Bush "Dynasty" Began on a Cold Night in Iowa

We are nearing the middle of the third Bush presidency, the second  of two for George W. Bush, which followed two for Bill Clinton, which followed one for George H.W. Bush. Whether the Bush presidencies should be called a dynasty is up for debate. What's probably not up for debate is the likelihood that there would have been no Bush presidencies had it not been for the events of a cold night in Iowa back in the winter of 1980.

On that night, a little known former CIA director and former one-term congressman named George H.W. Bush registered a stunning two-point margin of  victory over heavy favorite Ronald Reagan in the Iowa Republican Caucuses. Before that night, Bush was just one of a number of presidential wannabes who were hoping that some kind of miracle would allow them to seriously compete with Reagan for the GOP presidential nomination.

Had it not been for his performance that night, the Bush name would probably have disappeared into the mist of other political also-rans who were also challenging Reagan for the nomination - names like Phil Crane and John Anderson - and the elder Bush would likely have never been considered for Vice President, much less for President. Consequently, the younger Bush, without the political clout inherited from his father's two terms as Vice President and one term as President, would probably have remained just another obscure Texas businessman to this day.

By the way, who remembers Crane and Anderson? Probably no one but political junkies like me! Of course, there were some more well known contenders as well, like Bob Dole, John Connally, and Howard Baker. However, Bush's name recognition at that time was more at the level of Crane and Anderson.

At any rate, Bush's victory that night caught candidate Reagan and even seasoned political analysts by surprise. Reagan recovered from his loss in Iowa, scored a resounding victory in the New Hampshire Primary, and ultimately won the presidential nomination and the presidency. However, thanks to Bush's Iowa performance, Reagan's victory didn't come until after a long, arduous, and often nasty nomination fight with Bush that lasted throughout nearly the entire primary and caucus schedule. It put Bush, one-on-one, on the same political stage with Reagan, as if he were Reagan's political equal.

When Reagan's original choice for a running mate, former President Gerald Ford, turned him down, he tapped Bush, the only politician who was able to stand toe-to-toe with him that year and the only logical choice he felt that he had left. The rest, as they say, is history.