George Bush Senior's Deal With The Devil

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A deal with the devil: George Bush the Elder
by Al Fondy Sat Jan 16, 2010
The concept of a deal with the devil arises in literature from the story of Dr Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe. This story in itself is intended as a commentary on modern life, "modern" being the Commerical Revolution of the 17th Century. The reason for the appeal is that to some extent, every successful person can look to certain unsavory decisions that allowed his own rise to power and fame--it is part of the human condition. But because of his highly public position, George H.W. Bush is especially noteworthy for his bad decisions that gave all the fame and power that this world can provide, yet ruined the "House of Bush" forever.
Earnest Hemingway said, "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong in the broken places." It is so true of George Bush the Elder. We first saw Bush as a young Congressman running for the US Senate in Texas. He lost to Lloyd Benson. He undoubtedly learned of some skullduggery in his next three jobs as Ambassador to China, Republican National Committee Chair, and CIA Director, but to all outward appearances, he tried to maintain his honesty. As a young thinker he was a strong supporter of ZPG, the rational movement to try to solve the world's population problems--and attendant troubles--through birth control.
The Faust theme was first noticed in 1980. Having previously referred to Ronald Reagan's tax plan as "Voodoo" economics, he gave up his intellectual honesty and started supporting the Voodoo. He renounced Zero Population Growth, and later appointed Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court on the hope of getting additional votes from anti-abortion supporters. His treasonous activity in undercutting the Carter administration with the Iranian Mullahs during the election did much to cause the electorate to support the Republicans. After the election, the payoff was lots of arms and munitions to Iran.
Knowing of his own guilt, in 1988 he decided the only way to win was to hire Roger Ailes to do the dirtiest campaign yet seen in American politics. All of this apparent "dealing with the devil," however, seemed to pay off with earthly success.
In his later years, he deliberately kept his mouth shut about the known inadequacies of his son, and through fund raising prowess, foisted him onto the Republican Party and then onto the country. Thus, the Faustian bargain first made in the 1980s involved continual decisions leading to further decline and fall, not only of the house of Bush, but also the country.