Essay about The Reagen and Bush Presidencies - 3038 Words

INTRODUCTION It is widely accepted that George Bush Snr. was forced to play out his presidency in the mighty shadow of Ronald Reagan. Reagans charm and personality was one of his greatest strengths and, even now, is widely revered for his time as President. Bush was reportedly always conscious of peoples expectations of him in view of his predecessor and this burden seemed to weigh heavily. Reagans achievements in Washington were considerable, if not in number then in impact. His political and strategic skills were impressive and Bush cannot be said to have equalled his achievements at home, and this is borne out by Bushs failure to win re-election. Nevertheless Bush made some staggeringly important contributions to the†¦show more content†¦By direct comparison, George Bush, despite having been elected on a higher majority of the popular vote than Reagan , was more of an establishment politician. It has been said that Bush knew probably more Americans than any other human being has ever known , and it is well documented that he (perhaps naà ¯vely) expected these relations to carry over into the decision-making arena. He was reluctant to go over the heads of his friends and colleagues by using the bully pulpit; and was painfully conscious of his shortcomings as a mass communicator. On the other hand, he knew well that his strength lay in well-informed discussion on a smaller-scale, and for this reason chose the press conference as his most frequent point of contact. Where the Reagan White House was determined to stage-manage all media coverage (even going as far as to set a line of the day, and allegedly making up quotes where the president has nothing to say ), Bush was determined that he was to be more open and accessible to the press. To this end he left it to the press to decide what area of policy to focus on, and held some 280 press conferences in four years, as against Reagans 47 in eight . This difference in style was not purely to do with Bushs lack of speaking ability, although he was conscious that he was unable to be another Reagan. Rather it was indicative of the inherent difference in style of the two presidents.Show MoreRelatedSelecting a Political Party Essay1070 Words   |  5 Pagesthat definition I began to think to myself what republicans stand for also has to do with the American idea. Republicans had history with a historic leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagen. Abraham Lincoln he was able to bravely keep the American Union together while also abolishing slavery. Ronald Reagen who ended the very tense â€Å"Cold War,† between America and Russia. The republicans had already made history. The only thing one could wait on was for them to do it again. The two parties seemedRead MoreReflection On The Cold War1110 Words   |  5 Pageswas also the fundamental step of civil rights. Finally in the late 1900s, under the presidency of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, the Cold War was finally seeing its end. On December 3rd, 1989, President Bush and USSR leader Gorbachev held meeting to issue the long-lasting problems of the Cold War at the Malta Summit. In the meeting, Bush was optimistic about following the steps of arms control taken by the Reagen administration. On the other hand, Gorbachev emphasized the importance of peacefulRead MoreBill Clintons Health Care Plan5084 Words   |  21 Pagesand entreched local elites, so Franklin D. Roosevelt thought that to put the health insurance into the Economic Security Act would have been impossible. 1.4. Harry S. Truman He strongly supported the health care reform from the beginning of his presidency. His concept was that one of the most important part of a nations strenght is in the health of his citizens, to participate in a democracy needs good phisically position. A big public support surrounded the plan, about 74,3 % of American favouredRead MoreIs Politics A Politician?4068 Words   |  17 Pagesand used other outsiders who wanted to get â€Å"in† to establish his career. So, when Carter did eventually make it, those outsiders also felt like they made it. Perot used this principle by making it seem there was no way he could even run for the presidency without the people s support. In response, Perot asked far and wide for the nations support and ended up with a large passionate group of supporters devoted entirely to him. For they believed they were the people who were allowing him to run. By