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 | NEWSMAKER: GEORGE BUSH
AUGUST 12, 1996TRANSCRIPT |
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How important is a platform to a political campaign? Not very, according to former President George Bush. In this candid interview with Jim Lehrer, President Bush also discusses the religious right, his political past, Pat Buchanan and the selection of Jack Kemp as Bob Dole's running mate.
JIM LEHRER: Former President George Bush is first tonight. He came to San Diego this morning in preparation for his appearance before the convention this evening. I spoke with him a short time ago at his hotel.
A RealAudio version of this Newsmaker interview with Pres. Bush is available.
The Online NewsHour presents full coverage of the Republican National Convention in San Diego, including delegate interviews, regional analysis, interactive forums, and political retrospectives.
Michael Beschloss's essay on President George Bush from the MacNeil/Lehrer production "Character Above All."
JIM LEHRER: Mr. President, welcome. The big news of this convention is the selection of Jack Kemp. What do you think of that choice?
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: I've been out in British Columbia, out of touch, didn't even see it on the television till Jack, himself, called me, didn't know that until Jack called me the day that he was selected, a very generous, friendly call. But since I've gotten here, I must say this place is electrified by this selection. It is a wonderful thing, and I think--I think Sen. Dole is tapped into something here that could be very, very important in his winning this election.
JIM LEHRER: The popular myth, Mr. President, is that Jack Kemp drove you nuts when he was your housing secretary, is that true?
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: You know, he's talked about that a little bit, but he was my secretary of housing and he served in it for four years, and he had an outreach that was unparalleled. And if I hadn't had full confidence in him, he wouldn't have stayed there for four years. So--but there are times--I mean, Jack's a man of his own opinions. But he also--he's a team player in the sense that he understands the importance of that for--I loved it when he said Dole would be the quarterback and he would be the blocker.
JIM LEHRER: The blocker.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: That's quite a thing. And it's very important that it worked that way. The vice-president cannot and won't be and will not be, you know, kind of staking out the course for the President. It doesn't work that way. But I thought it was a wonderful choice now. I'm not sure I would have said that in the beginning, but I think it's been so well received and I have this genuine affection for Joanne and Jack Kemp. He called me up to talk about it, and I must say, Barbara and I were both very, very pleased.
JIM LEHRER: But it is a real surprise. He wasn't even on any of the short lists or nobody discussed it because of the problems he'd had with Dole, the problems he'd had--not necessarily with you personally, but--
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: I don't think he ever had any with me personally.
JIM LEHRER: Yeah.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: But I think he--I think he, you know, he disagreed on some issues, and, and one would read about that. But I, I am convinced that Jack Kemp is a good selection, and I say it because of the energy that you feel at this convention and because of the way that almost universal--universally positive way it's been received. But, you know, we all learn too. I mean, everybody learns.
JIM LEHRER: Well, on the issues, he is a big supply sider and of course, now, the new Dole economic plan is a--basically a supply side plan. This was something, of course, you called voodoo economics at one time. How does that--
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Yeah, but Jack and I worked very well together. He knew my views, and he knew what he was getting in for, and yet, I don't think I could have had a
better secretary of HUD than Jack Kemp. The program that Dole has announced calls for tax cuts, and I expect we're going to see budget cuts too, which is where I came down, controlling the growth of spending was essential. And so I think, I think all that'll work out. I mean, I remember when Ronald Reagan--I went through that same thing with Ronald Reagan--said, well you got all these big differences, but it didn't affect our winning the election. And I don't think--I think people will point to the differences. But they ought to be looking at the vast similarities too, the things that bring these people together.
JIM LEHRER: You know, this taxes business. At least, according to the polls thus far, it has not given Dole any kind of bounce, and one of the theories on this--let me run this by you, Mr. President--that people--that people just don't believe--politicians anymore, when they talk about taxes. Part of it is Bill Clinton said he was going to cut taxes, he didn't do it, he goes back to your famous remark about "no new taxes," and then there were some new taxes, and that people just don't have--don't believe it.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: What they haven't seen since Eisenhower is a Republican President and a Republican Congress. If I'd have had a Republican Congress, I believe I wouldn't have had to do anything in the way of a compromise to get the spending cuts I wanted. Part of the 1990 budget deficit package, people forget it, was the first real constraints on the Congress for spending. But if I'd have had a Republican Congress, we could have done it out of the spending cut side. And that's what I think Bob Dole and Jack Kemp will have when he wins the election. And I think that then you can cut the taxes, provided you have, you know, have some offsets on the spending side. And he also has something in there I fought very hard for, agreed with Jack Kemp on, agreed with Bob Dole on, and that was cutting the capital gains tax because I think that will stimulate economic growth. And we had it almost done, Jim, until it was, it was singlehandedly defeated by George Mitchell, a very able parliamentarian on the other side, and hammered that agreement until, until we didn't have one anymore.
JIM LEHRER: So do you regret ever using that term "voodoo economics?" It's used in every story that's been written since then.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Yeah. I try to blame Pete Tealy, who used to work for me because it's better to blame the other guy if you possibly can at this stage in life, but, no, I--you know--I regret saying, "Read my lips." But what I like is this new ticket that's come together based on economic growth, based on constraining the growth of federal spending, and then there's a whole wide array of other issues where there's total harmony. So I think that's good.
JIM LEHRER: Okay. Everybody says this convention here in San Diego really doesn't mean anything. And yet the conventional wisdom is that the seeds that led to your defeat, 1992, were cast at the convention at Houston. Do you buy that?
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Well, I don't like to blame somebody else for my own
shortcomings, but I know that we came out of the convention 10 points ahead of where we went into it. But what happened, you go back and look at the numbers--we all live and die by these polls--but I came out 10 points ahead of where I went into Houston with in the polling. And then were a lot of analysis, a lot of people telling others what they had seen, and suddenly that--was a puff of smoke and that 10 points vanished. So I don't know. I don't think much about that anymore. I don't worry about it.
JIM LEHRER: Do you--
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Let history decide my shortcomings and my strengths.
JIM LEHRER: But there are some parallels from ‘92 to ‘96. So do you feel that you placated Pat Buchanan too much, the man you defeated? You defeated him worse than Bob Dole did.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: I think in retrospect, I probably did. I think this was handled very well here, better than we did it in 1992, far better. And Buchanan was the only candidate against me then, where there's a whole array of other candidates this year, with the White House not being occupied by a Republican. So there were big differences, but, umm, I guess I'd have to say that the conventional wisdom is so overwhelmingly negative about Houston, the Houston convention, that I'd have to say, well, we should have done something different.
JIM LEHRER: Buchanan said last night that the present Republican Party, he said, and I have the direct quote here: "Right before your very eyes, this is becoming the Buchanan Party."
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Yeah. Well, I didn't hear that. I've been fishing in British Columbia, as I've told you, and very happily. So, Jim, look, you're not going to believe this but I don't--
JIM LEHRER: Is he right? Is he right?
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: --go into all these details.
JIM LEHRER: Yeah.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: But, no, he's not right. I mean, if there are some things that he agrees with the Republican Party about, or the Republican convention about, the Republican platform idea about, fine. But he didn't win. Bob Dole survived all the rounds and was on his feet at the end. And so, you know, maybe he's--Pat has to say those things, but, no, I don't agree with that.
JIM LEHRER: Does it matter if the platform--
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Big differences with him on trade, for example, differences
JIM LEHRER: Sure. No. I understand, but there's a platform in the Republican Party that was passed awhile ago.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Yeah.
JIM LEHRER: In fact, you and I were sitting in a room just now and watched its being voted on.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Anointed. Yeah.
JIM LEHRER: Anointed. And it's got all kinds of things in it. Does it matter?
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: I don't think it matters. I couldn't tell you if you asked me to give you 10 planks out of the platform in ‘92, I couldn't do it. If you gave a quiz to these delegates, some of whom have attended many--platform--any conventions--and said, hey, give me the heart of the platform back in 1992, 1988, I don't think they could do it. These things bring people together. The differences are aired, and then the candidate for President will go on and run his race the way he feels it ought to be run. And the vice-president will be supporting him. So I'm happy that this one seems to have found a harmonious conclusion. I think that's good, so you don't have a lot of floor fights and divisiveness, and I salute those who work that magic, but I don't--in all honesty, I don't think it matters all that much.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Well, that'll emerge as you listen to the candidates. What--the focus has got to be on Senator Dole and on Secretary Jack Kemp. And it will be. And I'll be adding my little, little nuance tonight about the importance of leadership and duty and honor and country, character, all the things I feel strongly about, and somebody else will come on and talk about his or her view of the party. Susan Molinari, a wonderful choice, will give a good speech, I'm sure, and then at the end of the week, people will say this is the heartbeat of the party. It's not going to be analyzing platform plank after platform plank. It's going to be a general impression you get of the new leadership of this party. So it'll emerge as a sound, sensible, conservative party, a party that's not isolationist, a party that's not protectionist, a party that does care about people, a party that can do a better job of the economy, I mean, the economic growth in this country has been anemic. I left Clinton an economy growing twice as fast as it's grown in the last four years. But at the time I was seen as the guy that was out of touch.
JIM LEHRER: Yeah.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: So you know, I may sound a little defensive here, but, but this is the way it's going to emerge, not by point by point analysis of the platform that few people will read.
JIM LEHRER: Sen. Warren Rudman, former Senator from New Hampshire, was on our program recently, and he expressed a concern about the fact that there were so many activists, so many leaders now in the Republican Party, who were doing things on a religious basis, whether it was abortion, or whatever, and he was concerned about it. And he said people who want religion in politics, look what's happened in Belfast, look at what's happened in Beirut, and other places. Do you share that concern?
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Not about the Republican Party, nor do I share the concern about activist churches that are highly engaged in the Democratic Party. I used to campaign
JIM LEHRER: Finally, just on personal terms, Mr. President, are you comfortable coming to this convention?
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Yeah. I didn't particularly want to come because, Jim, look, I've shifted gears in my life. And I, as I mentioned to you, the pride I have in the fact that two sons of mine got into politics after what was a very unpleasant year for me and for my family in 1992 knows no bounds. It's a wonderful thing. And that's what really interests me. Then when my friend, Bob Dole, was nominated, or will be nominated, but won, then I was saying to myself, hey, listen, do whatever he wants you to do, work your heart out because I believe he'll be a great President. I believe there will be a restoration of honor and respect for this country around the world, and, and so--but other than that, I'm not--you know, I got here an hour ago and I'm going to leave in six hours. I'm here seven hours. And it's not to, you know, spoil sport or not that I don't want to see friends, but I'm yesterday. I'm happily yesterday, and my sons are tomorrow. And Bob Dole and Jack Kemp are tomorrow. So why should I be hovering around, giving opinions to everybody? I mean, I had a shot at it. I did my best, tried my hardest, and I don't--I don't--I just don't feel comfortable kind of always wanting to write an op-ed piece or to shape events or--I'm too happy and too proud of my
boys and too blessed with Barbara, and we're trying to be--so I help others, but, you know, I don't need the day to day politics anymore.
JIM LEHRER: Mr. President, thank you very much.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: Good to be with you.
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