now obama, bill clinton, and george h. w. bush. >> george h. w. bush took millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley, piece together what was then an old and broken chinese restaurant. they put him together. and it had a broken front door,

jean baker has the first essay, but he knows but george h. w. bush almost as well as george h. w. bush. he sets the stage for what we have throughout the rest of the chapters. >> andrew? >> a couple of stories that tell you a lot about bush himself. bush was taught by his mother and his father not to use the word i if he could possibly avoid it. it's hard to do that if you are a politician. if you watch, you listen, look at the stuff that he has written. memos as president and speeches, he doesn't use the word. because he said it is too egotistical and egocentric. he came back from a baseball game when he was in high school. he hit a home run and they won the game as a result of it. he ran in and told his mother, his mother said, that's very nice george. she said, that's very nice, george. how did the team do? he asked, don't you care about the home run? and she said, i care about how the team did. not how you did. he repeated that story many times. there was an auditorium in -- near three buildings of the bush school, library, and the conference center. you came and spoke there at

, george h w bush rather and later in some ways george w. bush who you describe as the last reaganit emacs. the knox on george w. bush, you could have made of reagan, he was such a hero it was impossible to land those punches and they went to h w. talk to h&w. talk about the transition and pat buchanan's campaign. >> it so fascinating because once you realize what is happening it is impossible not to see. so you have these hard-core conservatives who call themselves the new right who are constantly complaining about reagan and the start of his presidency. they are not able to make any headway because he's popular. when george hw bush comes into office they are like this is our guy because this is our punching bag because he didn't have the conservative credentials. he was always suspect. he was somebody who had been part of the ford administration, they didn't like the ford administration, somebody who was seen as the moderate alternative to reagan in 1980 and they never trusted his conservative -- that forced him into a corner to make promis

and senior government role under three us presidents including white house chief of staff to george w. bush, and secretary to george h w bush. we have executive director of fiscal institute of international affairs. he has been it distinguished professor on diplomacy at georgetown, vice president of worldvision, a veteran who served in the gulf war, us special envoy to the darfur process and most especially administer of international development. today they have edited and produced transforming our world, george h w bush and american foreign policy, a collection of essays from well-known foreign-policy practitioners who participated in unfolding international events in the administration. i to make sure everyone knows we will have time to take some audience questions near the end of the program. if you have questions please submit them to event@wilsoncenter.org. please include your name and affiliation. let me get things going. for me, a recurring theme in this book even though it was written by 20 authors in terms of the essays is good fortune. and ocean that george w. bush was uniquely q

george hw bush rather. and ndlater in some ways george w. bush if you describe this as the last reaganite but a lot of the not knots on george hw bush were really not you could have made of reagan but he was sort of such a hero that it was impossible to land those punches and then they all went to hw, can you talk about that transition and then i do want to talk about buchanan's campaign. >> it's so fascinating because once you read he realizes what's happening it's impossible not to see. you have these hard-core conservatives, they call themselves the new right who were constantlycomplaining about reagan they complained about him from the start of his presidency . they're not enable to make any headway because he popular as i said before. when george hw bush comes into office there like okay, this is our guy. because this is a punching bag and because he didn't have the conservative credentials. he was always suspect he was somebody who had been part of the ford administration, he was somebody who was seen as a modern alternative to reagan i

george w. bush and putin coming together. george w. bush certainly sought a reset with russia. e was very chummy with putin. we all remember the fishing trip. that was later in the process. their very first joint news conference, george w. bush's at the podium. putin was standing next time. he said, russia is not the enemy of the united states. the cold war is over. putin didn't get what he wanted from bush. some historians have argued, this is a big reason why he became, he becomes, more authoritarian and autocratic. >> i wouldn't put the u.s. at the center of the story in that way. i think putin became autocratic for internal reasons. it speaks to his personality. his sense of power. the vision that he has for russia eventually he latches on to a very, sort of conserved in the sense, of reactionary autocratic vision. of russia's past. of russia's future. i don't think that's a function of anything george w. bush did, anything the u.s. did. although, the u.s. is always the foil to putin's russia. i think more to the point, when it comes to where those two figures diverge, the i

bush and putin come on together and george w bush certainly sought a reset with russia. he was very chummy with putin. we all remember the fishing trip, and that was later in the process. they're very first joint news conference george w bush was at the podium putin was standing next to him. he said russia is not the enemy of the united states. the cold war is over, right, but putin didn't get what he wanted from bush and some historians have argued. this is a big reason why he became he becomes more and more authoritarian and autocratic. i wouldn't put the us at the center of the story and that way. i think that putin became autocratic for internal. okay reasons, it speaks to his personality his sense of power. the vision that he has for for russia eventually he latches on to a very, you know, sort of conservative in the sense of reactionary autocratic vision ultra rationalist. yes of russia's past and of russia's future, and i don't think that that's a function of anything george w bush did or anything at the us did although the us has always the the foil to to putin's

and george hw bush rather and later in some ways george w. bush as you describe it is the last reagan and a lot of the knox on george hw bush dewere really of reagan but he was, sort of such a hero that it was impossible to land those punches and they all went to h&w and can you talk about that transition and then i do to talk a bit about the campaign. >> is a fascinating because once you realize what is happening, is impossible not to see and so you have these hard-core conservatives her across hallie complaining about reckoning complaining about his presidency. not able to make headway. and when george hw bush comes into office, they are like, this is our guy because this is her punching bag because he did not have a conservative credentials and it was always a punch back and he was somebody who had before the ford administering they don't like the ford administration and somebody was seen as the modern alternative to regular 1980, and they never trusted is conservative days and so they forced him into the corner to have to make promises lik

george w. bush was very, very slow. people assumed he would stay low because of the great recession because of the iraq war which was unpopular because what some people saw a foreign policy suddenly is rising, why? people start reflecting differently. he responded very well to george w. bush. why the decency factor. this past year bill clinton and richard nixon fell some spots. you have to say why? i think because watergate was in the news so frequently. because of the lewinsky affair was being talked about during the double impeachments of trump. and this little spiel by saying nancy pelosi said during the impeachment to trump many democrats have said we are going to paint trump and history. were not going to remove him from office but there'll be a dent in his armor. this ship poll shows the dent. when you have a double impeachment of a president's pretty hard to see why people are going to be looking at that as being successful uniting of the nation. >> plenty to talk about in these two hours of the "washington journ

grateful for your t insight that the conservatives had against reagan they actually held against george w. bush, george hw bush rather and he was sort of such a hero that it was impossible to land those punches and then they all went to hw. can you talk about the transition and then i do want to talk a bit about pat buchanan's campaign. >> it's fascinating because once you realize what is happening, it is impossible not to see. you have these hard-core conservatives that are constantly complainingco about reagan. they are not able to make headway. this is our punching bag. he didn't have the conservative credentials. he was always pushed back. he was somebody that had been part of the ford administration. he was seen as the moderate alternative and they never trusted his conservatism so that forced him into the corner to make promises like read my lips, no new taxes. he raised taxes for the biggest tax hikes in american history in 1982 and 84 but it's when george hw bush raises taxes that they not only lose it t but that thee are complaints that gained traction. things happened with the debates

am grateful for your insight for what the conservatives had against reagan they held against george w. bushe h.w. bushn brother. later in some ways george h.w. bush you described as the last reagan but a lot of the numbers, it's what he could have made over reagan but was such a hero that it was impossible to land the punches and they went to h.w. can you talk about that transition? that i want to talk about buchanan's rain. >> it is fascinating because once you realize this was happening, it is impossible notv to see you have these hard-core conservatives constantly complaining ou about reagan. they're not able to make headway. when george h to be bush comes into office, they are like this is our guy because is our punching bag because he didn't have to credentials, he wasec always pushed back, somebody who's been part of the ford administration, somebody seen as a moderate alternative to reagan in 1980, never trusted him so it forced him into a corner to make promises like we might. mentioned earlier, he raised taxes to the biggest tax hike in american history in 1982 and four but it's wh

george h.w. bush, rather, and then later in some ways, george w. bush whom you describe as the last reaganite. but a lot of the knocks own george h.w. bush were knocks you could have made of reagan, but he was sort of touch a hero that it was impossible to land those bunches and they all went to hw. can you talk about that transition? and i want to talk a bit about pat buchanan's campaign. >> it's so fascinating because once you realize what's happening, it's impossible not to see. so, you have these hard core conservatives, they call themselves the new right. they complain about reagan and complain about him from the start of his presidency. they're not able to make any headway because he's popular as i mentioned before. when george h.w. bush comes into office they're like, all right, this is our guy because-- this is our punching bag because he didn't have the conservative credentials. he was always suspect. he was somebody who had been part of the ford administration. they didn't like the ford administration. he was somebody who was seen as the moderate alternative to reagan in 1980 and they

state in the stab as the nineteenth province of the united states, this could not be allowed and george w. bush initiated operation desert storm the united states and their allies pulled an impressive military grouping of coalition forces to the borders of iraq, numbering up to 600,000 people over 4,000 tanks more 3,000 700 field artillery pieces and mortars, about 2,000 aircraft and more than 100 ships, including six multi-purpose aircraft carriers and two battleships with modern cruise missiles, about 80% of these forces and assets were american. they were equipped with the latest strike systems of high-precision weapons and military equipment, the ground part of the operation and the united states began at 4 am on february 24. how can one not believe in numerology for 41 days of the war in the persian gulf, the forces of baghdad lost 60,000 soldiers from bombardments and died. 200.000 civilians in the united states declared themselves victorious and began to make kuwait a springboard for further war. with adam hussein, hussein was said to be the ultimate evil. uh, the beginning of the last d

not only lose it but then the gain traction same with the debates over affirmative-action when george w. bushoes not sign or ends up signing the bill in 1991 that that something reagan had reluctantly to his presidency that is george h to view bush who really takes it on the chin for advancing those policies or compromising. any pragmatism for reagan that those ideas that george h to view bush made it easier for pat buchanan to run in 1992 you may have forgotten in 88 he went into run. he was still part of the reagan administration and heng realizes very quickly he will be the sacrificial lamb let's pat robbins on —- pat robertson take that title and waits for years and the very same politics gets much more traction. >> think about it politically today because with the assault weapons ban i have forgotten how strongly ronald reagan supported the assault weapons ban and was quite eloquent on the topic. >> this is receive particular policy issues that guns are another. someone was the brady bill named after somebody who wasft shot inea the assassination attempt that even after that when it come

what the conservatives had against reagan they actually held against george w. bush. george h.w. sh brother. later in some ways describe as a last reagan night. a lot of the knocks were knocks you could have made of reagan. he was such a hero it was impossible to win those punches. may all in two h.w. can you talk about that transition? the money want to talk a bit about patat buchanan's campaign for. >> it is so fascinating. once you realize that's what's happening it is impossible not to see. they have these hard-core conservatives. they complain about him from the very start of his presidency. they're not able to make any headway. when george h.w. bush comes into office there like this is our guy. this is our punching bag. he did not have the conservative credentials pretty as always he was somebody who had been part of the ford administration. he was somebody who is seen as the moderate alternative to reagan in 1980 that they never trusted hisrc conservative. that forced him into kind of a corner to make up the promise no new taxes but as i mentioned earlier reagan raised taxe

george w. bush. that is one of the factors on the pole. when you look at, it you say 43 bush went up. you have to change lenses really fast from when someone goes from being a live figure to quote unquote history. think that played a role with president trump, think trump deserves an even higher rating on economics personally, and i think history will bear me out on that. but let's look at the other things to say. one thing, you see jackson going down. president trump is more like andrew jackson, more of a cowboy. cowboys did not do good in american opinion in this poll. >> doug brinkley, on president trump's 41st ranking, his debut at 41st. i want to get your reaction in these categories that we ask historians to rank the presidents on. public persuasion, crisis later, ship economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative skills, relations with congress, vision setting and agenda, pursuing equal justice for all and their performance within the context of the times. do w

so contrast trump to george w. bush. george w. ll horn rallying the country together, that's what people remember and approval ratings went to 90%. not ignoring intelligence reports. and not trying to prevent the attack before it occurred. >> okay. so politically speaking, and i want to make sure i'm talking about politics now because we want governor desantis and president biden to work well together, save people's lives, fix everything that needs fixing. but politically, speaking, what's the advice they should take away from your research? >> well, i think ron desantis is a very astute politician, and he's doing what the advice i would take which if you notice, he hasn't been talking about the immigration flights. he hasn't been talking about cancel culture. he's put all of that aside for the past week and worked very closely with the biden administration in a very bipartisan fashion because i think desantis knows and forgive the metaphor a rising tide lifts all boats. if a disaster is viewed more positive, he'll be more likely t

these countries were targeted by the george h w bush, or george w bush, the senior vice president of ronald reagan and bribed with hundreds of millions of dollars. and these monies were given the countries in exchange for their acquiescence and their submission to american military and economic and political objectives. mm. the ring of nato military bases is being formed around russia. the u. s. and nato have over 600 military base as well to wide. russia has just 18, but the west still claims that russia has aggressive intent by turning those russians, the soviets, and to this dangerous boy, a man that wants to take over the world. that was a conscious strategy to create this image. it soviets as out for world conquest, which was not the case, then by now, ah, nato should have died, but they will give it meaning it is about infected, created by, by nature nature, business machine does. you must remember, if nato were disbanded, shareholders in the united states and elsewhere in lodge obs companies would lose millions and millions. they'd only have one yacht instead of 2 yards each.

. >> roger ailes had a back channel, not just to george w. bushney and secretary of defense donald rumsfeld. >> we all understand now that the american press completely failed on iraq. the new york times, for instance, ran several credulous reports about the case for war. it was not critical enough. cnn -- >> does saddam hussein have chemical or biological weapons? >> made similar mistakes. but the murdoch empire was taking it to a whole other level. they were almost leading the charge. part of the campaign for war. >> rupert murdoch's new york post was one of the first to claim, quite falsely as it turned out, that saddam hussein was behind 9/11. they ran an editorial called saddam's fingerprints, which claimed that the evidence for iraq's involvement is too powerful to ignore. >> fox news was pointing the finger at saddam hussein and iraq within days of the september 11 attacks, and it was doing it with unrivaled gusto. >> saddam hussein should be on the destruction death card right now, along with osama bin laden. >> rupert and ailes were embar

. >> roger ailes had a back channel, not just to george w. bushrry of defense, and we all understand now, the american press confidently fail on a wreck. the "new york times" for instance ran several cases pieces about the case for war. >> the in and. >> the saddam hussein have chemical or biological weapons? >> made many mistakes. the american empire were taking it to another level. they were almost leading the charge, part of the campaign for war. >> rupert murdoch's new york post was one of the first to claim, quite possibly, as it turns out, that saddam hussein was behind 9/11. they had ran a editorial saddam's fingerprints that complained about it was too hard to ignore. >> fox was pointing the finger at saddam hussein within days and without unrivaled gusto. >> should be a destruction def card right now with osama bin laden. >> rupert and ailes were embarking on this new position for the network that basically, fox news was going to shatter the notion we had about the way that the press covers war. >> president george w. bush has launched wa