BOB DOLE : 1995 Clinton's Comeback

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In this episode we take you through the tension building period in late October and Early November of 1990. You will listen in to news reports from ABC News and the News from New Zealand as the Middle East moves closer to War.  We will also listen to letters from George H. W. Bush to King Hussein, his staff and to common everyday people. In them Bush tries to reassure them all that he wants to resolve the situation peacefully if at all possible. 

But if we have to go to war he feels strongly that it will not be another Vietnam. 

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This episode is a rare chance to listen in on a speech at the United Nations. The video, and therefore, the audio quality is not the best but the speech is rare and very important to the storyline. 

In it the President makes his case to the world of just how important it is to stop the Iraqi aggression now, calling up the lessons of world War 2. Plus he discusses the new direction the World is taking and how we can now leave many of the old fights of the 20th Century behind us. Overall, it was a hopeful speech about the future of our planet. How it worked out I guess is up for debate.... 

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In this follow up episode on the reunification of Germany we arrive at the White House for German - American Day about three weeks after the reunification had occurred. At this White House Event, the President will celebrate the contributions to America made by the millions of Germans who immigrated or were direct descendants of those who did. It was a moment of happiness for all who witnessed it. 

The event featured some small children singing, a speech by both the President and the German Ambassador, and even a raid conducted by the President's dog Millie. It was a nice event and we thought we would let you listen in at this celebration of not only the German influence on our country but at the celebratory mood of everyone at the new united nation of Germany and the obvious joy it has brought the people of that country. 

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Here is one of the great stories of the Bush Administration and of World History. After 4 decades of separation the people of Germany would be one country again.  Though the Berlin Wall had come crashing down just 11 months before, this was the big moment for the German People, but it did not come without a lot of high level negotiations that involved horse trading, and skilled diplomacy. The other countries of Europe had not forgotten the Germany of two different World Wars and they were also aware that they would be creating an economic powerhouse in the center of Europe, the moment the two countries were reunited. 

Margaret Thatcher was opposed, Mikhail Gorbachev was opposed, and Francois Mitterrand was so opposed he famously said "He loved Germany so much that he thought there should be two of them", so who was for it other than Helmut Kohl of West Germany? The answer to that was the President of the United States, George H. W. Bush. It would be his goal, and his Secretary of State's skills that would make it happen. It is an incredible story, and one we hope we captured, with a lot of documentary help, in this episode of our podcast. 

It took 11 months from the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it is an incredible tale to tell, but one that has allowed the people of Germany to finally be whole after a half century of being divided, as the price it paid for the days under the Nazi regime. 

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In this episode, we look back at the coming together of the Military coalition on the ground and the man who would command it, General Norman Schwarzkopf. It would be a coalition made up of 42 countries, and troops from around the world.  They would all come together on the ground in Saudi Arabia to prepare for the possible War to come. We will look at the command structure of the coalition and see just how complicated an endeavor this really was for Bush to put together. 

We will listen to a 60 Minutes profile from CBS News of the General who would run the operation on the ground in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.  It would be the coming together  of the world to fight back the aggression of the Iraqi Dictator showing the World that we had learned our lesson from World War 2. 

However, the luck would not run as well on the other side of the Atlantic as George Bush would be pushed past the point of having to shutdown the government in a budget battle here at home.  We have already covered the budget situation in an earlier episode but we wanted to give you a sense of the full plate the President had to deal with as war loomed in the Gulf. 

We also include floor speeches by two Senators we profiled early in our podcasts history Senator Ernest Hollings and Senator John Warner.  

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In this short episode we will listen in on PBS as Governor Bill Clinton comes to the hall at the Democratic National Convention in 1992 a night early. Clinton will say just a few words of thank you for the Democrats nominating him. The interesting part of the segment is that joining in the commentary from PBS is Senator Joe Lieberman, as he discusses his early history with Bill and Hillary Clinton. It is one of the first moments the country tunes in to hear about this couple who would come to dominate the political landscape for the next 30 plus years. 

You will also hear from David Gergen, Mark Shields, Jim Lehrer, Robert McNeil, and Senator Lieberman, so I hope you will see this episode is a little bit of not only a tribute to Senator Joe Lieberman but also a peak into our podcasts future episodes too. 

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Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, died unexpectedly in April from complication from a fall. He was 82 years old and his loss from the scene will be incalculable. For Joe Lieberman was one of those rare public figures who was not just respected, but beloved, by both sides of the aisle. He was unafraid to take on controversial issues, and he could disagree without being disagreeable and, most importantly, he was committed to bipartisan leadership. He could reach across the aisle, find common ground, and work to find a real, workable, solution. 

Like a good chunk of the American public, Lieberman was fed up with the current breakdowns in our political system so he went out and helped form a solution, the "No Labels" organization. The organization actually predates the rise of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. It foresaw our problems in their earliest stages. That vision was in large part due to the contributions of Joe Lieberman. 

Lieberman is unique in that position. He was once the Vice Presidential nominee of his own Democratic Party, speaking at their Convention in a prime slot,  and then just 8 years later, a keynote speaker at the opposing party's Republican National Convention. To my knowledge, only Former Georgia Governor Zell Miller has ever pulled that feat off (though Miller was not a Vice Presidential nominee) and spoke at both political parties conventions.  Lieberman was that committed to standing up for what he thought was right. 

He did it during the Clinton Impeachment, standing with President Bush 1 and 2 during their Wars in the Middle East, he stood up for Israel including recently in the current war situation facing the country.  the fact was Senator Lieberman was so independent that he was eventually defeated in his own party's Senatorial Primary but he then filed as an independent and won his seat for yet another term. While he caucused with the Democrats, he would serve as one of the chambers two independent Senators. 

That was just one of the signs of his independent streak, and the other major one, was his long friendship with Republican Senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham.  They were known as the Three Amigos, and they worked tirelessly strengthening our national defense and working to find solutions to issues ranging from Immigration to Judiciary Reform. 

In all it was an extraordinary life and career, for the first Jewish American nominated to a national ticket from either party, and Lieberman not only set a shining example of how to lead and be bipartisan in doing it, but he did it all as an observant Jew, who was proud of his Judaism, and followed it strictly, so strictly, in fact, that often the Senate calendar was accommodating to his religious schedule.  We hope in this episode we project to you our admiration for a man who set such a good example of what a true leader should be.  We did not always agree with him politically, but  Joe Lieberman will be missed and missed at a moment when the country needs more leaders like him to set the example for us all. 

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In this episode we will listen in on two addresses by President George H. W. Bush. One is to a joint session of the United States Congress as he reports back to the nation the situation in the Persian Gulf. He will also address the growing issues of division at home on the Federal Budget. 

We will listen in on the growing size of the military force then building up in the Persian Gulf region as the World prepares itself for war.  

It is from this backdrop that an offer from Saddam Hussein comes in to allow President Bush to speak to the Iraqi people. We will end this episode letting you hear that address in its entirety. 

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In this episode we watch as the Cold War comes quietly to an end. The United States and the Soviet Union actually work together to handle a crisis that involves a client Soviet state, Iraq. 

We will tune in as the situation in the Gulf continues to move close  to war. Then we will travel to Helsinki for the meeting of the two leaders of the World's superpowers.  You will be able to listen in on their press conference as the two men answer questions about the situation in the Gulf War and it is in that moment that you realize that the 40 years of a Cold War is finally over. 

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In this episode we hear from Saddam Hussein himself in an exclusive interview by ABC News and Diane Sawyer. In it he denies he has ever murdered his opponents, claims he is not an admirer of Josef Stalin, and tries to justify his actions in Kuwait. 

Then we listen in as he rounds up the British citizens who had been working in Kuwait and keeps them in a hotel there under the guise of protecting them. He even goes for a visit and at one point pats a small child on the head, sending a clear message that these people are hostages and he intends to use them as human shields. It is a chilling period in the desert, as the world begins to come together to push Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. 

We will listen in on the build up, visit with the troops so far from home, and hear from the Israelis about how they are coping with the situation in which Saddam Hussein has discussed making them a target too. 

Finally, President George H. W. Bush will address the United States Armed Forces to prepare them for the possible battles to come.  

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