George H. Bush Presidency: Free Sample Essay To Follow

Immediately after assuming the presidency, George H. Bush had to deal with the enormous deficit the country was in while simultaneously dealing with the American people who expected him to follow Reagan’s policies. Bush also had to contend with being the leader of a Democratic controlled Congress that fought his decisions at every turn because they believed the best solution would be to raise taxes while the Republicans wanted to cut government spending. Thus when one evaluates George H. Bush’s presidency, it is important to keep in mind that even if he had meant to keep the promises he had made during his campaign that there were obstacles in the way. Nevertheless hindsight has shown that Bush could have done more than just compromising with Congress so easily especially when the matter was one he was passionate about. In that sense this paper will examine all aspects of Bush’s presidency including both his foreign and domestic policies to see how effective of a president he really was by taking a look at important historical moments such as dealing with the Soviet Union and terrorists such as Sudan Hussein which he did do to the best of his ability at the time but he should have tried to picture the long-term consequences of his choices that all of the presidents who have come after him have had to struggle with.
First though, this paper will take a look at Bush’s successful acts as president starting with his domestic policies where he was actually able to better protect the American people. For instance, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 was able to defend those working for government agencies from reprimanding if they witnessed illegal acts being conducted. Essentially this act encouraged citizens to act on their morals instead of turning a blind eye at the expense of the mistreatment of others. Then there was the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1890 that prohibited those with disabilities from being discriminated against as it offered similar safeguards that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave to people who were being treated differently because of their religion, race, gender, and other characteristics. In enacting this act, President Bush was striving to encourage his fellow Americans to treat each other as fellow human beings instead of animals with no rights. He continued his ambition by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1991 which was in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling which limited the rights of employees who had sued their employees for discrimination by providing the right to have a trial by jury so that they could prove their case as well as file for emotional distress damages though it limited the amount a jury could award. In other words, while Bush pushed for citizens to have more rights to protect themselves in cases regarding discrimination and corruption, he still cracked under the pressure of Congress by reducing the effect his policies would have. To put it more simply, these acts did help to better the American people’s lives, they still faced moments of injustice even though they were the victims. Perhaps if Bush had been more vocal about his beliefs then he would have been able to combat the democratically controlled Congress and provide his people with even more protection.
This pattern is also found when one examines Bush’s foreign policies for even though he was more aggressive in terms of foreign affairs, Bush still cracked under pressure thus creating quick-fix solutions instead of ones that could help protect America from new enemies in the Middle East. The most effective example would be the Gulf War which began after Hussein invaded Kuwait leading to a rallying of opposition from America and their allies as Bush publicly condemned the invasion of the oil-rich country. Bush would deploy troops to Saudi Arabia to combat with Hussein’s men turning the country into an all-out war zone that would destroy hundreds of thousands of lives who would lose either their lives and/or their homes. Although this may seem horrible, one must keep in mind that the Iran-Iraq War had been going on for several years before America and their allies had joined the battle so the land had already been ravaged and lives had already been loss thus it can be argued that if the UN had not gotten involved the struggle would have lasted much longer. There is another argument, however, that the assemble of nations’ primary concern was not the safety of the native people but to ensure Hussein did not get their oil fields for oil in the modern world is more precious than diamonds. Regardless, Bush was met with high approval ratings from the public which is interesting since they did not agree with his decision to invade Panama to get rid of a dictator and replace him with a more democratic president who would agree with American ideology. Bush would also get America involved with the Civil War which was occurring in Somalia but would be unable to bring it to a satisfying conclusion as the situation over there is still bad to this day. In other words, all of his foreign policies would try to get rid of fascism and terrorism but would only make matters worse as enemies of America found more reasons to be at odds with them which would naturally lead to more pain and devastation. Thus it is not surprising there are those who would claim Bush should not have gotten involved in all of these conflicts for not only was it not his place to interfere but he should not have put the troops’ lives on the line for strangers.
Bush would run for re-election in 1992 in hopes that his high popularity ratings and recent success in the Gulf War would project him into his second term but he would be defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton. This is particularly interesting when one notes how several of the leading Democrats did not even want to put forth a candidate for nomination. Nevertheless Clinton opposed the current president by arguing that he was not doing his part in helping the middle class and was out of touch with the common people which, as mentioned before, are reflected in the insufficient amount of energy he put into his domestic policy as he chose to focus more on foreign affairs. Overall there were many factors which led to Bush’s defeat with one of the most damaging being he accepted a tax increase that made the public turn against him for no one wants to pay more taxes when struggling to live is difficult enough. Clinton was also able to unite the Democratic Party and made it clear he was in favor of the death penalty. In conclusion, Bush loss re-election not only because Clinton was an efficient and strategic nominee but he self- destructed as well by reminding the American people he tended to compromise instead of standing up for himself and arguing back. If Bush had proven himself to be a more effective, all-around president then perhaps the masses would have been more inclined to choose him again but in retrospect it is probably best they did not for Bush’s wishy washy nature would never have been able to deal with the conflicts and dilemmas Clinton and his successors have had to combat with. In terms of hindsight then, it should not be shocking to the reader that Bush’s actions did not last when it came to dealing with long-term consequences as America is still fighting the War on Terror he started as well as protecting people from discrimination that is still rampant even in this so-called modern age.