George H. W. Bush

== Vice presidency (1981–1989) ==
{{Further|Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan era}}

[[File:Vice President George H. W. Bush portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|Official portrait, {{circa|1981–1989}}]]

[[File:Official portrait of President Reagan and Vice President Bush 1981.jpg|thumb|Bush with President [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1981]]
As vice president, Bush generally maintained a low profile, recognizing the constitutional limits of the office; he avoided decision-making or criticizing Reagan in any way. This approach helped him earn Reagan's trust, easing tensions left over from their earlier rivalry.<ref name="senate"/> Bush also generally enjoyed a good relationship with Reagan staffers, including Bush's close friend James Baker, who served as Reagan's initial chief of staff.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|p=267}} His understanding of the vice presidency was heavily influenced by Vice President [[Walter Mondale]], who enjoyed a strong relationship with President Carter in part because of his ability to avoid confrontations with senior staff and Cabinet members, and by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller's difficult relationship with some members of the White House staff during the Ford administration.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=264–265}} The Bushes attended a large number of public and ceremonial events in their positions, including many [[state funeral]]s, which became a common joke for comedians. As the [[President of the U.S. Senate|president of the Senate]], Bush also stayed in contact with members of Congress and kept the president informed on occurrences on Capitol Hill.<ref name="senate">{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/george_bush.pdf |title=Vice Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1981–1989) |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |author=Hatfield, Mark (with the Senate Historical Office) |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031223102338/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/george_bush.pdf|archive-date = December 23, 2003|location=Washington, D.C. |year=1997 |access-date=November 4, 2015}}</ref>

=== First term ===
[[File:C17903-4.jpg|thumb|left|Reagan and Bush in a meeting to discuss the [[United States invasion of Grenada|United States' invasion of Grenada]] with a group of bipartisan members of [[United States Congress|Congress]] in October 1983]]
On March 30, 1981, while Bush was in Texas, [[Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|Reagan was shot]] and seriously wounded by [[John Hinckley Jr.]] Bush immediately flew back to Washington D.C.; when his plane landed, his aides advised him to proceed directly to the White House by helicopter to show that the government was still functioning.<ref name="senate" /> Bush rejected the idea, fearing that such a dramatic scene risked giving the impression that he sought to usurp Reagan's powers and prerogatives.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=275–277}} During Reagan's short period of incapacity, Bush presided over Cabinet meetings, met with congressional and foreign leaders, and briefed reporters. Still, he consistently rejected invoking the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-fifth Amendment]].{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=280–281}} Bush's handling of the attempted assassination and its aftermath made a positive impression on Reagan, who recovered and returned to work within two weeks of the shooting. From then on, the two men would have regular Thursday lunches in the [[Oval Office]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |date=June 9, 2004 |title=The 40th President: Between 2 First Families, A Complicated Rapport |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/09/us/40th-president-presidential-relations-between-2-first-families-complicated.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 30, 2018}}</ref>

Reagan assigned Bush to chair two special task forces, one on [[deregulation]] and one on international drug smuggling. Both were popular issues with conservatives, and Bush, largely a moderate, began courting them through his work. The deregulation task force reviewed hundreds of rules, making specific recommendations on which ones to amend or revise to curb the size of the federal government.<ref name="senate" /> The Reagan administration's deregulation push strongly impacted broadcasting, finance, resource extraction, and other economic activities, and the administration eliminated numerous government positions.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg|2015|pp=601–604}} Bush also oversaw the administration's national security crisis management organization, which had traditionally been the responsibility of the [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]].{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=267–268}} In 1983, Bush toured Western Europe as part of the Reagan administration's ultimately successful efforts to convince skeptical [[NATO]] allies to support the deployment of [[Pershing II]] missiles.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=285–287}}

Reagan's approval ratings fell after his first year in office, but they bounced back when the United States began to emerge from recession in 1983.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg|2015|pp=620–621}} Former vice president Walter Mondale was nominated by the Democratic Party in the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential election]]. Down in the polls, Mondale [[1984 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection|selected]] Congresswoman [[Geraldine Ferraro]] as his running mate in hopes of galvanizing support for his campaign, thus making Ferraro the first female major party vice presidential nominee in U.S. history.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=166–169, 173}} She and Bush squared off in [[United States vice-presidential debate, 1984|a single televised vice presidential debate]].<ref name="senate" /> Public opinion polling consistently showed a Reagan lead in the 1984 campaign, and Mondale was unable to shake up the race.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=173}} In the end, Reagan won re-election, winning 49 of 50 states and receiving 59% of the popular vote to Mondale's 41%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1984|title=1984 Presidential Election Results|publisher=David Leip|access-date=May 25, 2007}}</ref>

=== Second term ===
[[File:President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush meet with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on Governor's Island New York.jpg|thumb|Vice President Bush standing with President [[Ronald Reagan]] and Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] on the New York City waterfront in 1988]]

[[Mikhail Gorbachev]] came to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. Rejecting the ideological rigidity of his three elderly sick predecessors, Gorbachev insisted on urgently needed economic and political reforms called "[[glasnost]]" (openness) and "[[perestroika]]" (restructuring).{{sfn|Herring|2008|p=894}} At the 1987 [[Washington Summit (1987)|Washington Summit]], Gorbachev and Reagan signed the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]], which committed both signatories to the total abolition of their respective short-range and medium-range missile stockpiles.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=215}} The treaty began a new era of trade, openness, and cooperation between the two powers.{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=897–898}} President Reagan and Secretary of State [[George Shultz]] took the lead in these negotiations, but Bush sat in on many meetings. Bush did not agree with many of the Reagan policies, but he did tell Gorbachev that he would seek to continue improving relations if he succeeded Reagan.{{sfnm|Greene|2015|1p=90|Meacham|2015|2pp=315–316}} On July 13, 1985, Bush became the first vice president to serve as [[Acting President of the United States|acting president]] when Reagan underwent surgery to remove [[polyp (medicine)|polyps]] from his [[Large intestine|colon]]; Bush served as the acting president for approximately eight hours.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boyd |first=Gerald M. |date=July 14, 1985 |title=Reagan Transfers Power to Bush For 8-Hour Period of 'Incapacity' |page=A1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/14/us/reagan-transfers-power-to-bush-for-8-hour-period-of-incapacity.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 30, 2018}}</ref>

In 1986, the Reagan administration was shaken by a scandal when it was revealed that administration officials had secretly arranged weapon sales to Iran during the [[Iran–Iraq War]]. The officials had used the proceeds to fund the [[Contras|Contra]] rebels in their fight against the leftist [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Sandinista government in Nicaragua]]. Democrats had passed a law that appropriated funds could not be used to help the Contras. Instead, the administration used non-appropriated funds from the sales.<ref name="senate"/> When news of the affair broke to the media, Bush stated that he had been "out of the loop" and unaware of the diversion of funds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/index.htm |title=The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On |date=November 20, 2006 |access-date=April 3, 2008 |publisher=George Washington University}}</ref> Biographer Jon Meacham writes that "no evidence was ever produced proving Bush was aware of the diversion to the contras," but he criticizes Bush's "out of the loop" characterization, writing that the "record is clear that Bush was aware that the United States, in contravention of its own stated policy, was trading arms for hostages".{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=299–305}} The [[Iran–Contra scandal]], as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency, raising questions about Reagan's competency.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=202–204}} Congress established the [[Tower Commission]] to investigate the scandal, and, at Reagan's request, a panel of federal judges appointed [[Lawrence Walsh]] as a [[United States Office of the Independent Counsel|special prosecutor]] charged with investigating the Iran–Contra scandal.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=210–211}} The investigations continued after Reagan left office, and, though Bush was never charged with a crime, the Iran–Contra scandal would remain a political liability for him.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|p=305}}

On July 3, 1988, the guided missile cruiser {{USS|Vincennes|CG-49|6}} accidentally shot down [[Iran Air Flight 655]], killing 290 passengers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/11/08/when-should-a-president-say-hes-sorry/ |title=When should a president say he's sorry? |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=November 8, 2013 |first=Scott |last=Wilson}}</ref> Bush, then-vice president, defended his country at the United Nations by arguing that the U.S. attack had been a wartime incident and the crew of ''Vincennes'' had acted appropriately to the situation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEED91731F936A25754C0A96E948260|title=Iran Falls Short in Drive at U.N. To Condemn U.S. in Airbus Case|last=Butterfield|first=Fox|date=April 15, 1988|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

==== 1988 presidential election ====
{{Main|George H. W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign}}{{Further|1988 Republican Party presidential primaries|1988 United States presidential election}}

Bush began planning for a presidential run after the 1984 election, and he officially entered the [[1988 Republican Party presidential primaries]] in October 1987.<ref name="senate" /> He put together a campaign led by Reagan staffer [[Lee Atwater]], which also included his son, George W. Bush, and media consultant [[Roger Ailes]].{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=295–296}} Though he had moved to the right during his time as vice president, endorsing a [[Human Life Amendment]] and repudiating his earlier comments on "voodoo economics", Bush still faced opposition from many conservatives in the Republican Party.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=297–298}} His major rivals for the Republican nomination were Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, Representative [[Jack Kemp]] of New York, and Christian [[televangelist]] [[Pat Robertson]].{{sfn|Greene|2015|pp=30–31}} Reagan did not publicly endorse any candidate but privately expressed support for Bush.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=318, 326}}

Though considered the early front-runner for the nomination, Bush came in third in the [[Iowa caucus]], behind Dole and Robertson.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE2DC143CF933A25751C0A96E948260|title=Bush and Simon Seen as Hobbled by Iowa's Voting|date=February 10, 1988|access-date=April 4, 2008|work=The New York Times | first=R. W. Jr. | last=Apple}}</ref> Much as Reagan had done in 1980, Bush reorganized his staff and concentrated on the New Hampshire primary.<ref name="senate"/> With help from Governor [[John H. Sununu]] and an effective campaign attacking Dole for raising taxes, Bush overcame an initial polling deficit and won New Hampshire with 39 percent of the vote.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=322–325}} After Bush won South Carolina and 16 of the 17 states holding a primary on [[Super Tuesday]], his competitors dropped out of the race.{{sfn|Greene|2015|pp=35–37}}

Bush, occasionally criticized for his lack of eloquence compared to Reagan, delivered a well-received speech at the Republican convention. Known as the "[[thousand points of light]]" speech, it described Bush's vision of America: he endorsed the [[Pledge of Allegiance]], [[school prayer|prayer in schools]], [[Capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]], and [[Right to keep and bear arms in the United States|gun rights]].<ref name="npr">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/news/national/election2000/conventions/past.bushsenior.html|title=1988: George H. W. Bush Gives the 'Speech of his Life'|publisher=NPR|year=2000|access-date=April 4, 2008}}</ref> Bush also [[Read my lips: no new taxes|pledged that he would not raise taxes]], stating: "Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no, and they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again. And all I can say to them is: read my lips. No new taxes."{{sfn|Greene|2015|p=43}} Bush [[1988 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection|selected]] little-known Senator [[Dan Quayle]] of Indiana as his running mate. Though Quayle had compiled an unremarkable record in Congress, he was popular among many conservatives, and the campaign hoped that Quayle's youth would appeal to younger voters.{{sfn|Greene|2015|pp=40–41}}

[[File:ElectoralCollege1988.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Bush won the 1988 presidential election with 53.4% of the popular vote and a large majority of the electoral vote.]]

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party nominated Governor [[Michael Dukakis]], known for presiding over an economic turnaround in Massachusetts.{{sfn|Greene|2015|pp=37–39}} Leading in the general election polls against Bush, Dukakis ran an ineffective, low-risk campaign.{{sfn|Greene|2015|pp=39, 47}} The Bush campaign attacked Dukakis as an unpatriotic liberal extremist and seized on the [[Willie Horton]] case, in which a convicted felon from Massachusetts raped a woman while on a [[prison furlough]], a program Dukakis supported as governor. The Bush campaign charged that Dukakis presided over a "[[revolving door]]" that allowed dangerous convicted felons to leave prison.{{sfn|Greene|2015|pp=44–46}} Dukakis damaged his own campaign with a widely mocked ride in an [[M1 Abrams]] tank and poor performance at the second presidential debate.{{sfn|Greene|2015|pp=47–49}} Bush also attacked Dukakis for opposing a law that would require all students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.<ref name="npr" /> The election is widely considered to have had a high level of negative campaigning, though political scientist John Geer has argued that the share of negative ads was in line with previous presidential elections.{{sfn|Meacham|2015|pp=347–348}}

Bush defeated Dukakis by a margin of 426 to 111 in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], and he took 53.4 percent of the national popular vote.<ref>{{cite web|title=1988 Presidential General Election Results|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1988|website=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|access-date=May 21, 2018}}</ref> Bush ran well in all the major regions of the country, but especially in the [[Southern United States|South]].{{sfn|Greene|2015|p=49}} He became the fourth sitting vice president to be elected president and the first to do so since [[Martin Van Buren]] in [[1836 United States presidential election|1836]] and the first person to succeed a president from his own party via election since [[Herbert Hoover]] in [[Inauguration of Herbert Hoover|1929]].<ref name="senate"/>{{efn|The 1988 presidential election remains the only presidential election since 1948 in which either party won a third consecutive term.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Silver |first1=Nate |title=The White House Is Not a Metronome |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-white-house-is-not-a-metronome/ |work=FiveThirtyEight |date=July 18, 2013}}</ref>}} In the concurrent [[1988 United States elections|congressional elections]], Democrats retained control of both houses of Congress.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=224–225}}