Bush’s campaign for future pri-
mary victories, allowing Bush to
secure his party’s presidential
nomination. Choosing Senator
Dan Quayle of Indiana as his run-
ning mate, Bush promised more
active, innovative policies in envi-
ronmental protection and educa-
tion and greater encouragement
of volunteerism, which he charac-
terized as “a thousand points of
light.” In general, he expressed
his desire to achieve “a kinder,
gentler America.”
While such rhetoric implied a
more moderate, conciliatory do-
mestic policy agenda than Rea-
gan’s, Bush soon used more ag-
gressive, conservative rhetoric to
criticize and eventually defeat the
Democratic presidential nominee,
Governor Michael Dukakis of Mas-
sachusetts. Influenced by cam-
paign consultant Lee Atwater, the
Bush campaign portrayed Dukakis
as a high-taxing, liberal elitist who
was soft on crime and indifferent
or hostile to traditional American
values such as patriotism. Bush defeated Dukakis, car-
rying forty states to win 54 percent of the popular vote
and 426 electoral votes. The Democrats, however,
continued to control Congress.
Bush’s Presidency (1989-1993) Unlike Reagan, Bush
was unable to articulate a cohesive, persuasive vision
to unify the ideas and policy goals of his presidency.
In domestic policy, Bush incrementally developed
and signed more moderate, compromised versions
of Democratic legislation, such as the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Clean Air Act of
1990, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991. With public
concern about high budget deficits and a movement
to adopt a balanced-budget amendment to the Con-
stitution, Bush reluctantly signed legislation to in-
crease taxes. This decision contradicted a campaign
promise he had made, when he famously said, “Read
my lips: No new taxes.” The perceived betrayal of a
promise proved to be as harmful to his standing as
was the fact that he raised taxes. Nonetheless, Bush
steadily increased his use of vetoes against Demo-
cratic legislation on abortion, child care, gun con-
trol, and family leave.
In foreign policy, Bush demonstrated more self-
confidence and initiative. He appointed James
Baker as secretary of state and Dick Cheney as secre-
tary of defense. With the end of the Cold War, signi-
fied by the removal of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and
the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991,
Bush announced the potential for a “New World Or-
der” in international relations. The expectation of
steady reductions in defense spending and a perma-
nently smaller U.S. military led to more discussion in
Congress about how to apply this “peace dividend”
to deficit reduction and domestic policy needs. As
part of a more proactive, internationally oriented
war on drugs, Bush ordered a 1989 invasion of Pan-
ama in order to remove its dictator, Manuel Noriega,
who was deeply involved in drug smuggling.Impact During the 1980’s, George H. W. Bush’s po-
litical career was revived and advanced by the popu-
larity and electoral success of President Reagan. If154 Bush, George H. W. The Eighties in America
In George H. W. Bush’s inaugural address, delivered Januar y 20, 1989,
he reiterated his notion that impoverished and disenfranchised Americans
should primarily be aided, not by the federal government but rather by the
nation’s private charitable organizations, which he referred to as “a thou-
sand points of light.”I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the commu-
nity organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Na-
tion, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, some-
times leading, sometimes being led, rewarding. We will work on
this in the White House, in the cabinet agencies. I will go to the
people and the programs that are the brighter points of light, and
I will ask every member of my government to become involved.
The old ideas are new again because they are not old, they are
timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds
its expression in taking part and pitching in....
Some see leadership as high drama, and the sound of trum-
pets calling, and sometimes it is that. But I see history as a book
with many pages, and each day we fill a page with acts of hopeful-
ness and meaning. The new breeze blows, a page turns, the story
unfolds. And so today a chapter begins, a small and stately story of
unity, diversity, and generosity—shared, and written, together.A Thousand Points of Light