What should George H. W. Bush have done...?

[The Duke]

He should have actually done something after the Gulf War.  He just sort of sat there with his popularity ratings way up, and did nothing about it.  He shouldn't have made that promise not to raise taxes in '88 (the recession that proved his downfall was only starting in the late '80s).  He should have dumped Quayle, who was no asset to his re-election bid and not pardoned Cap Weinberger, which caused the public to link him to Iran-Contra.  As GiantSaguaro says, he really didn't seem to take his re-election bid seriously, thus he lost to a younger, colorful candidate.

I only disagree about the tax pledge.  I don't know if he'd have been the nominee if he'd not taken a no tax pledge, which he took in the primaries.  Maybe don't make your top soundbite "Read my lips..." but the no tax pledge was a necessity.

[Virginian87]

I understand your point, John.  Candidates tend to veer to the extremes of their parties during the primaries, as only the most hardcore members of either party are voting.  Thus he was backed into a corner in '88, especially after he lost to both Dole and Robertson in Iowa.

[© tweed]

Don't raise taxes (this killed him with the base and fueled the fire of the Perot candidacy)
Replace Quayle with a respectable conservative (Jack Kemp?)

[AkSaber]

I was wondering if I could ask about the 1992 campaign and first Bush presidency.

How bad a VP was Dan Quayle? I mean was he dull, boring, uninspiring, ect? I've hardly seen him on tv.

What was it that Pat Buchanan said during the Republican Convention?

Why on earth did Bush raise taxes?

[The Duke]

I was wondering if I could ask about the 1992 campaign and first Bush presidency.

How bad a VP was Dan Quayle? I mean was he dull, boring, uninspiring, ect? I've hardly seen him on tv.

What was it that Pat Buchanan said during the Republican Convention?

Why on earth did Bush raise taxes?

The tax hike was part of a budget deal in 1990, and spending cuts were promised.  The deficit was a concern for Bush because Bush was from the New England balanced budget wing of the GOP (Or as we Reaganauts call it, the loser wing.) and made a balanced budget a priority.  Spending cuts did not follow, and a year alter the deficit was the highest it had been since World War II.

[A18]

Not as a share of GDP, which most will concede is a pretty fair measure of deficits.

Reagan dramatically reduced income tax rates for all Americans but also closed economically inefficient tax loopholes to make up the difference.

[dazzleman]

I was wondering if I could ask about the 1992 campaign and first Bush presidency.

How bad a VP was Dan Quayle? I mean was he dull, boring, uninspiring, ect? I've hardly seen him on tv.

What was it that Pat Buchanan said during the Republican Convention?

Why on earth did Bush raise taxes?

The tax hike was part of a budget deal in 1990, and spending cuts were promised.  The deficit was a concern for Bush because Bush was from the New England balanced budget wing of the GOP (Or as we Reaganauts call it, the loser wing.) and made a balanced budget a priority.  Spending cuts did not follow, and a year alter the deficit was the highest it had been since World War II.

Good points.  Reagan also got suckered into approving a tax increase in 1982, in return for unspecified future spending cuts that never took place.  And it did nothing to reduce the deficit.

Only discipline on the spending side can reduce the deficit.  The more we raise taxes, the more ways big-government types (which unfortunately includes a lot of Republicans now as well as Democrats) will find to spend the money.

[A18]

Tax revenues as a share of GDP were only slightly lower when Reagan left office than when he took the oath. I would guess that the tax equity was far better for the economy than the rather minor tax reduction.

[Speed of Sound]

perhaps get the FBI to blackmail another rich person with similar views to clinton's to run stealing alot of votes away from Clinton, possibly giving Perot enough EV's to take it to the (at that time) newly republican house. (I know that this is a long shot, so to anyone who wants to complain about it: )

Bush was defeated in 1992.  The House didn't flip to the Republicans until 1994, so this wouldn't have worked.

it was 12:00 in the morning.

What do you mean by saying it was twelve in the morning. Was that when the networks called the election for Clinton or what?

No, I was typing at 12:00 in the morning, and so my brain wasnt fully functional, I think. Its been a while sicne I posted that, but Im pretty sure thats what I meant, because calling it then wouldnt change the falsehoods in my theory.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

He should have done nothing except warn all his children against political office and tell George, Jeb and the boys that fishing really is the best way to enjoy life.

Apart from that it was good news when he lost in 1992.

[True Democrat]

perhaps get the FBI to blackmail another rich person with similar views to clinton's to run stealing alot of votes away from Clinton, possibly giving Perot enough EV's to take it to the (at that time) newly republican house. (I know that this is a long shot, so to anyone who wants to complain about it: )

Bush was defeated in 1992.  The House didn't flip to the Republicans until 1994, so this wouldn't have worked.

it was 12:00 in the morning.

What do you mean by saying it was twelve in the morning. Was that when the networks called the election for Clinton or what?

He means he wrote his post at twelve in the morning.

[JSojourner]

Focus on crime more as a campaign theme after the LA riots.
Not break his no new taxes pledge.
Replace Dan Quayle with Pete Wilson for VP.
Talk less about his accomplishments and more about his plans.

Pete Wilson.  Now there's a guy I haven't thought about recently.  What's he up to these days?  I always liked him.

[Dr. Cynic]

...and learnt to play the saxophone.

And ate alot of cheeseburgers.