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But the road
that led to George W. Bush's presidency during this time of crisis
and conflict was a long and often indirect one. Although he was
a son of a president, Mr. Bush's career began in the private sector,
including stints in the oil business and as a major league baseball
owner.
George
Walker Bush was born into a dynastic family of Eastern elites.
His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a Connecticut senator who
rose to prominence in his party and was one of the first in the
U.S. Senate to denounce anti-communist crusader Joseph McCarthy.
His father was the 41st president of the United States and as
the younger George was growing up, the elder George worked as
a congressman, an ambassador, head of the Republican National
Committee and CIA director.
Although a
scion of a powerful Connecticut political family, Mr. Bush's roots
are more West Texas than Westport. Born in Connecticut in 1946,
by the time George W. Bush was 2, he and his young parents were
living in the oil boom towns of Odessa and later Midland.
It was there
that the future president largely grew up and also, according
to Mr. Bush, where he developed many of his beliefs. "I don't
know what percentage of me is Midland," President Bush told The
New York Times in 2000, "but I would say people, if you want to
understand me, need to understand Midland and the attitude of
Midland."
The dusty
town of 100,000 grew up around the oil industry and was filled
with independent businessmen seeking and risking fortunes in search
of the next well to strike. According to friends and family, it
was a city that instilled a sense of optimism, entrepreneurship
and resistance to government intrusion into the younger George
Bush.
It was also
where Mr. Bush developed his professional passion, not for politics
like many boys who went on to be president, but for baseball.
The Bushes
decided to send young George -- a solid, but not stellar, student
-- to Andover Academy in 1961 to focus on his education and prepare
him for the Ivy League college they saw in his future. At Andover,
Mr. Bush emerged as a popular student and a bit of a West Texas
rebel amongst the bluebloods of the East.
Both at Andover
and later at Yale, George Bush continued to hone what classmates
and colleagues remember as excellent people skills. Although he
focused less on academics, those who knew him at Yale said it
would be a mistake to underestimate the future president's intellect.
"There are
times when George coasted through Yale courses or through exams
or seemed overly facetious. But don't mistake that for not being
intellectually acute," remembers Lanny Davis, former special counsel
to President Clinton and a fraternity brother of President Bush's
at Yale. "My memory of George -- and I've no reason to say nice
things about him, because I hope he loses -- is that he is an
astute observer of people and had an incredible talent for getting
along with people. ... I tell my fellow Democrats not to underestimate
him."
Despite his
mediocre grades, Mr. Bush climbed the social ladder at Yale, becoming
president of a prestigious fraternity and a member of the Skull
and Bones secret society that tapped the 15 most promising or
talented men in each class.
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By Lee Banville, Online NewsHour |
