Today, Explained - One-term wonder

Episode Date: December 3, 2018

George H. W. Bush went from a record-breaking 89 percent approval rating after the Gulf War to losing his re-election bid to an upstart from Arkansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On paper, George Herbert Walker Bush looks like one of the biggest winners in American history. He served in World War II. He becomes a war hero. He comes home and makes a bunch of money in oil. He wins a seat in the House of Representatives. He becomes UN ambassador. He becomes head of the Republican National Committee. He becomes head of the CIA. He serves two terms as vice president before winning the presidency for himself. So why is it that so many people remember him as a big old loser? I asked Ken Rudin. He hosts the Political Junkie podcast and covered George H.W. Bush for NPR. He said, to get to the loser thing, you have to start with his biggest win. The fact that George Bush won in 1988 when he beat Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis,

I mean, that was pretty significant in the fact that it was, in effect, a third Reagan term. Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 and 1984 with George Bush as his vice president. And with the last time a party won more than two in a row was in the 1930s and 1940s. The Republicans were trying to accomplish what hadn't been done since Roosevelt and Truman. And, of course, hasn't been done since as well. Three years into Bush's first term, he has unprecedented approval ratings. If you asked 10 people how they felt about him, just about nine would say he was doing fantastic. In March of 1991, his record, his polling numbers in the Gallup poll had an 89% approval. This was after the very

successful Gulf War against Saddam Hussein, his incursion into Kuwait. And he was responsible for the Americans with Disabilities Act. That was a big civil rights accomplishment for President Bush. He also got Congress to pass the Clean Air Act amendments that helped the environment significantly and fixing the savings and loan industry. People said that, you know, Democrats are not going to even bother putting up a candidate against him. Al Gore, Dick Gephardt, Mario Cuomo, all the top Democrats, because nobody could beat him. And that's why it's so shocking that Bush ended up a one-term president, a loser. He lost in this totally new and singular way. George H.W. Bush was one of a kind in victory and one of a kind in defeat.

He was basically something known as, I checked the dictionary, it doesn't exist anymore, it was called a moderate Republican. And those kind of moderate Republicans were not involved, didn't care about social issues. He was not, you know, excited about abortion or things that would tear up the country. He was kind of a somebody who wanted to unite the country. I will keep America moving forward, always forward, for a better America, for an endless, enduring dream and a thousand points of light. This is my mission, and I will complete it. When he said he wanted a kinder and gentler nation, he believed in the goodness of people. So, I mean, he didn't accomplish as much as he would have liked. Of course, having a Democratic Congress throughout his term didn't really help his cause.

But even in his four years, I think he showed a sense of decency and caring about the country. It showed in the things that he got passed. What were his biggest vulnerabilities heading into the 92 election, if he had any? He never had that vision thing. And Bush loved to talk about that, the vision thing, because one of his biggest problems is that he followed eight years of Ronald Reagan. Nobody was going to become another Ronald Reagan, even though he was the loyal vice president.

So he had that against him. And the other thing against him is the fact that the economy was sputtering and he had a Democratic Congress who didn't want to do him any favors that would help his reelection. And the fact that conservatives were not happy with him because he reneged on his read my lips, no new taxes pledge by the summer of 1990. So with conservatives against him, with Democrats against him, with the economy poor, he had those strikes against him. And that was what he faced going into the 1992 re-election year. So what's the first sign of trouble? Joining us now from Manchester, New Hampshire, Republican challenger to President Bush,

Patrick Buchanan, often an analyst on this broadcast. Mr. Bush's problem the last three years is whenever it comes to a crunch with Congress, for example, over the new taxes, George Bush walks up and capitulates, caves in, compromises. The problem is, I think, is the president's disposition and style and his basic lack of conviction and philosophy and ideas. Pat Buchanan was a populist, former Nixon speechwriter, going into a perfect place like New Hampshire. And the reason I say perfect is because while the rest of the country was involved in a serious recession, it was a depression in New Hampshire. And I was there during the 92 campaign, going around in Concord and Manchester and looking at the boarded up stores and the once thriving cities that I'd

seen in 88 during the 88 campaign was gone in 92. And so Bush paid the price for that. Pat Buchanan took advantage of it. How did Pat Buchanan come at George H.W. Bush? Mostly on social issues. I mean, about homosexuality, about abortion, about immigration, things like that. Abortion on demand, a litmus test for the Supreme Court, homosexual rights, discrimination against religious schools, women in combat units, that's change, all right. But that's not the kind of change America needs. It's not the kind of change America wants.

And it's not the kind of change we can abide in a nation we still call God's country. How does Bush respond to the Buchanan challenge? As the battle heats up, both campaigns are trying to lower expectations for Tuesday, and both are preparing to claim victory no matter what. Come Tuesday, the Buchanan Brigades are going to run head-on into the hollow army of King George and cut through it like butter.

Bush almost didn't have an answer, and he kind of like floundered his way through the primaries. Look, Bush was not a common touch kind of guy. He went to Yale. His father was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut. He was basically the eastern

establishment who happened to move to Texas to make money in oil. So he really didn't react and respond quickly enough. And once he won the New Hampshire primary, suddenly the unbeatable George Bush became very vulnerable by early 1992. Bush had still not won over these hard-right conservatives. Even though he was getting the votes in the primaries, there was no enthusiasm for Bush. At this point, does his campaign start to develop a theme? So he's not going to get on homosexuality or abortion. He's got a flagging economy.

What is he running on? The problem with George Bush is that while he had a great understanding of foreign policy, you know, being at the UN, being the head of the CIA, having great relationships with leaders abroad, he almost didn't seem interested in the economy as much as he did. So he didn't really have a coherent theme, except for the fact that, well, the economy will get better and we will work something out. But for the most part, he ran a campaign of frustration. So what happens after New Hampshire? What usually happens, the Republican primaries took over, the establishment wins. You have to

have tremendous organization. You have to have tremendous amount of money. Bush had both. Buchanan didn't. And it was pretty clear that by Super Tuesday, there was going to be no threat to his re-nomination. The election in November is another story completely. William Jefferson Clinton and a guy named Ross Perot. They're next on Today Explained. So this is a website called Polygon. It's polygon.com. It's all about games, game creators, fans of games, gaming culture. They also got a podcast. It's appropriately titled The History of Fun.

The podcast doesn't just focus on games, though. They get into the history of all sorts of fun stuff, like karaoke and water parks and Hello Kitty. Anyway, this holiday season, The History of Fun is looking at holiday fun. They've already dropped episodes on the histories of trick-or-treating and Black Friday, and there's a fresh one on Krampus. Do you know about Krampus? It's this half-goat, half-demon who punishes bad kids, but also Nazis.

Check out the history of fun wherever you find your podcasts. So George H.W. Bush at this point, he's a career public servant. He serves in World War II. He runs the RNC. He's ambassador to the UN. He runs the CIA. He's vice president to Ronald Reagan. He's president of the United States. And then you

got this guy who's the governor of Arkansas. How left field is Bill Clinton as the Democratic nominee running against George H.W. Bush in 91, 92? Well, Bill Clinton's advantages was that he was somebody who was not part of the Washington mess. He didn't serve in Congress. He was also not the kind of left-wing George McGovern, Walter Mondale kind of Democrats that the country seemed to reject in previous elections. He was kind of moderate, somewhat conservative in some things, and he was a fresh face at a time when people were really dissatisfied with what was going on in Washington.

So how big a challenge is Bill Clinton presenting to George H.W. Bush? when people were really dissatisfied with what was going on in Washington. So how big a challenge is Bill Clinton presenting to George H.W. Bush? I think journalists saw it. I don't think Bush saw it. I think Bush saw him as, you know, as a philanderer and a draft dodger, I mean, in their words. So they never felt that he was going to be a real threat. But the fact is, is that he did excite. He was young. He was basically what the Democrats were desperately looking for. And in addition to the challenge he was facing by Bill Clinton, he was also being challenged by a third candidate, an independent candidate, a Texas billionaire by the name of Ross Perot. There is so much waste around here. See, I'm the only guy that talks numbers.

I love this. Nobody else will even talk about it. I've said it's like a crazy aunt in the basement. Everybody knows she's there, but nobody talks about it. I'm talking about it. Perot, he was a Dallas billionaire, 61 years old, who was going on TV shows like Larry King and Phil Donahue, names I haven't thought of in a long time.

And he had this folksy way of talking that attracted people from both parties. The fact is, he supported low taxes and a reduction of government, which Republicans liked. He supported abortion rights and gun control, which Democrats liked. And as a matter of fact, in June of 1992, he was actually leading in the polls, even though he hadn't announced his candidacy yet. He dropped out of the race in July of 1992, and then he got back in the race October 1st of 1992. Meanwhile, even when he was out of the race, he was still making sure he would be on all 50 state ballots. So when he came back on the race in October,

on October 1st of 1992, he would be part of the debates with Bill Clinton and George Bush. How did those debates go? I think what debates do is that they ratify what the voters are already thinking. So George Bush, you know, he was mostly a technocrat. He was not somebody who was a personal, emotive kind of guy. And that's exactly what Bill Clinton was. So when you think of like the second debate, when Bill Clinton, I feel your pain, I understand what you're saying. He was very emotional and reflexive and feeling.

We have a question right here. Yes. How has the national debt personally affected each of your lives? Tell me how it's affected you again. You know, people who lost their jobs, lost their homes. Well, I've been governor of a small state for 12 years. I'll tell you how it's affected me. I have seen what's happened in this last four years when in my state when people lose their jobs There's a good chance. I'll know them by their names George Bush never had that a lot of times He didn't understand the questions. Well, I think the national debt affects everybody Obviously it has has a lot to do with interest rates It has she's saying you personally.

On a personal basis, how has it affected you? Has it affected you personally? Well, I'm sure it has. I love my grandchildren. I want to think that they're going to be able to afford an education. I think that that's an important part of being a parent. If the question, maybe I won't get it wrong, are you suggesting that if somebody has means, that the national debt doesn't affect them?

There were several times he was looking at his watch, which made me think like, please let me get the hell out of here. Like he just couldn't wait for this to end. But I think in terms of the recession, of course you feel it when you're president of the United States. And that's why I'm trying to do something about it by stimulating the export, investing more, better education systems. You know, he always said he never had that vision thing. He certainly didn't have it in the debates either. So while he didn't go after Clinton with nasty attacks, I mean, basically he showed himself to be a nice guy. But given the fact that he was trailing in the polls by then, given the fact that he got no boost coming out of the Republican convention, and given the fact that all the new attention was back on Ross Perot, Bush needed to do something dramatic to change the dynamic of the race, and he failed to do it.

And it was Ross Perot who basically got the most attention for the debates because he had his one-liners and all that stuff, and Bush was basically the onlooker. Mr. Perot, a minute response, sir. Well, they've got a point. I don't have any experience in running up a $4 trillion debt. I don't have any experience in gridlock government, where nobody takes responsibility for anything and everybody blames everybody else. I don't have any experience in creating the worst public school system in the industrialized world, the most violent crime-ridden

society in the industrialized world, but I do have a lot of experience in getting things done. Probably the highlight of the debate, of all the debates, was the vice presidential debate, which was a mud fight among Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and Admiral Stockdale, who was Ross Perot's running mate, and when Admiral Stockdale said, who am I? Why am I here? I mean, we got a lot of chuckles out of that, but basically- Still laughing. The debates didn't really change that much. Yeah. So what are the last few weeks of the campaign like? Basically, the fact is Bush was in big trouble. He had Perot, for all the thoughts that Perot could take from both parties, it was clear that Ross Perot's only target was George Bush,

and he did everything he can to make his life miserable. Perhaps if it was just one-on-one with Bush versus Clinton, Bush could spend all his money, all the money on negative stuff, on Bill Clinton, as we saw with Mike Dukakis in 1988 with the Willie Horton attacks. But I think the fact that Bush was getting bombarded by both sides, you know, there was just no way for him to win it. If anything, he would have needed a big mistake by Bill Clinton or an amazing showing in the debates, and neither one happened. So what are the results of this election? I know, I think I've heard that he lost, but how bad was it? The popular vote seemed kind of close. Bill

Clinton got 43 percent. Bush got 38 percent. The real story is that Ross Perot got 19 percent of the vote, 19 million votes as well. Of course, he also, Ross Perot, got zero electoral votes, which just shows the problems of a third-party candidate. But Bush, in the popular vote, was close. The electoral college was pretty much a landslide. I think he even finished third in Maine, which is where he has a house, in Kennebunkport. And they knew him the best in Maine. But it was not a good campaign. It was not a good result for the president, probably the lowest percentage for an incumbent president, I don't know, maybe since Herbert Hoover in 1932.

And now I ask that we stand behind our new president and regardless of our differences, all Americans share the same purpose, to make this, the world's greatest nation, more safe and more secure and to guarantee every American a shot at the American dream. How did George Bush take his loss? How did George Bush take the defeat of being, you know, a one-term president? Well, you know, in his diary, he indicated that he was very stunned by it and very disheartened and very bitter and hurt. And yet for all the talk about, you know, whether to talk about immigration and draft dodgers and personal attacks and Willie Horton, all the things that Bush has been saddled with throughout his career, the snarky comments against Geraldine Ferraro, for example, in the 1984 vice presidential debate,

for all that, I think the way he handled himself in defeat, not only was his concession to Bill Clinton very, very gracious, but he wrote a note that came to light only recently to Bill Clinton that was delivered during the transition. The note says, and it's handwritten, Dear Bill, When I walked into this office just now, I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you'll feel that too. I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some presidents have described. There will be very tough times made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I'm not a very good one to give advice, but just don't let

the critics discourage you or push you off course. You will be our president when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you. Good luck, George. A magnanimous response, a very gracious response. I think this letter to Bill Clinton on the day of Clinton's inauguration showed the true essence of who George Herbert Walker Bush was. Ken Rudin hosts the Political Junkie podcast. I'm Sean Ramos from This Is Today Explained.