Episode 26: George W. Bush

The Past, the Promise, the Presidency

Today’s episode is all about George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States. Full disclosure for those who don’t know, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum resides on SMU’s campus, about a mile as the crow flies from our offices here at the CPH. Here’s your brief primer on George W. Bush. Perhaps unnecessary to say given that you’ve already met his father, but yes, W was born to wealth and privilege, and spent his first years in Connecticut while his father finished up at Yale after World War II. He grew up in a tight family, and one that knew tragedy, too. His younger sister, Robyn, passed away when she was only three from childhood leukemia, and young George remembers having to comfort his own mother from her grief. His father, in truth, was on the road a lot, building a business and then political career. “I got my daddy’s eyes, and my mother’s mouth,” he still jokes to this day, and his mother’s words typically had a bit more bite.

The partying didn’t stop there, and indeed Bush has been open about the reckless drinking and carousing that characterized his first decades. He gave up drinking at age forty, and subsequently found god. It influenced his daily life, and his policies, best epitomized by his call for a “compassionate conservatism.” It wasn’t a smooth path to the presidency. Twice elected Governor of Texas, he came to office in 2000 by the narrowest of margins. Bush took office in 2001 planning to focus on education, tax-reform (he was a Republican after all), and immigration. Then, the world changed.
To understand this pivotal moment in history, we spoke with two fantastic guests. We first spoke to Professor Gary Gerstle, the Paul Mellon Professor of American history at Cambridge University, author of numerous works of political and social history including American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century. We then talked to award-winning journalist, Peter Baker, of the New York Times, who has covered the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and now President Biden. He is also the author of Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House.

Together our conversations highlighted two themes:

• How unforeseen events regularly have a racial component.
• The complicated relationship between religion, race, and “compassionate conservatism” in Bush’s presidency.

To learn more, visit pastpromisepresidency.com.