AFTER MILITARY SUCCESS, CAN BUSH AVOID HIS FATHERS FATE?
— In 1991, President George Bush’s approval ratings were high and the U.S. military had just convincingly defeated the Iraqi army in Kuwait. One year later, he lost his reelection bid to little-known former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. The U.S. victory in Iraq does not insulate George W. from sharing in his father’s fate, says Temple presidential historian Jim Hilty. “Polls indicate that he would narrowly defeat any one of the several current Democratic candidates, but reelection is by no means assured,” says Hilty. And while Hilty does think Bush has shown an ability to lead, which many of his critics thought he failed to possess, that alone does not guarantee success. “The question now is how he will exercise other powers and deliver on other responsibilities, including plans for the restoration of order in Iraq and for correcting the current economic downturn at home. No president has ever achieved the station of historical ‘greatness’ based entirely on military successes gained
