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=__**The election of 1988**__ = George H.W Bush was a great choice to succeed Ronald Reagan. Trying to get nominations for the democrats was Governor Micheal Dukakis and reverend Jesse Jackson. In the end they chose Micheal Dukakis to run against bush. The 1988 contest for the white house played itself out on television. They competed for the best coverage on the short "sound bites" of evening news programs. On election day Bush received 53 percent of the popular vote, Bush took 426 electoral votes to Dukakis's 111.



=__**The New president**__ =  President Bush brought a wide range of experience to the white house. As a pilot on the World War II he had won a medal for bravery. After he left his home he went to start his own oil business in Texas. He also had served as a member of congress as an ambassador, and as the director of the CIA. President Bush would not only follow the old ideas of the Reagan era but he said A new breeze is blowing. Bush promised a "kinder gentler nation". He tried to maintain a balance between the continuing policies and working more closely with democratic-controlled Congress.  =__**Drugs, Education and the Environment.** __ = President Bush wanted to try and control the spread of illegal drugs. Bush appointed William Bennet to be a special drug czar to oversee the nations war on drugs. Bennet resigned and Bob Martinez took over for him. Bush also prmised to chart a new course for the environment and education. To put these standards into effect the schools had to raise money. When Bush took office there were 17 military plants that had manufactured nuclear weapons were closed.  

=**__The Savings and Loan crisis__** = A rash of savings bank failures put even more pressure on the nation's finances. These savings and loan finances had long financed mortgages or loans, for Americans buying homes. A lot of S&L's were on the verge of going out of business. The Bush Administration set up federal agency to take over the failed banks, sell them, or sell of their assets.  =**__Reducing the Deficit __** = Savings and loan crisis added to the deficit in the federal budget. They had to either cut spending or raise some money. George Bush firmly pledged not to raise taxes, but the president and congress couldn't agree on how to cut spending. Congress and the President finally reached an agreement that would cut the deficit by 500 billion over 5 years.

=<span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 128);">**__The Elections of 1990__** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(201, 34, 201);"> = <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(201, 34, 201);">The New budget agreement had reduced the deficit more than any legislation during the Reagan years. Americans were dismayed. They saw congress struggling to make hard decisions on raising taxes or cutting programs. The president couldn't direct a solution to the budget crisis. Also billions of dollars to bail out savings and loans institutions because of mismanagement. The voters reelected the congress but with not a lot of enthusiasm.

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