BOB DOLE : 1995 Clinton's Comeback

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We open this episode looking back at the hostage release just after President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office in January of 1981. It was a moment of deep relief for the entire country and former President Jimmy Carter deserves much credit for the the tireless way he worked to insure it would happen just as he was leaving office. President Reagan made it a point to allow Carter to fly to Germany to greet the hostages. 

Then we move on to March 30, 1981, a date which shook the city of Washington D.C. and the entire nation. It was a day I remember vividly, for when I got home from school the television was running nonstop with coverage of the assassination attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan. 

Reagan had just completed his speech at the Washington Hilton to the AFL-CIO and was headed back to the Presidential Limousine when shots rang out. John Hinkley Jr, a deranged young man, in love with actress Jodi Foster, shot four times gravely wounding White House Press Secretary James Brady, also hitting Thomas J. Delahanty a D.C. Policeman, and Timothy McCarthy one of Reagan's Secret Service Agents and also hitting the President. What ensued was both our government's finest hour and several moments of chaos. 

In this episode, we tell that story and let you relive the moment as it happens, in real time, as we see the White House Pressroom give confused answers to questions, as the Vice President is being flown back from a trip to Houston , Texas. We also see the forceful presence of a main character of our show's past re-emerge in General Alexander Haig who would step up to calm the nation and end up committing political suicide instead.

 It is a fascinating story at crisis point moment that would change the Reagan Presidency and the Reagan - Bush relationship, from two former foes working together for the betterment of the nation, with some level of apprehension, to relationship that would blossom into a full friendship between the two leaders of our country. 

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In this special edition we relive the Inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States. It was a moment in which the country was looking for new leadership and moving away from its near four and half decade run with liberalism.  The coverage of the day was glowing and as we covered in Season ten it looked very apparent that our hostage crisis in Iran was coming to a close. 

It was with this backdrop that Ronald Reagan would address the nation. It is one of the most inspiring Inaugural Addresses in history. We provide it here for you in its entirety. It was the dawn of the Reagan era, and it would be the beginning of a generation of Americans who had led our country since the end of World War 2, in one final struggle with the communist world. 

As we shall see, it would be that generation of American leadership's greatest triumph. 

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In this episode we look back at the end of two campaigns in 1980, the Democratic race between Senator Ted Kennedy and President Jimmy Carter and then the end of the general election between Carter and former California Governor Ronald Reagan.  It was one of the most exciting races in modern American history and it was, almost until the end, much closer than history has portrayed it. 

The Democratic race was a bitter fight and that bitterness would linger for decades after the race was over. As we show you in this episode Ted Kennedy would, after delivering his famous concession speech, stall coming to the hall to congratulate Carter, leaving the convention organizers stuck for nearly a half hour, stalling the dropping of the gavel in order to get, what is commonly called in the political world, the money shot, of Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter together on the podium to present a unified message for the country. They finally got the picture but John Chancellor of NBC News summed up the obvious, "Ted Kennedy is there but he didn't look happy about it" 

Then we move on to the closing days of the race. Jimmy Carter was actually still in a close race with Ronald Reagan. It took literally into the final days for an agreement to be struck for a the one and only debate between the two men to occur. It was then in the final minutes of that debate that Ronald Reagan asked the historic question that would undo the Carter campaign, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" It resonated with the public and with hostages in Iran, an economy struggling, and inflation high, the Carter campaign collapsed. 

In 1980, Ronald Reagan would be elected the 40th President of the United States of America, and George Bush would be his Vice President. 

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The third day of the Republican National Convention of 1980 was arguably the most exciting political day I can ever remember in my over 40 years of involvement in political life. It was also arguably the most historic.  As a nine year old child, I was absolutely glued to the broadcast of the convention as it all unfolded on national television. Ronald Reagan and former President Gerald Ford were locked in intense negotiation behind the scenes as to how to get a Reagan - Ford ticket. 

All the political heavyweights of the era were weighing in on the chances that Ford would indeed get the deal he wanted to be a Co-President and help Ronald Reagan win the Presidency. This, of course, left George H. W. Bush out in the cold. It really looked like his political future was about to be snuffed out after what had been a remarkable primary run. All into the evening, in primetime, rumors circulated that the Governor and the former President would soon be coming to the hall. Then suddenly CBS News had Gerald Ford on the air talking about the deal he was ironing out with the Reagan campaign. He would demand to have unprecedented powers in the Vice Presidency, that Ronald Reagan would have to share the title he was on the verge of winning. All while a dejected George and Barbara Bush watched on television and drinking a few drinks to dull the sense of emotional let down. 

However, Ronald Reagan was watching the broadcast too and he wanted none of a co-presidency. Suddenly, out of the clear blue sky the phone rang in the Bush suite, answered by James A. Baker , it was Governor Ronald Reagan on the line for Ambassador George Bush and by the end of that phone call it would be Bush on the ticket with Reagan, The first of six out of seven national Republican tickets that would feature one of the members of the Bush family on it. 

Making this night not only one of the most exciting but also one of the most important evenings of the 20th century, all broadcast live on television. As reporter Susan Page has said "It looked like the end but it was , in fact, the beginning" in a long dynastic run by the Bush Family. 

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George Bush was an asterisk in the polls. He was up against several of the top brass of the Republican Party in America when he announced his run for President in 1980. He was facing Howard Stassen, Representative Phil Crane, Senator Bob Dole, Senator Howard Baker, Governor John Connally, Representative John Anderson and former California Governor Ronald Reagan. There was literally no one who thought he had any chance in that crowd at all. 

On the other side of the political aisle was a race that was stealing all the attention from the Republicans as well. It was a bitter intraparty fight between the sitting President Jimmy Carter and the last brother of the political dynasty, known as America's Royal Family, Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts. They were engaged in a battle so bitter that books were still being written about it into the current political era. 

This is the story of that primary campaign season. It was the campaign that caught the interest of our host Randal Wallace when he was a nine year old. It was one of the most exciting election years in the entire history of the nation and over the next four episodes we will take you through it all. The fight that ended "Camelot", the near upset  primary fight that put George H. W. Bush on the political map, the single evening that changed the history of the next half century and led to a member of the Bush family being on six of the next seven national tickets of the Republican Party, and finally the rise of arguably one of the Greatest Presidents in all of American History in Ronald Reagan. 

It is all here in the the four part story of the Campaign of 1980, a campaign that inspired one little nine year old boy in Myrtle Beach S.C. to take an interest in politics and eventually lead to the podcast you are listening to now. 

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In this episode we look back at the early career of George H. W. Bush, as we review his father's term in the United States Senate, his own race for the U.S. Senate against Senator Ralph Yarborough, his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, and his defeat at the hands of Lloyd Bentsen in 1968. All this from a comprehensive report by NBC News with Brian Williams that gives a great overview of the former President's career. 

We will then follow NBC News' Brian Williams  to the look at the help and connections that Bush received from  President Richard Nixon. Nixon had been a friend of Bush's father , Senator Prescott Bush, who was an old golfing buddy of President Dwight Eisenhower. That connection and Nixon's need to elevate the defeated Republican from Texas as cover in order to also place the former Democratic Governor, John Connally, in as the Treasury Secretary, led to the door opening for George Bush to become the Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. It would be in that role that George Bush would shine and see his star finally begin to rise in Republican circles. 

It will be here that we begin to let you listen in to the interaction between the new Ambassador and his benefactor, President Richard Nixon. We will insert into the report full conversations between Nixon and Bush as they discuss issues in the United Nations and positions the President wants Bush to pursue.  One you will get to listen into is the work Bush did in the UN to help Pakistan as it was invaded by the Indians in 1971. It is a fascinating look behind the scenes of American Foreign Policy concerning one of the most dangerous regions of the world both then and now, the border between India and Pakistan. 

You will also again get to listen in as President Nixon moves Kansas Senator Bob Dole out as the Chairman of the Republican Party in order to move George H. W. Bush in after the historic landslide victory of the President by the largest margin in history, a 49 state landslide. But the job won't turn out to be as good as it seemed as Watergate would soon overwhelm the President and put George Bush in as unenviable a position as could possibly be imagined. Then we bring you through the Ford years and the eve of Bush's run for the Presidency in 1980.

Finally our episode will conclude with an interview of George H. W. Bush conducted in 1999 with C-Span's Brian Lamb where the former President discusses these years and his own relationship with former President Richard Nixon, (though this interview was conducted long before we knew so much about the wrongs done to Nixon by the WSPF) It is a fascinating look at the relationship between Bush and the man who made his subsequent career possible, Richard Nixon. 

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In this special edition in our series on President George H. W. Bush, we look at a special moment for the First Lady , Barbara Bush. In 1990 , Barbara Bush was invited to address Wellesley College as its graduation speaker. It was met with resistance in an era of Women's Liberation at the all Women's University. The graduates felt that they wanted a career woman not a traditional house wife and motherly type as the speaker. 

Over 25% of the entire class signed the petition protesting the selection of Mrs. Bush and it made national headlines. The students had expressed their preference for the author Alice Walker who had written the book "The Color Purple" .   As the moment drew closer for the address you could actually see the tension and the looks of disdain in the faces of the students in attendance. They did not care to hear what she was going to say and had no idea what they might get from the speech. 

What they got is now considered one of the most important addresses in the entire 20th Century. Barbara Bush totally disarmed this hostile audience and by the speeches end she had them in the palm of her hand as she recognized a changing world but also extolled the virtues of timeless truths that make up a happy and good life. It is a powerful 11 minutes and we play it back for you here on our show. It was Barbara Bush's shining moment in a life full of them. 

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In this episode we look at the role of the First Lady, Barbara Bush, in the life of the 41st President. (and the 43rd too)  Barbara Bush was known in her family as the enforcer. She was much more willing to call a spade a spade than her husband was to do so. Her grandchildren and her children talk in several of these reports about how she was the one in the family that enforced the rules, and did not allow any of them to let their heads get to big. 

I actually helped put together an event here in Myrtle Beach when her son George W. Bush was running for President. We were all warned, don't screw anything up. We didn't thankfully and in my brief personal dealings with her I found her an extraordinarily nice woman with a great sense of humor with a stunningly down to Earth presence.  She is my favorite First Lady. 

In this episode, I think you will see that come through. You will hear from both her children and President Bush. You will hear their playfulness with each other and their caring nature for one another as they clown around together,  and in the other extreme also discuss the loss of their child Robin Bush who died of leukemia when she was a three year old. 

The show includes a very personal, and enjoyable interview with Larry King where several viewers call in and she answers each of their questions almost like your next door neighbor would, not at all like a  former First Lady or the mother of a President of the United States. This episode will introduce you to the lady that was the foundation for a political dynasty that dominated American politics from 1980 to 2008.  I think you will really like the person you will be hearing about in this episode. 

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Welcome to season 11 of our podcast, the first of three seasons that will examine the life, career, and single term of President George H. W. Bush.  His life and political career are full of life lessons and leadership lessons we could all take to heart to help build better everyday lives and help the nation develop the type of leadership in our elected class that we could all be proud to have in charge of our Government. In my opinion, George H.W. Bush was the best President of my adult lifetime and clearly an argument could be made that he was the best one term President in our national history. Only James K. Polk could make an argument to challenge it. 

In this first episode we look back at the life of the 41st President, as we start at the end of his life with coverage of his passing on November 30, 2018. We will examine his many accomplishments from several people who served under him, from James Baker, the former Chief of Staff, to several different cabinet and staff members plus members of the media who dealt with him during his term. They will all talk about his many accomplishments, his qualities of leadership, his stressing of the importance of family, and his thoughtful statesmanship as the Communist World collapsed around him and he would have to fight a war in the Middle East, a war that has become the textbook example of how to fight a war and win it. 

We will also look back at his war record from World War 2 , as the youngest fighter pilot in the Navy.  You will listen in to his oral history as he tells the story of the shooting down of his plane, that killed the other two men in his plane,  and landed him in the Pacific Ocean. It is a harrowing tale that will dispel the mythology that this extremely nice man was , as Newsweek once called him , "a wimp."  When you listen to this story you will come away knowing he was anything but that description,  and his bravery, strength, and lifelong wisdom helped manage the closing days of the Cold War that would end with out firing a shot. Something that had never happened in the history of the civilized world :  the fall of a great world power without a catastrophic war to bring it about. 

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In this second episode on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis we find the sailors in the water with a nemesis arguably even more dangerous than the Japanese.  It is the predators that roam the oceans known as Sharks. With in minutes of the sinking of the ship the survivors began to see the the fins circling them as they tried to figure out how to survive. 

You will hear the men talk about how they were covered in diesel fuel and oil, hungry and thirsty, but knowing they had to avoid drinking the salt water to avoid going mad. One soldier talks about how there are times when you pray and then times when you PRAY, and they were all doing that nonstop as they bobbed up and down in 18,000 feet of water.  You will hear tales of madness, hallucinations, disemboweled bodies, shark attacks, and sharks that actually swam right up to them and nosed their life jackets. It is as horrifying a story as any Hollywood movie ever shown. 

You will also hear about their heroic rescue, the unfair court marshalling of their ship's Captain despite his own heroism at sea, and you will hear some of the movie scene that brought this story back to the forefront of the American public. But most of all, you will get a full dose of the heroism of the American fighting man, and the humility, and gratefulness, that is so much a hallmark of our military as well.  It is a story that will give you the full measure of the sacrifices of generations of Americans that has been made to keep us free. 

Our Podcast wished to recognize the veterans whose oral history and interviews we used to tell this story, all but one are now deceased : Edgar Harrell, Art Leenerman, Don McCall, Earl Wiggins, San Gabriel, Adolfo Celaya, and Harold Bray, (Mr. Bray is the lone survivor that is still living as of this production. ) 

JAWS Credit :

• Universal Pictures
  • (United States, 1975)(Universal, An MCA Company, theatrical)

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary

Jaws [Original Score] by John Williams released in 1975

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