George Bush: A New Breeze Is Blowing

Behind Bush's appeal to altruism, something else is going on: the beginning of a careful retreat from promises that cannot be met

Kind words. Gentle words. Nothing flashy or particularly memorable. Just good, plain talk from the heart. And a departure: if George Bush signaled anything by proclaiming a "new breeze," it was a new altruism, a move away from the Reagan era's tacit approval of selfishness, an end to the glorification of greed. "Use power to help people," said the 41st President. "We are not the sum of our possessions . . . We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be...

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