Republican

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George H.W. Bush

• Republican
• 1989-1993

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Political Background

• 1967-71 U.S. Representative from TX
• 1971-73 U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
• 1974-75 director of the CIA
• 1981-1989 VP under Reagan
• 1989-1993 41st President

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(1) Election of 1988

• R G. Bush/Dan Quayle
• D Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen
• Election issues the Iran-Contra Scandal and
  growing budget concerns
• Election Results
• 1. Popular Vote 48,886,097 (R), 41,809,074(D)
• 2. Electoral Vote 426 to 111

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(2) Pan Am Flight 103

• Dec 21, 1988 plane exploded over Lockerbie,
  Scotland, killing all 259 people on board 11 on
  the ground.
• 189 of the 259 people on board were Americans
  (plane was traveling from London to NYC) this
  shattered the U.S.s sense of security!

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• Suspicions focus on two Libyans it has never
  been decidedly proven, though one of the
• suspects was given
• a life sentence.

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(3) Osama bin Laden / Al Qaeda

• Al Qaeda was founded in 1988 by bin Laden to
  consolidate the international network he
  established during the Afghan war.
• Aim to advance Islamic revolutions and repel
  foreign intervention in the Middle East.

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• Following the first Gulf War, Al Qaeda shifted
  its focus to fighting the growing U.S. presence
  in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia,
  home to Islams most sacred shrines.
• This war on the U.S. has continued ever since!

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(4) Read my lips No new taxes

• 1. Early campaign promise of Bush he came to
  later regret this statement
• 2. Long battles over the budget broke out Bush
  compromised with the Democrats on a federal
  deficit reduction that included tax increases.
• 3. Conservatives were outraged!

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Economic Recession

• In spite of the financial growth of the 1980s,
  14 of Americans were still living in poverty.
  The economy stopped growing in the early 1990s.
• The federal deficit increased. This, coupled
  with a major trade deficit, will cause major
  problems for Bush in 92 when running for
  re-election!

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(5) Tiananmen Square, China

• 1. Pro-democracy reformers (mostly Chinese
  students) protested the Communist govt
• 2.June 4, 1989 Chinese govt tanks and troops
  moved in killed an estimated 2000 in Tiananmen
  Square
• 3. June 5 Bush suspended arms sales to China

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• The demonstrations in Tiananmen Square have been
  described as the greatest challenge to the
  communist state in China since the 1949
  revolution.

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(6) Fall of Berlin Wall

• 1. Mass demonstrations against the E German govt
  began in late Sept, 89.
• 2. Leader was forced to resign on Oct 18.
• 3. The wall was forced open on Nov 9.

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• 4. Germany was united Oct 3, 1990, as the
  Federal Republic of Germany led by Helmut Kohl
  and the parliament in the Berlin Reichstag.

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(7) War on Drugs / Invasion of Panama

• 1. Bush declared a war on drugs to stop drug
  smuggling/ illegal drug use.
• 2. As a first step in this war, U.S. invaded
  Panama to arrest Dictator Manuel Noriega known
  drug lord
• 3. 24,000 U.S. troops sent in Dec. 89 -
  Operation Just Cause

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• 4. Noriega was captured on Jan 4 after seeking
  asylum from the Vatican embassy on December 24
• 5. U.S. troops played rock music relentlessly
  over loudspeakers - songs by The Animals, Bobby
  Fuller, and Bruce Springsteen

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(8) Exxon Valdez oil spill

• Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States, on
  March 24, 1989.
• Considered one of the most devastating man-made
  environmental disasters at sea.
• Spilled 10.8 million U.S. gallons of crude oil
  into the sea, which eventually covered
  11,000 square miles of ocean

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(9) Hubble Telescope

• One of the largest
• space telescopes
• carried into orbit
• in April 1990 named for
• astronomer Edwin Hubble.
• Although Hubble was not the first space
  telescope, it is one of the most versatile, and
  well known as both a vital research tool and a
  public relations boost for astronomy

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(10) Clean Air Act of 1990

• set new anti-pollution standards for fuel
  burning established specific actions for
  government and private industry to reduce
  emissions from vehicles, factories, and other
  pollution sources.
• In many ways, this far-reaching law has been a
  great success. Today's cars, for example,
  typically emit 70 percent to 90 percent less
  pollution over their lifetimes than their 1970
  counterparts.

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(11) Americans with Disabilities Act

• Prohibits discrimination against people with
  physical/mental disabilities in employment,
• transportation,
• telephone
• services, and
• public buildings.

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(12) Operation Desert Storm

• August, 1990 Kuwait was invaded by Iraq, who
  also stationed armies near the borders of Saudi
  Arabia and Iran (Kuwait held 10 of the worlds
  oil reserves, Iran 10, S.A. 25)
• 2. Bush helped to create a broad international
  coalition against Iraq, which included support
  from most of the United Nations members.

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• 3. January 1991 secured Congressional authority
  to use all necessary means to expel Iraq from
  Kuwait
• 4. UN imposed economic sanctions began bombing
  campaign on Jan 16, 1991
• 5. Bush ordered the largest deployment of troops
  (500,000) since the Vietnam War

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• 6. February 1991, ground forces pushed Iraqi
  soldiers out of Kuwait (in less than 100 hours)
• 7. Gulf war was over in less than 2 months about
  150 Americans were killed
• estimates of Iraqi deaths range from 20,000
  100,000!
• 8. Saddam Hussein remained in power

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Saddam Hussein 1990s
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(13) Supreme Court Appointments

• 1. David Souter
• 2. Clarence Thomas was a very controversial
  appointment. Thomas was accused of sexual
  harassment of Anita Hill, a former co-worker at
  EEOC.

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David Clarence Souter
Thomas
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(14) Dissolution of USSR

• 1. 1989 Gorbachev announced that the USSR was
  adopting a policy of nonintervention in Eastern
  and Central Europe - Soviet republics began to
  issue declarations of independence
• 2. 1990 Boris Yeltsin was elected the chairman
  of the Russian Republic Parliament
• 3. Attempted coup to overthrow Gorbachev after he
  refused to support military law

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• 4. Military units were met by protest from
  Yeltsin and other republics
• 5. December 25, Gorbachev resigned new flag was
  raised on December 31 (Russian Tricolour)

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(15) LA Riots/ Rodney King

• April, 1992- 4 white policemen were acquitted of
  the beating of a black motorist
• LA responded to this with 6 days of riots
• 50 dead.

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(16) 27th Amendment

• Ratified in 1992
• Any change in the salary of Congressmen will take
  effect only after the next election.
• This way, lawmakers cannot guarantee themselves
  an unfair raise!

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Legacy of President Bush

• a. His handling of the Gulf War was regarded as
  his finest accomplishment
• b. Continued to remain politically active through
  his son George W. Bush
• c. Was appointed co-ambassador with Bill Clinton
  to help with relief efforts after the Indonesian
  tsunami