Historical Figure
George H. W. Bush
1924–2018
President of the United States from 1989 to 1993
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"Presidential Medal of Freedom Remarks" — January 2011
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Biography
George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st president of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the 43rd vice president under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989 and previously in various other federal positions.
Timeline
The story of George H. W. Bush, told in moments.
Shot down over the Pacific during a bombing run on Chichi Jima. He bails out, inflates his life raft, and paddles for hours while Japanese boats try to reach him. A submarine rescues him. Eight other American airmen captured on Chichi Jima are executed and cannibalized by Japanese officers.
Appointed Director of the CIA by Gerald Ford. Serves for one year. The agency is in crisis after the Church Committee exposes assassination plots and domestic spying. He restores morale, then moves on.
Elected 41st President of the United States, defeating Michael Dukakis. His "Read my lips: no new taxes" pledge defines the campaign. He breaks it two years later.
Launches Operation Desert Storm. A 42-day air campaign followed by a 100-hour ground war liberates Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. His approval rating hits 89%. He decides not to march on Baghdad, saying it would cost too many lives and fracture the coalition.
Dies in Houston at 94. His wife Barbara died seven months earlier. His service dog Sully lies beside his casket. He is the longest-lived American president until Jimmy Carter surpasses his record.
In Their Own Words (20)
I think Romney is the best choice for us.
Offered his support to Mitt Romney, for US presidential elections of 2012., 2012
I think there's a Trojan horse lurking in the weeds, ready to pull a fast one on the American people, and I simply am not going to let that happen.
1992
There are no maps to lead us where we are going, to this new world of our own making. As the world looks back to nine decades of war, of strife, of suspicion, let us also look forward—to a new century, and a new millennium, of peace, freedom and prosperity.
U.S. president George Bush made those comments on January 1, 1990. The Watchtower magazine; In Search of a New World Order (15 July 1991), 1990
I say we need more Republicans. But right now, as you know, the Democrats control both the Houses of the Congress; and they control every single committee of the United States Congress. And that's all the more reason for Republicans to work to make this budget now the best possible. We're fighting against the odds. We're fighting against the majorities-the liberal majorities-that control both Houses. We're fighting the entrenched tax-and-spend philosophy on Capitol Hill.
George Bush 1990 (in two books). v.2 1990 P.1412-1413, 1990
The American people await action. They didn't send us here to bicker. They ask us to rise above the merely partisan. "In crucial things, unity" — and this, my friends, is crucial.
1989
Artifacts (15)
Photograph: Visit of Vice President George H. W. Bush to West Berlin
Photograph: Visit of Vice President George H. W. Bush to West Berlin
Photograph: Visit of Vice President George H. W. Bush to West Berlin
Photograph: Visit of Vice President George H. W. Bush to West Berlin
Photograph: Visit of Vice President George H. W. Bush to West Berlin
Photograph: Visit of Vice President George H. W. Bush to West Berlin
Photograph: Visit of Vice President George H. W. Bush to West Berlin
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