Printed Page 852 Chapter Chronology
Domestic Stalemate and Global Upheaval: The Presidency of George H. W. Bush
How did George H. W. Bush respond to threats to U.S. interests as the Cold War came to an end?
Vice President George H. W. Bush announced his bid for the presidency in 1988, declaring, "We don't need radical new directions." As president, Bush proposed few domestic initiatives, but he signed key environmental and disability rights legislation.
More dramatic changes swept through the world, and Bush confronted situations that did not fit the free-world-versus-communism framework of the Cold War years. Most Americans approved of Bush's handling of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and its hold over Eastern Europe, and his response to Iraq's invasion of neighboring Kuwait. But voters' concern over a sluggish economy limited him to one term as president.