"political correctness." The scene was the cavernous Michigan Stadium south of the main
campus, a larger version of the Circus Maximus in Rome. Bush was looking for a wedge
issue for the 1992 campaign, and the campus dictators of the politically correct were a big
target. There were hecklers with signs denouncing Bush, so he launched into his text with
vigor:
Although the movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of
racism and sexism and hatred, it replaces old prejudice with new ones. It declares certain
topics off-limits, certain expressions off-limits, even certain gestures off- limits...In their
own Orwellian way, crusades that demand correct behavior crush diversity in the name of
diversity.
At this point the hecklers came to life with loud chants of "Bush lies." Since the
beginning of the Gulf crisis, Bush had been confronted by hostile demonstrators. We
know from his 1965 debate with Ronnie Dugger how much he was upset by such
"extremists." The chants kept going as the infuriated Bush struggled to be heard.
The power to create also rests on other freedoms, especially the freedom -- and I think
about that right now -- to speak one's mind. I had this written into the speech, and I didn't
even know if these guys were going to be here.
The demonstrators kept up the chorus of "Bush lies." Bush's temperature was rising from
semi-ballistic to ballistic. He told the students to
...fight back against the boring politics of division and derision. Let's trust our friends and
colleagues to respond to reason....And I remind myself a lot of this: We must conquer the
temptation to assign bad motives to people who disagree with us. [fn 29]
After this speech, Bush flew to Andrews Air Force base and thence by helicopter to
Camp David. During this period, Bush's White House chief of staff, John Sununu, had
become the target of public criticism because of his frequent use of military aircraft for
weekend vacations and skiing trips. Boy Gray had come forward as the enforcer of White
House travel regulations against Sununu, whose motto was reportedly "fly free or die."
There were also moves afoot to re-open the 1980 October surprise investigation, always a
point of immense vulnerability for Bush. He had been forced to deny once again on May
3 that he had engaged in secret dealings with the Khomeini regime to delay the release of
the US hostages in Teheran.
Slightly after 3:30 PM, Bush gathered his retinue of Secret Service agents and announced
that it was time to go jogging. After about 30 minutes, he began complaining of fatigue
and shortness of breath. He then proceeded to the Camp David infirmary, where Michael
Nash, one of his resident team of doctors, determined that Bush was experiencing atrial
fibrillation, an irregularity of the heartbeat. Nash recommended that Bush go to Bethesda
Medical Center for treatment. Bush arrived at Bethesda at 6 PM.