Bless Me, Father

Bush seeks Reagan's approval, even as he edges away from him

He is 64 years old and the leader of all he surveys, yet for a moment last week George Bush looked like a schoolboy called before the principal to discuss his report card. Perched nervously on a beige sofa in Ronald Reagan's Los Angeles office, Bush held the tip of his tongue between his lips, smiling thinly as the old President blandly pronounced that the new President is "doing just fine."

Bush looked decidedly relieved when Reagan brushed aside reporters' questions about the dilution of Reagan policies on Star Wars and military aid to the Nicaraguan contras. "Well," Reagan said cautiously,...

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