004).

I think when judged by history he will be considered one of, if not the best, one term President.

I think you may be right. He is, I think, one of the more underrated Presidents we've had. I was too young to remember his presidency, and I've not done much research on him, so I was happy to catch this biography and gain some insight into what type of man he was.

[SkinsOrlando]

I still remember when HW won, I was in 3rd grade at TC Martin elementary. In class one day after he was elected we all wrote to him(class assignment). I will always remember what I wrote since it still makes me laugh(and my mother has a copy of it).

President Bush,

Congratulations on your win, Dukakis is a bum.

Eric

HW's biggest flaw was he seemed almost robotic at times, and rather dorkish with those glasses. HW was the first President to face an election with an MTV generation, he lost in large part to it IMO.

[headexplode]

HW's biggest flaw was he seemed almost robotic at times, and rather dorkish with those glasses. HW was the first President to face an election with an MTV generation, he lost in large part to it IMO.

That could be part of it. I firmly believe that had Ross Perot not had the success he did, H. W. would have easily beat Clinton.

[SkinsHokieFan]

That could be part of it. I firmly believe that had Ross Perot not had the success he did, H. W. would have easily beat Clinton.

Agree. There were a few factors against him in that election

Perot being one. This fresh faced kid named Clinton who ran one hell of a campaign. The economic growth of the 90s not quite hitting its stride yet. And the fact that conservatives hated him after he raised taxes in 1990, and thusly they all went to Perot. Peggy Noonan put it best "HW was fired by conservatives"

Perot garnered 19 percent of the vote in that election. Easily could have swung the tide in favor of Sr had he not run

[headexplode]

Another thing I really respect about H. W. is his vote for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which caused much consternation among hardline "Goldwater Conservatives." Even though he promised during his election campaign to oppose fair housing initiatives and other civil rights efforts, he took a principled stand when it came time to vote despite the potential political consequences.

[nonniey]

Ironically if he had won it is likely we would not have had to put up with either the Clintons or his eldest son. We probably would have gotten Jeb Bush in 2004 after an 8 year presidency of a Democrat. (But then I think Jeb would have been a great President).

[Bang]

Agree. There were a few factors against him in that election

Perot being one. This fresh faced kid named Clinton who ran one hell of a campaign. The economic growth of the 90s not quite hitting its stride yet. And the fact that conservatives hated him after he raised taxes in 1990, and thusly they all went to Perot. Peggy Noonan put it best "HW was fired by conservatives"

Perot garnered 19 percent of the vote in that election. Easily could have swung the tide in favor of Sr had he not run

Not to mention he was hopelessly out of touch with the every day regular American. I can recall specifically a campaign photo op gone bad when he dropped in on a local grocery store to buy a bottle of water or something,, when the cashier slid the bottle across the laser reader, he was positively amazed. He wouldn't stop talking about how incredible it was that all she had to do was swipe the bottle... I was left wondering what he'd think if he saw a vacuum cleaner, or an electric toothbrush.

~Bang

[TuckahoeSkin]

Not to mention he was hopelessly out of touch with the every day regular American. I can recall specifically a campaign photo op gone bad when he dropped in on a local grocery store to buy a bottle of water or something,, when the cashier slid the bottle across the laser reader, he was positively amazed. He wouldn't stop talking about how incredible it was that all she had to do was swipe the bottle... I was left wondering what he'd think if he saw a vacuum cleaner, or an electric toothbrush.

~Bang

Alright, when he left the office at the end of the day, in small jobs like Director if Central Intelligence (CIA) or Vice President, he was supposed to drop in and buy groceries? It's easy to understand how he, or anyone else in similar positions of power and responsibility, could be oblivious to things we see everyday.

On a side note, my wife was watching something on TV yesterday about celebrity swimsuit news/fiascos. One of the things they were making a big deal about was pictures of Arnold Swarzenegger looking flabby on a vacation. Keep in mind, this is while he's Governor. Even my wife said they were being ridiculous. The point is, people in powerful position work hard and don't have the time for superfluous pursuits. It's pretty silly to expect someone in that position to pick up groceries or spend hours in the gym.

[TuckahoeSkin]

That could be part of it. I firmly believe that had Ross Perot not had the success he did, H. W. would have easily beat Clinton.

Understatement. Clinton only received 43% of the vote that year. H.W. had somewhere around 35%. It's amazing how Perot ever garnered any support. When he went on Meet The Press and complained about the economy, Russert asked him what he would do about it. Perot's response was "If I'd known you were going to be asking trick questions, I wouldn't have agreed to come on." Amazing he got so many votes.

[headexplode]

Not to mention he was hopelessly out of touch with the every day regular American. I can recall specifically a campaign photo op gone bad when he dropped in on a local grocery store to buy a bottle of water or something,, when the cashier slid the bottle across the laser reader, he was positively amazed. He wouldn't stop talking about how incredible it was that all she had to do was swipe the bottle... I was left wondering what he'd think if he saw a vacuum cleaner, or an electric toothbrush.

~Bang

They showed that clip in the biography. There was a perception that he was out of touch. And, of course, there was the shot of him impatiently checking his watch at the debate with Clinton, as if he just wasn't interested.

He was born into wealth and priveledge, and from a completely different generation. I don't think that he was oblivious to the concerns of average Americans, but, as with most people in powerful positions, he just never had to face them on a daily basis.

[Bang]

Alright, when he left the office at the end of the day, in small jobs like Director if Central Intelligence (CIA) or Vice President, he was supposed to drop in and buy groceries? It's easy to understand how he, or anyone else in similar positions of power and responsibility, could be oblivious to things we see everyday.

On a side note, my wife was watching something on TV yesterday about celebrity swimsuit news/fiascos. One of the things they were making a big deal about was pictures of Arnold Swarzenegger looking flabby on a vacation. Keep in mind, this is while he's Governor. Even my wife said they were being ridiculous. The point is, people in powerful position work hard and don't have the time for superfluous pursuits. It's pretty silly to expect someone in that position to pick up groceries or spend hours in the gym.

Excuses.

I don't care about any of that.

You want to be leader? Understand a little something about people in the middle classes.

The reasons for why he was voted out were being discussed, and that was one of them.. he simply couldn't relate, and it became obvious.

(Headexplode, you saw the clip, you see what i mean. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and that wasn't a good one.)

Remember when he tore a new one into some little old ladies who disrupted his press conference asking where their MIA Vietnam era sons were?

He lit into them hard, yelled at them and told them to shut up and sit down. Then, when the crowd reacted a little, he lit into them again, as if playing to the mob, pressing his advantage over these little old ladies.

Yeah, that played real well in his favor. Sure the old ladies were wrong, but you simply don't yell at mothers asking about their veteran sons. In the end of the campaign, he looked out of touch and callous.

And as a result, Bill Clinton won. Now, in the last forty or so years, when one party has done a fairly good job, as the Republicans had done since 1980, they usually can hold power, but his slipped away and gave way to the first democrat elected president since Carter, and only the second since Kennedy.

Something soured the American people to him, and I think it had much to do with the fact that he was out of touch with most of us.

I agree about tabloids treating our leaders like celebrities to be critiqued so shallowly. I remember when Clinton had his scandals it was all over the worst of the tabloids.. I mean damn, at least can we treat the office with a little respect? Regardless of whether we like it or not, it deserves not to be mocked.

~Bang

[headexplode]

Understatement. Clinton only received 43% of the vote that year. H.W. had somewhere around 35%. It's amazing how Perot ever garnered any support. When he went on Meet The Press and complained about the economy, Russert asked him what he would do about it. Perot's response was "If I'd known you were going to be asking trick questions, I wouldn't have agreed to come on." Amazing he got so many votes.

Perot really was bat**** insane. I guess 19% of American voters thought that was exactly the kind of leadership we needed.:laugh:

[headexplode]

Something soured the American people to him, and I think it had much to do with the fact that he was out of touch with most of us.

~Bang

Then how do you explain his son getting reelected (or elected for the first time, depending on who you are) for a second term?

[Bang]

Then how do you explain his son getting reelected (or elected for the first time, depending on who you are) for a second term?

It generally has been my experience that the Democrats just don't field very competitive candidates. They may be competent, but they come off as wooden at best... Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale, not really a cavalcade of personality there.

Clinton was the exception, he had the charm, he was electable, and I think that coupled with the rep Bush built of being out of touch, he rolled.

This time will be interesting.. this time the Democrats have a very likable candidate with a lot of magnetism. BUT they're asking America to make history, and that is the interesting part. We'll see if this country is ready to take that leap.

~Bang

[headexplode]

It generally has been my experience that the Democrats just don't field very competitive candidates. They may be competent, but they come off as wooden at best... Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale, not really a cavalcade of personality there.

Clinton was the exception, he had the charm, he was electable, and I think that coupled with the rep Bush built of being out of touch, he rolled.

This time will be interesting.. this time the Democrats have a very likable candidate with a lot of magnetism. BUT they're asking America to make history, and that is the interesting part. We'll see if this country is ready to take that leap.

~Bang

I agree with this. Obama is certainly the most engaging and likeable candidate the Democrats have put up in decades. I guess we'll just have to wait and see whether that translates into victory. Either way, the historical implications of this campaign are very exciting to me.

[Mister Happy]

The point is, people in powerful position work hard and don't have the time for superfluous pursuits. It's pretty silly to expect someone in that position to pick up groceries or spend hours in the gym.

Like clearing brush at a ranch? or jogging?

[Mister Happy]

BUT they're asking America to make history

How so?

[Bang]

How so?

By either voting in the first black or first woman president.

Anyway, I'm sorry, I feel as if I've hijacked this thread.

GHW Bush's pre-presidential life is indeed a remarkable story. Even if you only read of his exploits during WW2, you'd come away with a tremendous amount of respect for him.

~Bang

[.Guy.]

How so?

By electing the first black president?

Or half black president

[Mister Happy]

By either voting in the first black or first woman president.

Or the first animated corpse president. (McCain)

As to the topic, I think GHW Bush hurt his chances by going back his no new (huge) taxes pledge, but what do I know? I get my knowledge of that era from Saturday Night Live reruns.

[Bang]

Or the first animated corpse president.

As to the topic, I think GHW Bush hurt his chances by going back his no new (huge) taxes pledge, but what do I know? I get my knowledge of that era from Saturday Night Live reruns.

It was pretty simple why we had new taxes,, we had a war that we didn't anticipate when he was making campaign promises. That creates expense.

Unfortunately, it also creates a political tool when he's forced to raise taxes to pay for the war.

~Bang