This impression was magnified by the chaotic way that Bush's cancellation became known.According to the Washington Post "the shock of Bush's decision was intensified in Washington and (^)
Asia by the manner of its revelation. A White House official involved in trip planning said he heard
of the postponement late Tuesday after a high-level meeting and just minutes before learning that
NBC News had obtained the story, which was broadcast on its evening news program. Several
Asian embassies in Washington heard the news from the press reports before receiving officialword from the White House." On the way to Rome the next day, Bush was heard to complain about (^)
what he perhaps considered a leak: "You got the message oozed out of the White House before we
had a chance to properly notify the parties," he berated the press on board Air Force One. "You
guys are too good." [fn 68]
Sometime during October, Bush had discussed with his handlers the possibility of cancelling the
Asia trip while simultaneously proposing a set of measures allegedly designed to improve economic
conditions, and challenging the Congress to stay in town long enough to pass this package. But
Bush had been unable to assemble any such set of measures. One GOP official complained that
Bush's announcement late on election day, 1991 wnuts." [fn 69] This Asian trip, featuring a stopover in Japan, was later re-scheduled to start onas "a cancellation without a purpose. This is
December 30 and to extend through the first week of the New Year. It was during this trip that Bush
vomited and collapsed to the floor during a state dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa.
November 6: On the morning after the election, Bush had announced a 6:40 AM press conferencein order to put on a demagogic show of concern for the plight of those born on the wrong side of the (^)
tracks before jetting off to a NATO summit in Rome. He admitted that he was "depressed" over the
defeat of Thornburgh because the latter was such a good man. He lamely tried to explain his
decision to remain in Washington at the end of the month as based on his experience that "all kinds
of crazy things can happen with this crowd that controls the Senate and House." But Bush hadanother big flip-flop to offer: although he still denied the existence of a "recession," he was now (^)
concerned about "people that are hurting," and for these he was willing to "go the extra mile." He
was now seeking a compromise bill to extend unemployment benefits. Within a week, a
compromise had been reached with most of the concessions coming from Bush, on the model of the
civil rights bill. Was it another impuslive, hyperthyroid moment? [fn 70]
November 7: During his address to the NATO summit of 16 heads of state and heads of
government, Bush departed from his prepared text and inserted the following sentence off the cuff
into his remarks:
If, my friends, your ultimate aim is to provide independently for your own defense, the time to tell
us is today.
This was in many respects the most astounding threat ever made by an American president to the
leaders of the North Atlantic Alliance, which had always been considered, since 1949, acornerstone of US foreign policy. Bush now called the Atlantic Pact into question, apparently in as the (^)
fit of rage. Press reports spoke of "clouds of suspicion" separating Bush from France and Germany;
the State Department and the British were known to be hysterical about plans to expand the
exisiting Franco-German brigade into a larger unit. US officials told one reporter that Bush had
become "exasperated" by the Byzantine tactics of Tonton Mitterrand, knowFlorentin" in a misguided tribute to Machiavelli. These frictions apparently had contributed ton in Paris as "Le (^)
Bush's outburst. James Baker and other spin doctors tried to play down the importance of this
shocking episode. [fn 71]
November 8: At a press conference in Rome, Bush turned in yet another furious tantrum. The basic
frankie
(Frankie)
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