American politician & U.S. President (1924-2018)
The biggest disappointment was that I wasn't able to communicate properly to the American people -- with the proper conviction and the proper ability -- where the country really stood. The pessimists, the naysayers, the change-wanters overwhelmed me, and I wasn't good enough. I wasn't articulate enough to have the country understand that we weren't in a recession, that we were in a rather booming economy in the last half of my Presidency. That was a personal shortcoming, a failure on my path.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
Academy of Achievement interview, June 2, 1995
My view, is let Mike Dukakis go around there and talk about pink slips, despair, pessimism in the United States. I'll be the guy out there talking about hope and opportunity and challenge, and the fact that the United States is the best, the fairest, the most decent nation on the face of the earth. Let them apologize for America, and let me lead her to new greatness.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
speech to supporters in Washington D.C., May 4, 1988
I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken. There are times when the future seems thick as a fog; you sit and wait, hoping the mists will lift and reveal the right path. But this is a time when the future seems a door you can walk right through into a room called tomorrow.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
Inaugural Address, January 20, 1989
It's a very good question, very direct, and I'm not going to answer it.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
attributed, The Quotable Politician
We must recognize an unfortunate fact: In many regions of the world tonight, the reality is conflict, not peace. Enduring animosities and opposing interests remain. And thus, the cause of peace must be served by an America strong enough and sure enough to defend our interests and our ideals.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
State of the Union Address, January 31, 1990
Let me tell you, if we ignore human capital, if we lose the spirit of American ingenuity, the spirit that is the hallmark of the American worker, that would be bad. The American worker is the most productive worker in the world.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
State of the Union Address, January 31, 1990
People tell me there's a difference in the way people perceive my administration and me. Again, I'm--it may be hard to believe, but I'm on the sidelines. I'm not in the middle of all of that anymore. I hope it's [viewed] kindly.... but I don't know--we're not trying to shape [history]. We're not trying to write the memoir, [or] have the seminar to point out all the wonderful things we did. I mean, I think you'll find out what I did right and what I did wrong. I think history will get it right.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
Parade Magazine, July 15, 2012
If you really want to make a difference, whether it's in helping other people, or whether it's in fighting for your country, or whether it's in the political arena, or journalism, or physics, you've got to persevere. You've got to understand that there are going to be some enormous bumps in the road. They can be personal. You can get hurt badly. You can lose a friend, or a child, or a wife, or a husband. But you've got to persevere, you've got to be guided by certain principles and stay the course. If you quit, if you run away when the going gets tough, you won't really understand what a full life is all about.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
Academy of Achievement interview, June 2, 1995
To those men and women in business, remember the ultimate end of your work: to make a better product, to create better lives. I ask you to plan for the longer term and avoid that temptation of quick and easy paper profits.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
address to joint session of Congress, February 9, 1989
Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep", and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under those circumstances, furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-cold war world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different -- and perhaps barren -- outcome.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
A World Transformed
Courage is a terribly important value. It means you don't run away when things are tough. It means you don't turn away from a friend when he or she is in trouble. It means standing up against the majority opinion.... There's a lot of people who won't wear it on their sleeve, or display it through some heroic act. But courage is having the strength to do what's honorable and decent.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
Academy of Achievement interview, June 2, 1995
Education is the one investment that means more for our future because it means the most for our children. Real improvement in our schools is not simply a matter of spending more: It's a matter of asking more--expecting more--of our schools, our teachers, of our kids, of our parents, and ourselves.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
State of the Union Address, January 31, 1990
No longer can a dictator count on East-West confrontation to stymie concerted United Nations action against aggression. A new partnership of nations has begun. And we stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a new world order -- can emerge: a new era, freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, east and west, north and south, can prosper and live in harmony.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
speech to joint session of Congress, September 11, 1990
For the first time since World War II the international community is united. The leadership of the United Nations, once only a hoped-for ideal, is now confirming its founders' vision.... The world can therefore seize this opportunity to fulfill the long-held promise of a new world order.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
State of the Union message, January 29, 1991
There's one thing I hope we will all be able to agree on. It's about our commitments. I'm talking about Social Security. To every American out there on Social Security, to every American supporting that system today, and to everyone counting on it when they retire, we made a promise to you, and we are going to keep it.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
speech, January 31, 1990
On this day, we must tell the stories of those who fought and died in freedom's cause. We must tell their stories because those who've lost loved ones need to know that a grateful Nation will always remember. We must tell their stories so that our children and grandchildren will understand what our lives might have been like had it not been for their sacrifice.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
remarks on Memorial Day, 1992
The most important competitiveness program of all is one which improves education in America. When some of our students actually have trouble locating America on a map of the world, it is time for us to map a new approach to education.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
address to joint session of Congress, February 9, 1989