George H. W. Bush Was Decent Even to Rivals Like Me
His “kinder, gentler” personality did not fit comfortably into the Republican Party of the Newt Gingrich era.
On a Wednesday morning in the United States Senate in February 1984, I was voting on President Ronald Reagan’s plan to renew funding for the B-1 bomber, as I recall. The vice president was in the Presiding Officer’s chair to cast the tiebreaker if necessary.
George H. W. Bush beckoned to me as the clerk was calling the roll. The night before, my campaign
