George Bush :: essays research papers

GEORGE BUSH The votes were in; the election was over. On the 20th of January 1989, Republican George Herbert Walker Bush became the forty-first president of the United States. After serving two previous terms as Ronald Reagan's Vice President, he defeated Governor of Massachusetts Michael S. Dukakis to earn his new title. Bush had become President at a time when many Americans were uncertain about their country's future. The federal government was intensely in debt due to prior years of budget deficits. Imported foods were more valuable then exports which questioned the United State's economic standing. Foreign policy was also a topic well discussed by Americans. Bush seemed to be doing a good job with it all and in the midst of his presidency a second term seemed to be a sure thing for him. However, the 1992 election marked the end of his reign; he lost by a great margin to democrat William J. Clinton who may I add was later impeached! George Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts to Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Prescott Bush worked in an investing firm, but ended up moving his family to Connecticut where he later on developed a strong interest in politics which led to his position as Senator of Connecticut. Bush had three brothers and one sister who were all brought up strictly and well-mannered. He attended private Greenwich Day School and exclusive Phillips Academy where he was indeed popular. Along with his good grades, Bush was president of the senior class, captain of the baseball and soccer teams, and also played varsity basketball. After graduating prep school in 1942, his original plans of attending Yale University had been delayed due to the U.S. interest in World War II. He enlisted in the U.S. National Reserve where he received flight training and became the Navy's youngest pilot. In 1942, he flew the U.S.S. San Jacinto in the Pacific Ocean where he took part in d angerous fighting. His plane was shot down, but luckily, unlike his two crew members, he was rescued by the U.S.S. Finback, a U.S. submarine. Bush was recognized for his brave, heroic efforts by receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross, and after recovery served at the Oceana Naval Air Station until the end of the war in August of 1945. Shortly before the end of the war, George Bush married Barbara Pierce, a lady he once met at a Christmas dance.