1924-
President of the United States (1989-1993)

Early Years.

Lure of Politics.

A Public Career.

Unsuccessful Run.

The Presidential Years.

Foreign Policy.

Domestic Political Issues.

President Bush's foreign-policy successes and his high approval rating may have led him to underestimate the centrality domestic, and especially economic, issues have with the American electorate. His willingness to compromise with Democratic congressional leaders to cut spending, and his decision to raise taxes to cut the budget deficit, violated his "no new taxes" pledge and alienated conservative Republicans. In the spring of 1991 there was a mild recession. Some of his advisers counseled him to aggressively attack the recession, but he refused to do so on the grounds that calling public attention to it might further undermine confidence in the basic stability of the economy and actually prolong the recession. As the Gulf War steadily receded into the background of the...