The passing of George H. W. Bush has brought forth a multitude of tributes praising his public leadership and personal virtue - to which I say "Amen." Bush, in my opinion, was one of the great presidents of the 20th century.
He has too long been overshadowed, first by Ronald Reagan, the great leader of the conservative movement who beat him for the 1980 GOP nomination; then by Bill Clinton, the youthful and "Cool" governor from Arkansas who defeated him in the 1992 election; and finally, by his own son, George W. Bush, who won the second term that his father could not, but whose tenure was much more controversial.
It is not my purpose here to enumerate the reasons that Bush 41 was such a good president.
The prospects of disharmony increase over time - as a president at first passes legislation that unifies his coalition, what is left are items that do not bring the party together and may even drive it apart.
The coalitional politics get trickier, too, thanks in part to the 22nd Amendment, which states, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." Franklin Roosevelt's coalitions in 1940 and 1944 were at least in part personal in nature.
Bush defied this general trend by winning a third consecutive term for the Republican party - a testament to voter confidence in Reagan-Bush governance.
Westward expansion left the Federalist opponents of Jefferson electorally isolated; the Civil War and Reconstruction gave the Lincoln Republicans a boost; the unlikely rise of Teddy Roosevelt transformed the Republican party and extended its rule; the Great Depression's end and the foreign troubles that led to World War II gave FDR and Truman multiple terms beyond two.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/12/george-hw-bush-great-president-one/
He has too long been overshadowed, first by Ronald Reagan, the great leader of the conservative movement who beat him for the 1980 GOP nomination; then by Bill Clinton, the youthful and "Cool" governor from Arkansas who defeated him in the 1992 election; and finally, by his own son, George W. Bush, who won the second term that his father could not, but whose tenure was much more controversial.
It is not my purpose here to enumerate the reasons that Bush 41 was such a good president.
The prospects of disharmony increase over time - as a president at first passes legislation that unifies his coalition, what is left are items that do not bring the party together and may even drive it apart.
The coalitional politics get trickier, too, thanks in part to the 22nd Amendment, which states, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." Franklin Roosevelt's coalitions in 1940 and 1944 were at least in part personal in nature.
Bush defied this general trend by winning a third consecutive term for the Republican party - a testament to voter confidence in Reagan-Bush governance.
Westward expansion left the Federalist opponents of Jefferson electorally isolated; the Civil War and Reconstruction gave the Lincoln Republicans a boost; the unlikely rise of Teddy Roosevelt transformed the Republican party and extended its rule; the Great Depression's end and the foreign troubles that led to World War II gave FDR and Truman multiple terms beyond two.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/12/george-hw-bush-great-president-one/
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