Word: bushing
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Such speculation is unlikely to be fruitful. On the other hand, by looking at one specific person's reaction to the two main events, we might figure something out. Let's try President Bush...
...ability to remain optimistic would truly be commendable were optimism itself an object of value. About the stock market, our president said simply, "I'm not worried." Visiting California, Bush did let his emotions get the better of him when he said "Jesus" at the sight of Interstate 880. But he quickly recovered enough to sound presidential in expressing his "genuine appreciation for the way this community is pulling together...
Strange though it may sound, Bush--as President--is really the archetypal American observer of disaster. We aren't totally heartless, yet our sense of adventure lets us forget that what we're cheering on is real. Hence our underlying complacency--as if the whole disaster thing were a replacement for the World Series, and our team had the chance to pull together and score the most runs ever in a single game...
...Administration. Bush believed, correctly, that U.S. participation in the coup attempt would discredit the Panamanian opposition and anger Latin American countries in which the U.S. has more important interests. The President, however, has sent confusing signals by using macho rhetoric about U.S. military options. Such tough talk, designed to quiet right-wing critics, raised expectations in both the U.S. and Panama of American intervention...
Communications back in Washington were not much better, in part because the Bush Administration did not follow a crisis-management practice from the Reagan era: immediately convene the senior deputies of the Defense and State Departments, the CIA and the National Security Council to compare information. Moreover, Bush, a former CIA director who loves to pore over undigested intelligence cables, insisted on receiving three streams of often conflicting reports from the CIA, Defense and State...