Read My Lips : No New Taxes - Hardcover

Ostrander, Dan; Bush, George

9780963290960: Read My Lips : No New Taxes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0963290967 ISBN 13: 9780963290960

Publisher: California Resourc Development, 2000

Foreword by President George Bush. This book is about political pragmatism and presidential leadership. It demonstrates from an historical perspective that political pragmatism, in many cases, is an essential ingredient of effective Presidential leadership. Something in politics that some politicians do not understand, but Presidents Bush, Ford, FDR, Lincoln, and Jefferson did, is that a President is elected to lead the country in the direction which is best for the American people. There are times when historical events force a President to lead the country in a direction supported neither by the general public nor his party and is neither in his nor his party’s immediate political interest. But as President, Abraham Lincoln believed he would serve his party best by serving his country first. In order to prepare the reader to evaluate the leadership of Bush in the 1990 Budget Agreement, and Presidential leadership in general, the first chapter of the book discusses the sources of Presidential power. In doing so, the changes in the role of the office of the Presidency, as dictated by history, are viewed through the actions of earlier Presidents. The following chapters demonstrate great acts of political courage by Presidents who led the country in a direction that was not popularly supported during their Presidency.

The final two chapters show how the Bush Administration established the economic structure which has led to the longest economic expansion of our history. Bush has never been an advocate of high taxes, but in order for the American people to have the opportunity to use their talents and entrepreneurship to work their magic on the economy there are times when courageous leadership and personal sacrifices have to be made. In 1990 President Bush made that sacrifice. Bush had the vision to see the direction the country must move and had the personal character and integrity to lead his party and the country in that direction.

The mark of a great President and a great party is to provide superior and principled leadership and ideas; it is not merely to win an election. Now, as a result of the economic recovery initiated by the 1990 Budget Agreement, Bush has demonstrated that Lincoln was right. A President does serve his party best by serving his country first.

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About the Author:

Daniel Ostrander is a Professor of History at Butte College. In 1990 he chaired a conference on the War Powers Resolution with President Ford and as a result wrote a book with Ford entitled The War Powers Resolution: A Constitutional Crisis? He is also the author of American History ? The Relevant Issues, Volumes I and II. He has met with Presidents Nixon, Carter, and Reagan and has had the opportunity to review and discuss material with them used in his books and lectures.

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