When biographers are interviewed about George H.W. Bush, they often emphasize that he was more interested in governing than in campaigning. In the 1992 debates, he famously looked at his watch as if he would rather be somewhere else. In First to the Party, I show that he made a lot of commitments to the Christian Right during the 1988 election and underestimated the need to follow through on these commitments. He had arguably manipulated the Christian Right by taking on their language without being willing to fully commit himself to their agenda in office. The price he paid for doing so, I argue, ultimately vindicates the UCLA Theory of Parties’ role for “intense policy demanders.” CONT.
Chris Baylor, A House Divided