George H. W. Bush

=== 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>