By Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Naval Photographic Center. (09/18/1947 - ?) - File:George Bush - NARA - 558524.jpg, Public Domain, [source]
War and School
George H.W. Bush was one of those Texans who wasn't born here, but got here as fast he could. He was born in Massachusetts in 1924 to a wealthy family. He enlisted in the Navy as soon as he turned 18, putting off his studies to fight in World War II. He was commissioned as a naval aviator just three days before his 19th birthday, making him the youngest naval aviator to that time. He was discharged in 1945, having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service. He married Barbara Pierce shortly before his discharge and the two settled into an apartment in New Haven, Connecticut while he attended Yale University. George W. Bush was born there in 1948, shortly before Bush graduated and the whole family moved to West Texas.
George HW Bush, seated in a Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft, c. 1944. U.S. Navy photo H069-13, Public Domain, [source]
Oil Boom
Bush used his father's business connections to gain a foothold in the oil business. He started as a salesman for oil field equipment, but started his own company a few years later. During this time the young Bush family moved frequently, all over West Texas. Eventually, Bush's company joined with another to create the Zapata Petroleum Company, where Bush would be president of a subsidiary, the Zapata Offshore Company. Bush took the subsidiary independent in 1959. By 1966, when he shifted to politics full time, Bush was a millionaire.
Politics
Bush got into Houston politics in 1963, when he was elected chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. The following year, with much urging from fellow Republicans, Bush ran against sitting Senator Ralph Yarborough and lost, though by a relatively small margin for a state that was still a Democrat stronghold. During the campaign, Bush spoke against President Johnson's Civil Rights legislation, though he later said he regretted the hard line stance he had taken during the campaign and did later vote for Civil Rights bills. He did win the election to the US House of Representatives in 1966, serving two terms. In 1970, Nixon convinced Bush to run against Yarborough for the Senate again, but, once again, Bush lost. Nixon then appointed Bush as ambassador to the UN. After that followed a series of positions, based on the needs of Nixon and later Ford, including chairman of the Republican National Committee, Liaison to China, and head of the CIA. Despite their short terms, these positions helped to ground Bush's foreign policy. In 1976, Carter was elected president and Bush was out of a job.
President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas August 23, 1984. NARA, Reagan Library, [source]
"Ready My Lips: No New Taxes!"
Bush returned to the business world after Carter's election, but soon turned to running for President. Though he campaigned hard through 1979, he couldn't compete with Ronald Reagan and formally dropped out in May of 1980. In a last minute decision, Reagan picked Bush as his running mate and Bush became the vice president in 1981. Bush spent much of his time outside the US, talking with leaders all over the world, but particularly in the USSR and former Soviet Bloc countries. After Reagan's second term, Bush campaigned for president once again, most notably with the promise "Read My Lips: No New Taxes!" He won the 1988 election in a landslide. Bush excelled with his foreign policy. He continued to improve relations with the Soviet Union and former Soviet bloc countries. His presidency saw the fall of the Berlin wall and the dissolution of the USSR, marking the end of the Cold War, as well as the signing of NAFTA. It also saw the brief Gulf War in 1990, where the US joined with many other countries to liberate Kuwait from an invasion by Iraq. Bush had trouble gaining support for the war at first, but after its end was often criticized for not continuing it until the Iraq government was overthrown. Despite the criticisms, the incident led to an incredible surge in his popularity. It wouldn't last. Reagan had left a large deficit and Bush was forced to work with Democrats to raise taxes to handle it. Breaking his promise of "No New Taxes" hurt him with the public and probably led to his loss of the 1992 election.
President Barack Obama meets with former President George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010. Photograph by White House photographer Pete Souza. [source]
"To Make Kinder the Face of the Nation"
The loss of the 1992 election blindsided Bush. Though many signs pointed to his waning popularity, he still felt that he could win up until Election Day. After his defeat, he largely retired from politics, though not necessarily from the public eye. He continued to visit countries to improve relationships that he had helped build. He continued to be involved in causes he had begun as president, such as Points of Light, an organization that recognized ordinary Americans doing great things in their communities. He stayed in the background during his son's presidency and continued to be reserved when it came to politics over the next years, though he did come out in support of the presidential campaigns of John McCain, Mitt Romney, and his son, Jeb Bush. Bush came to be good friends with former president Clinton and showed solidarity with former and current presidents. In the 2016 presidential election, he was an outspoken critic of Trump and said that he had voted for Hillary Clinton, despite saying in 2008 that he would campaign against her vigorously if she ever initiated a presidential bid. Bush suffered from Parkinson's disease, though that didn't keep him from living an active life, including many rounds of golf and sky diving on his 90th birthday. He passed away in December 2018 at the age of 94, and is buried at his presidential library in College Station, Texas, next to his wife Barbara. Many believe that as Reagan's legacy begins to tarnish, Bush will be remembered as one of the most successful one term presidents in US history.
