Formed for What - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

As we were coming home from church one Sunday, my mom commented excitedly about the pastor’s sermon. It was 1992 and the presidential race had been heating up. President George H.W. Bush was running for re-election and he had two opponents: the Democratic Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton, and billionaire businessman H. Ross Perot, who ran as an independent. Bush had been relatively popular and at first looked like he’d be cruising to an easy win. But things took a turn, Perot’s run began to siphon some of Bush’s support, and the charismatic Clinton started to become a real threat. Clinton was hounded by mutliple scandals based on sexual indiscretions. He had also famously dodged the draft, avoiding service in the Vietnam War, and had admitted to once smoking pot – though he famously said he didn’t inhale.

Bush on the other hand was as straight-laced as they come, a decorated World War II veteran who had dedicated most of his adult life to civil service. And while he was also very intelligent and articulate, he suffered from a comparative lack of charisma and relatability. You could just tell he found the idea that this crass kid could beat him for the highest office in the land was unthinkable. He would never say that though. What he did say was that this contest was a matter of character more than policy or ideological differences. Character, he said. It was a careful way of saying, “Are you going to elect the draft-dodging, word-fudging, pot smoking, womanizing power abuser, or the patriotic war hero who has devoted his life to public service?”

Of course, we know what America chose.