The
differences start with the
names. Father Bush’s name is George Herbert Walker Bush
while Son
Bush’s is George Walker Bush. Thus although the son is not a “Junior”
he was not only called that for most of his life, he accepted and
rarely corrected those who used it at least until he ran for Governor
in
1994. Of course it might be argued that he accepted being called
Junior until it was no longer a political advantage for him to do so --
but it is also possible he did so until he finally was able to escape
his father's shadow after Father Bush lost the 1992 presidential
election.
Father Bush
named his oil exploration company Zapata; Son Bush named his Abusto
Father Bush
ran one mile; Son Bush ran three (until he had problems with his legs)
Father Bush
was accused of being a wimp; Son Bush makes sure he will never be
called a wimp
Father Bush
was accused of lacking “the vision thing;” Son Bush fully embraces the
“vision” of the right
Father Bush was accused of changing
his principles; Son Bush sticks to his beliefs no matter what
Father Bush
raised taxes after he said he wouldn't; Son Bush passed the largest tax
cuts in history after he said he would
Father Bush
built an international coalition to condemn and push Iraq out of
Kuwait; Son Bush went largely alone to atone for his father's “cut and
run” from Iraq
Father Bush was
Ambassador to the UN and felt it had an important role to play in
international relations; Son Bush believes the UN is an impediment to
successful foreign relations and the U.S. best interests
Father Bush got
more support from the UN for undoing Iraq's invasion of Kuwait than he
got from Congress; Son Bush got more support to invade Iraq from
Congress than he got from the UN
Father Bush had
trouble sleeping before the Kuwait war; Son Bush slept soundly
Father Bush
stopped the war before Saddam Hussein was captured or killed; Son Bush
invaded Iraq to finish the job
Father Bush
failed to use his capital (goodwill) after the Kuwait war to advance
his agenda; Son uses every bit of capital to aggressively advance
his tax cuts and other domestic agendas
Father Bush
drew a sharp distinction between hardball politics and dirty tricks
needed to win an election and governing: Son Bush (and Karl Rove) draw no such
distinction
Father Bush
gave a nod to the conservative base on guns, religion and abortion; Son
Bush gave
them a place at the table
Father Bush
was awkward and reserved as a politician; Son Bush is emotional and
expressive
Father always
is courteous and exhibits good manners, Son can be curt
Father Bush is self-effacing; Son Bush
continually uses what Hemingway called the vertical pronoun
Father Bush had
hotel room in Houston to keep his Texas residency, Son Bush has a 1,600
acre ranch in hot Crawford, Texas.
It was hard to picture Father Bush
eating pork rinds; it isn’t hard to picture Son Bush eating bull
testes (fried or sautéed)
Father Bush
exhibited a sincere but quiet faith; Son Bush publicly “walks the walk”
Father Bush
traveled widely to many different countries; Son Bush traveled little
Father Bush was an early high
achiever, Son Bush has been charitably described by his own family as a
“late-bloomer.”
Father Bush liked martini's every
night; Son Bush is (now) a tee-totaler
Father & Mother Bush loved
parties and gave and attended all; Son Bush goes to bed at 9:30
and had only 4 state
dinners in 4 years during his first term
Father
Bush called his mother
almost every day; Son Bush didn't speak to his mother for almost a year
For Father Bush
campaigning was a chore, for Son Bush campaigning is the best
part