1. PBS – Intro, Combat Pilot, West Texas

2. Bush administration (1989-1993)
George H.W. Bush - Early Life/Political Career
George Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush and soon moved to Greenwich, Connecticut
Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, at the age of 18, Bush postponed going to college and became the youngest aviator in the US Navy at the time
He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University
Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40
Before becoming Vice-President in 1980, Bush had served as a Congressman, Ambassador to the U.N., and the Director of the CIA

3. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Election of 1988 
Republicans
George Bush (Vice-President)
Dan Quayle (Senator – Indiana)
Democrats
Michael Dukakis (Governor – Massachusetts)
Lloyd Bentsen (Senator – Texas)
Popular Vote
Bush/Quayle (53.4%)
Dukakis/Bentsen (45.7%)

4. Bush administration (1989-1993)
States Carried
Bush/Quayle - 40
Dukakis/Bentsen – 11 Plus DC

5. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Bush came into the White House as a foreign policy expert and much of his term was devoted to that area
Successful military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf during his tenure
The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 while Bush was in office, although Reagan is given much of the credit for both

6. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Bush Administration Continued…
Domestically, Bush promised no new taxes by famously saying during his campaign, “Read my lips, no new taxes.”
Bush was forced to raise taxes during his presidency and resided over an economy that was suffering a recession
Most historians believe that the recession, Bush’s broken tax promise, and the perception that he could not relate to middle class America as the main reasons for his failed re-election bid in 1992

7. PBS – 1988 Campaign

8. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Gulf War (January 17, 1991 – February 28, 1991)
On August 2, 1990, Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, invaded its oil-rich neighbor Kuwait
Iraq justified its invasion of Kuwait because it claimed it had territorial rights to Kuwait, and that Kuwait was supplying to much oil to the world market, which was hurting the value of Iraqi oil
Within 6 days, Iraq had seized control of Kuwait
Saudi Arabia, a neighbor of both Iraq and Kuwait, feared Saddam may target them next and called for U.S. assistance (Saudi-born Bin Laden had offered assistance, but was quickly dismissed)
A UN-authorized Coalition Force from 34 nations led by the United States demanded that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait

9. PBS – Desert Storm

10. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Gulf War Continued…
After failing to do so, the Coalition Forces headed by General Norman Schwarzkopf began military operations on January 17, 1991 codenamed Operation Desert Storm
The Coalition advance was much swifter than U.S. generals had expected and by February 26, 1991, Iraqi troops began retreating from Kuwait
Coalition Forces continued to pursue retreating Iraqi forces over the border and back into Iraq, eventually moving to within 150 miles of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad before being called back to the boarder by President Bush who declared that Kuwait had been liberated

11. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Gulf War Continued…
Critics of Bush believed he should have continued the attack, pushing Hussein's army back to Baghdad, then removing him from power
Bush explained that he did not give the order to overthrow the Iraqi government because it would have "incurred incalculable human and political costs.... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq."
Instead of a greater involvement of its own military, the United States hoped that Saddam Hussein would be overthrown in an internal coup d'état
The CIA used its assets in Iraq to organize a revolt, but the Iraqi government defeated the effort

12. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Bush Post Presidency/Legacy
In 1993, Bush visited Kuwait to commemorate the coalition's victory over Iraq where he was targeted in an assassination plot
Kuwaiti authorities arrested 17 people allegedly involved in using a car bomb to kill Bush
The FBI determined that the plot had been directed by the Iraqi Intelligence Service
Two months later, in retaliation, President Clinton ordered the firing of 23 cruise missiles at Iraqi Intelligence Service headquarters in Baghdad
After the missiles were fired, Vice President Al Gore said the attack "was intended to be a proportionate response at the place where this plot" to assassinate Bush "was hatched and implemented"

13. Bush administration (1989-1993)
Bush Post Presidency/Legacy Continued…
The economic recession in the U.S. in the early 1990’s shifted the image of Bush from "conquering hero" to "politician befuddled by economic matters"
And though Bush saw a 34% approval rating leading up to the 1992 election, the mood did not last, and a year later 60% of Americans gave Bush's presidency a positive rating
He is currently the oldest surviving President at age 90, 4 months older than Jimmy Carter