Heartbeat

Chapter One: 1989: A New Breeze

At 12:05 P.M. on January 20, 1989, standing on the U.S. Capitol's West Front, George Herbert Walker Bush addressed the American people for the first time as the forty-first President of the United States. Declaring that a "new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn," the new President launched an administration that would indeed see the winds of change remake the face of Europe and Latin America within the year. The Wall fell in Berlin; the dictator Manuel Noriega fell in Panama; and the superpowers charted a new path of cooperation at the historic Malta Summit. Meanwhile, closer to home, the President announced a new war on drugs, convened an Education Summit, and confronted the Savings and Loan crisis; and Millie, the Bushes' dog, had puppies.

Commenting on his Inaugural Address the next day, President Bush dictated to his diary: "The speech went about 20 minutes, and it was well received. Congress liked it. We've got to find ways to do this compromise, 'kinder, gentler world'"

FAITH, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS:
Values That Remain, Ties That Bindread full excerpt from: Heartbeat: George Bush in His Own Words ebook