“Read My Lips No New Taxes.”

OSTRANDER, Dan; Foreword by George Bush.

$750.00

Item Number: 76955

Oroville, California: Butte College Press, 1999.

First edition of this work on the Bush administration. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Dan Ostrander and President George Bush on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Cover design by Patty Melron. Uncommon signed by President Bush.

This book is about political pragmatism and presidential leadership. It demonstrates from an historical perspective that political pragmatism, in many cases, is an essential ingredient of effective Presidential leadership. Something in politics that some politicians do not understand, but Presidents Bush, Ford, FDR, Lincoln, and Jefferson did, is that a President is elected to lead the country in the direction which is best for the American people. There are times when historical events force a President to lead the country in a direction supported neither by the general public nor his party and is neither in his nor his party’s immediate political interest. But as President, Abraham Lincoln believed he would serve his party best by serving his country first. In order to prepare the reader to evaluate the leadership of Bush in the 1990 Budget Agreement, and Presidential leadership in general, the first chapter of the book discusses the sources of Presidential power. In doing so, the changes in the role of the office of the Presidency, as dictated by history, are viewed through the actions of earlier Presidents. The following chapters demonstrate great acts of political courage by Presidents who led the country in a direction that was not popularly supported during their Presidency. The final two chapters show how the Bush Administration established the economic structure which has led to the longest economic expansion of our history. Bush has never been an advocate of high taxes, but in order for the American people to have the opportunity to use their talents and entrepreneurship to work their magic on the economy there are times when courageous leadership and personal sacrifices have to be made. In 1990 President Bush made that sacrifice. Bush had the vision to see the direction the country must move and had the personal character and integrity to lead his party and the country in that direction.