“

We are approaching the conclusion of an historic postwar struggle between two visions: one of tyranny and conflict and one of democracy and freedom. The review of U.S.-Soviet relations that my administration has just completed outlines a new path toward resolving this struggle. Commencement Address at Texas A&M University

Commencement Address at Texas A&M University

”

Legacy

George Herbert Walker Bush became president with one of the most qualified resumes of anyone who had ever been elected. Bush served as a Navy pilot during World War II; gained industry experience managing an oil development company; and also served in the House of Representatives, as the U.S. ambassador to the UN, and as Director of the CIA. Bush also had eight years of on-the-job training as Reagan’s vice president.

Bush’s presidency was consumed with foreign affairs. Bush maintained friendly relations with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev throughout the end of the Cold War. He commented in later years, “I hoped it would end but I wasn’t sure it would end that fast. I wasn’t sure the [Berlin] wall would come down. I wasn’t sure Germany would be unified. I wasn’t sure that the Soviet Union would have dramatically imploded as it did.”