Jon Meacham with George Stephanopoulos on Destiny and Power

20:01
directly ahead of his own political
interest and you know he his great
regret is saying read my lips
Dukakis told me a great story about
their post-election courtesy call and
he’s there standing there talking and
Bush says well I certainly can’t raise
taxes in the first year and Dukakis is
like this guy just kicked my ass saying
he never raised taxes and he’s talking
about in the first year you know it was
it was an amazing moment but I think he
redeemed himself at every point and he
knew in some ways talking about ninety
two after the budget deal after the
triumphs of the first Gulf War he he had
a sense that the work of his presidency
if that up to that point was over yeah I
think the work of his life was over if
you look at it I mean biographically you

 

 

23:50
else he wanted to go to the UN Nixon
wanted him to work for Haldeman he sends
but Bush brilliantly intuitively again
appealed to Nixon’s class anxieties and
said well mr. president I’ll do what you
want but nobody up in New York is making
a case for you and I could go up there I
know that world I can do it so here’s
the son of a failed grocer from Yorba
Linda being told by the son of a Polish
senator from Connecticut that he can go
up and represent Richard Nixon in this
zip code
that appealed to Nixon Bush understood
how to reach Nixon so Nixon thought
about it while Bush was off getting his
office calls him back in and says no
you’re going to the UN the next job was
being Republican National Chairman
during Watergate what second prize but
he and that’s the origin if you want to
draw a line to the wimp factor because
Nixon decided Bush wasn’t really tough
enough because Bush wasn’t willing to go
out and cut every Nixon enemy throat and
so and he talks about he says he thinks
I’m not oh he thinks I’m not a killer
you clearly admire President Bush you
know really admires you was there any
moment as you’re working on this and
you’re writing this where you cringe
that’s it boy I wish I didn’t know that
yeah I wish he had I think he committed
a sin of pride in picking Dan Quayle it
was his first executive decision to be
made totally on his own since he went on
the ticket with Reagan he never sat down
with Jim Baker and Atwater and ales and
mossbacher and Nick Brady and said here
are the choices what do you think he
wanted to surprise them because he
didn’t want to be handled and I just
think yeah vice president Quayle was
very kind to me in this project he’s a
lovely man more prepared than people
gave him credit for at the time although
was better allowed it will to call that
a bad roll out like calling the second
world war and unpleasantness
Jesus God listened to you
you really have gone GMA is a big