George H.W. Bush 1991 The Soviet Coup
Randal Wallace Presents : "George H. W. Bush" a four season look back at his extraordinary life, career, and his single term as President of the United States. A term that saw the high point of American Leadership around the world as he steered the world through the fall of the Communist superpower, the former Soviet Union. It also saw the United States lead a worldwide coalition against aggression by the Middle Eastern Dictator Saddam Hussein, and setting the example on how to fight such a war with textbook accuracy, overwhelming force, with a clear set of objectives, and leaving after those objectives were met. A lesson sadly we did not seem to learn in subsequent foreign entanglements. Then we will watch the changing of the guard as the Vietnam Generation leads a campaign in 1992 to transfer power from the generation of leadership that won the Cold War.
In this our 12th and 13 Seasons, we will look back at the Bush Administration and the historic sweep of freedom that changed the world from 1990 through Christmas 1991. It was a historic time. We saw the Gulf War begin as Bush led a multinational coalition to beat back the Iraqi Dictator, Saddam Hussein, after he invaded Kuwait. In August of 1991, hard liners in Moscow would attempt a coup to bring down Mikhail Gorbachev and his many reforms that were changing the Soviet Union. The coup would fail but it would help launch the career of the Moscow Mayor, Boris Yeltsin. That would, by Christmas Day, 1991, lead to what had been unthinkable for the past 70 years, the end of the Soviet Union. We would also see President Bush lead the way to reunify Germany, and a fight for the future of the United States Supreme Court would erupt after the nomination of Clarence Thomas was made to replace Thurgood Marshall. It all happened without firing a shot, which is an enormous success story for the ages.
We invite you to come along with us on a wild ride through the high points and low moments of modern American History, in an effort to show the citizens of today that we are an amazing and resilient nation.
Our Podcasts are separated by individual Documentary style titles. --
Season 1 : Bridging the Political Gap episodes 1 -11 --- Season 2 : Lessons in Leadership : --- The GIANTS of the Senate and Joe Biden episodes 14 - 16 ---- World War 2 Episodes 17 - 20 --- General MacArthur You're Fired Episodes 21 - 23 ---- A Celebration of the life of George Shultz episodes 26 - 28 ---- November 1963 : The end of the Age of Innocence episode 29 --- Season 3 ----The Johnson Treatment episodes 32 - 39 ---- Upheaval 1968 episodes 40 - 50 ---- Season 4: Richard Nixon 1968 -1971 The Man Who Saved the Union episodes 51 -67 ----- Season 5 Richard Nixon 1972 The Foundation of Peace episodes 71 - 96 -----1973 Ten Days in January 97 - 100 -- Season 6 Richard Nixon 1973 : Enemies at the Gate 101 - 125 ---- Season 7 Richard Nixon 1974 Through the Fire 126 - 147 ---- Season 8 Richard Nixon 1974 - 1994 The Fall and the Re-Rise of Richard Nixon. 148 - 174 plus bonus materials --- Season 9 Gerald Ford Beyond Watergate 175 -190 -- Season 10 John Jenrette. & Jimmy Carter too 191 - 224 -- Season 11 George H.W. Bush : The Leadership Lessons 225 - 250 --- Season 12: Mayor Hirsch 253 - 259, George H.W. Bush : The Sweep of History 260 - 285, Season 13 George H.W. Bush The Gulf War, The Coup, Clarence Thomas & the Cold War's End 286 -
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George H.W. Bush 1991 The Soviet Coup
STROM THURMOND : A Life in Full (Special Series , Part 3) The Campaign of my Life, 1996
Campaign 1996
For me it was the campaign of my lifetime. No race ever equaled the life altering impact of that year in my life. This was the year that I got to see up-close two of the political figures I most admired, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas and Strom Thurmond. The South Carolina Presidential Primary turned out to be the most important of all the primaries that year as Bob Dole was in a fight for his political Presidential survival and two Governors and Strom Thurmond stepped in to help him win it.
Then that same organization stepped up to insure that Strom Thurmond was re-elected to a 8th term. I was a tiny little cog as a volunteer and College Republican Chairman at Lander University in Greenwood S.C. and after graduating I helped out in my hometown of Myrtle Beach. I had been around politics all my life but it was 1996 that I got to be right there, for the first time, at the feet of two of the political figures I most admired as they campaigned across South Carolina, first in the upstate for Dole and then for Thurmond in the Low Country.
In the Thurmond race there really was only one issue and that was the Senator's age. National publications were trying to cast doubt on the Senator's mental fitness ( a totally bogus charge, I was there and the man was amazing) , the Democrats from Washington D.C. had recruited a billionaire member of the Springs Mills family, a huge textile company, in Elliot Close, and finally there had begun an influx of new residents into the state that were not as familiar with Thurmond's actual record of constituent service as the native Carolinians had been. If ever Senator Thurmond appeared to be vulnerable in his 74 year career, this was it.
But D.C. just did not know S.C. as well as it thought it did.
Thurmond put together an incredible team to shore up his political defenses. He had two governors, Carroll Campbell and David Beasley working on his behalf, arguably one of the best Republican Party Chairmen in the nation in Henry McMaster working for him, and three legendary political campaign people working on his behalf in Manager Tony Denny, and consultants Cindy Carter Thompson and a very young Robert Cahaly (The Trafalgar Group) all on the team. Not only that, he had the State's Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler and its Speaker of the House David Wilkins on Board and Myrtle Beach's famous State Representative Mark Kelly all working overtime to insure Thurmond won.
And let's not forget, the two day - 10 county nonstop bus trip across the state, known as "The Thurmondator Bus Tour" where Strom Thurmond himself barnstormed the state, courthouse to courthouse, festival to festival, just like a campaign of old.
Elliot Close did not know what hit him.
This episode is that story and you will be able to relive as much of it as I was able to save.
By the time this show is over you will be quoting the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, "I feel Good!!!" As Mr. Brown makes an appearance to help Senator Thurmond celebrate this final election victory to capstone his incredible life and career.
** I wish to acknowledge the fine work of WIS TV 10, SC ETV, and CNN for their news broadcasts that we used in putting these three podcasts together, much of which was aired over a three day period when the senator passed away.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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