Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham

This is one of those biographies that, while rare, I consider it nearly perfect.  Perfect in so many ways - it’s treatment of its subject, its ease of readability, and its balance of George HW Bush’s life among other things.  As someone who reads a lot of presidential/historical figure biographies, I can assure you that such cases are rare.  Meacham seems to know exactly how much detail to include in each phase of this man’s life.  I also appreciate biographies that don’t sugar coat the subject, but don’t turn it into a mudslinging effort trying to smear the particular individual.  I’m sure, however, that those who worship the man will find that it can be too critical, whereas those whose politics lean far to the left won’t like such a rosy picture painted of one of those oh-so-nasty Republicans.

About half of this book takes place prior to Bush becoming Vice President, and about half after the fact.  This, in my judgement, is a very good balance.  I’m guessing that most people want to read about his presidency (and vice-presidency), and don’t really care much about his youth, nor his less significant positions within the federal government. I was reminded of H.W. Brands’ excellent biography of Ronald Reagan that seemed to follow  a similar timeline.  

We first read about the powerful family that Bush was born into.  Oh, sure, we know he was born into a life of wealth.  Yes, he had to work for what he achieved, and it is very obvious that a family with wealth and power can give you a significant head start in any endeavor you wish to begin.  Still, though, most of his accomplishments could have never happened without his own drive, dedication, and hard work.

We read about his heroics in World War II, and his successful wheeling and dealing as a young oil entrepreneur in Midland, Texas.  We read about his beautiful new wife and wonderful family - taking a bit of detour when he tragically loses his toddler daughter to leukemia.  Politics is next on the list.  Some elections are won, some are not, but again, it helps when your family is so well connected.

The book then zooms by as we briefly read about his Ambassadorship to China, his chairing of the Republican National Committee, and his tenure as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  During these events, he’s actually strongly considered to be a VP running mate to both Nixon and Ford during different times, but as close as he comes to securing the office, he’s always a bit short of the elusive brass ring.

Then we come to 1980, and the book really takes shape.  Once Bush starts his campaign for president against the ever popular Ronald Reagan, we see politics at its best (or worst).  Initially, Reagan doesn’t like Bush.  It seems the “voodoo economics” statement really hurts the Governor’s feelings.  When Reagan secures the nomination, he doesn’t want Bush on the ticket with him.  Advisors disagree.  It seems Reagan wants former President Gerald Ford, but having an ex-president as a future vice-president has too many unknowns, so Bush is selected at the last minute.  Fortunately for both, Bush serves his role admirably, and the two end up having incredible respect for each other, become great friends, and having Reagan as such a strong ally assists Bush in securing the head office in 1988.

Bush makes great strides as Commander in Chief.  Ironically, it’s Reagan’s “voodoo economics” that leaves the economy in a bit of a pinch, and Bush decides that the best thing for the country is to abandon his “read my lips” pledge, and he raises taxes.  Furthermore, it’s the staunch Republicans that are the most ticked off at the broken pledge.  You would think that Democrats would applaud the man, but, no, this is politics.  I guess it’s more important to point out that the guy on “the other team” screwed up than in it is to ensure the country stays on track.  What really kills Bush, is that he won’t emulate Ronald Reagan and look the American people in the eye and admit his mistake.  He feels he just doesn’t have Reagan’s charisma to pull off such a thing.  Even VP Dan Quayle tells his boss that the best thing for Bush to do is to admit his mistake publicly.  Alas, Quayle’s advice goes unheeded.

At this point in my review, I feel it’s important to bring up the fact that much of this book takes its notes from Bush’s own, published diaries.  The author quotes George Bush’s memoirs extensively, and I mention this here, because according to Bush, anyway, he seems to lose a lot of the passion during the second half of his presidential term.  When it’s time to start campaigning for the 1992 reelection, it seems as though Bush is struck with a sudden blow of ennui.  When he campaigned against Governor Bill Clinton, he definitely seemed disconnected and, sadly, had almost no appeal with the younger generation.  Clinton, on the other hand, was doing live Q&As on places like MTV talking about his underwear. Young people found him hip.  Not surprisingly, Bush loses his reelection bid.

The book continues with Bush now retired from the presidency.  Yes, we read about his involvement and his feelings as his oldest son runs and wins the presidency eight years later, but Bush Sr., as he has done his whole political life, elects to stay in the background for the most part when the spotlight should be on someone else.  The job is now his son’s, and if dad ever does give much advice, it certainly isn’t recorded anywhere.  He never really cared much for Donald Rumsfeld (the two have had a bit of a checkered history), and he feels as though Dick Cheney steered his son towards some paths that probably should have been avoided.  Other than that, Bush Sr. seems to feel at peace by staying on the sidelines and avoiding the headlines wherever possible.

I loved this book.  I have a lot of respect for the man, even though I didn’t agree with a lot of things he did or stood for.  Human beings are human, and George HW Bush handled such immense responsibility better than most people could have.  I also felt he was a much better communicator than he gave himself credit.  

Tip O’Neal summed it up nicely when he told Bush  in 1992 “You ran a horrible campaign for reelection, but history will remember you fondly.”