In January 1976, Bush would enhance his reputation and secure a base of power and influence when president Ford appointed him the Director of the CIA. After the fiasco of both the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, Bush helped restore some of the agency’s morale and public reputation.
When Reagan became president in 1980, Bush’s popularity with Republicans would see him as the only choice Reagan could make as his vice president. At the end of the two Reagan terms, Bush would again emerge as the only candidate for the 1988 presidential elections and would subsequently win, but not be able to parlay that support into a second term.
Finally, enter Prescott’s grandsons George W. and Jeb, both who had made a name for themselves by becoming governors of Texas and Florida, respectively. When George W. secured his place as the 43rd president of the United States, allow narrowly, the Bush family legacy would be assured.
When George W. Bush’s tenure was completed in 2008, he and his father had occupied the first or second most powerful positions in the U.S. government for 20 out of the previous 28 years. His brother Jeb would try and continue the Bush dominance of the US political landscape in 2016 but would fall at the first hurdle.
