Charpter – I

The House of Bush: Born in a Bank

Who is George Bush? How did he become the 41st U.S. President?

He is said to be a man of the "old establishment," who "chose to seek his fortune as an
independent oilman...." In fact, Bush was never "independent." Every career step in his
upward climb relied on his family's powerful associations. The Bush family joined the
Eastern Establishment comparatively recently, and only as servitors. Their wealth and
influence resulted from their loyalty to another, more powerful family, and their
willingness to do anything to get ahead.

For what they did, Bush's forebears should have become very famous, or infamous. They
remained obscure figures, managers from behind the scenes. But their actions--including
his father's role as banker for Adolf Hitler--had tragic effects for the whole planet.

It was these services to his family's benefactors, which propelled George Bush to the top.

Prescott Goes to War

President George Herbert Walker Bush was born in 1924, the son of Prescott S. Bush and
Dorothy Walker Bush. We will begin the George Bush story about a decade before his
birth, on the eve of World War I. We will follow the career of his father, Prescott Bush,
through his marriage with Dorothy Walker, on the path to fortune, elegance and power.

Prescott Bush entered Yale University in 1913. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Prescott had
spent the last five years before college in St. George's Episcopal preparatory school in
Newport, Rhode Island.

Prescott Bush's first college year, 1913, was also the freshman year at Yale for E. Roland
( "Bunny" ) Harriman, whose older brother (Wm.) Averell Harriman had just graduated
from Yale. This is the Averell Harriman who went on to fame as the U.S. ambassador to
the Soviet Union during World War II, as a governor of New York State, and as a
presidential advisor who was greatly responsible for starting the Vietnam War.

The Harrimans would become the sponsors of the Bushes, to lift them onto the stage of
world history.