![]() He reprised his parachute jumping past several times in his older age, including on his 90th birthday.īut in the Oval Office, says David Ward, historian emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Bush was best known as “a safe pair of hands.” For Ward, who during his 37 years at the museum served as steward to multiple portrayals of the president, Bush’s “element of humanity and decency needs to be acknowledged.” He was also somewhat of a daredevil, enjoying a skydive as much as his favorite game of golf. “These were not just words to President Bush, as represented in two landmark bills he signed: the Americans With Disabilities Act and a tough amendment to the Clean Air Act, both in 1990.”ĭespite a somewhat subdued reputation, the behind-the-scenes Bush was known as both caring and fond of pranks. But in this same speech he also dreamed of “a kinder, gentler nation, prompted by his desire to improve the lives of Americans and promote service,” says Claire Jerry, a curator at the National Museum of American History, over e-mail. Bush’s most famous campaign promise, the pithy “Read my lips: No new taxes” line he delivered during the 1988 Republican National Convention, came back to haunt him when he reversed his promise in order to achieve a budget compromise in a gridlocked Congress. His domestic policy, though perhaps less dramatic than the events that transformed the world during his presidency, was characterized by pragmatic conservatism. The Cold War ended on his watch, but Bush is also known for the war he began soon thereafter-the 1990-91 conflict in the Persian Gulf that pitted an unprecedented global coalition against Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. His presidency saw tectonic shifts in global politics, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to China’s brutal crackdown on protestors in Tiananmen Square. In 1988, he was elected president and served for a single term.īush was perhaps best known for his achievements in foreign policy. ![]() ![]() In between, he served as a congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, chairman of the Republican National Committee, chief liaison to the People’s Republic of China and CIA director before becoming the 43rd Vice President of the United States in 1981. Bush, who died on Friday at the age of 94, served in a dizzying number of positions, from Texas state Republican Party chairman to the highest office of the land. Throughout his nearly 30-year career in government, former President George H.W. ![]()
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