George Bush Sr. in Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton
On Abortion:
Supported family planning as ambassador & Congressman
President Bush had vetoed the Family and Medical Leave Act twice and had backed off women's rights/ Though a supporter of family planning when he was Ambassador to the United Nations and as a Texas Congressman, Bush became an anti-choice
Vice President and President. With rates of crime, unemployment, welfare dependency and homelessness climbing, the Bush Administration seemed increasingly out of touch.
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.115
Nov 1, 2003
On Abortion:
Continued global gag order on family planning
In Kazakhstan, I visited a small women's-wellness center funded through US foreign aid. Because of the unavailability of contraception, abortion had become a common form of family planning under communism. The Clinton
Administration's policy was to make abortion "safe, legal and rare." We worked to discourage abortion and minimize the spread of sexually transmitted diseases by providing aid for family planning and improved maternal health.
This policy contradicted the global gag rule that had been imposed by President Reagan, continued by Bush and rescinded by Bill on the second day of his Presidency (later reinstated by George W. Bush). The doctors at the
Almaty clinic told me that the rates of both abortion and maternal deaths were decreasing, further proof that our practical policy was more effective at making abortion rare than the Republicans' more visceral anticontraception approach.
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.431
Nov 1, 2003
On Government Reform:
Claimed records of White House Office of Personnel Security
The Office of Personnel Security, despite its imposing title, did not perform "security checks"--that was done by the FBI. Nor was it responsible for security--that was the job of the Secret Service.
I never quite figured out what else it did, but it was responsible for keeping track of present White House employees, making sure their clearances were up to date, and giving security briefings to new White House personnel.
When President Bush left the White House in January 1993, his people took all the files of the Office of Personnel Security--which they were allowed to do under the Presidential Records Act--for the Bush Library.
The incoming Administration thus had none of its own records (as distinct from the Secret Service's records) of the permanent employees in the White House.
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.371
Nov 1, 2003
On War & Peace:
Humanitarian aid troops in Somalia became aggressive in 90s
Two Black Hawk helicopters had been shot down in Somalia. Details were vague, but it was clear that American soldiers had been killed and that there might be ongoing violence. Troops had originally been sent to the famine-ravaged country by President
Bush on a humanitarian aid mission, but it had evolved into a more aggressive peacekeeping effort.Every President must quickly adopt a strategy when troubling events unfold:
He can stop everything else and focus very publicly on the crisis or handle the situation while trying to stick to his official schedule. Bill remained in California but stayed in constant touch with his national security team.
Then the news got worse: The body found of an American serviceman had been dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, an appalling act of barbarity orchestrated by the Somali warlord General Mohamed Aideed.
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.191
Nov 1, 2003
Page last updated: Feb 14, 2019