ABSTRACT
The campaign left Bush with very mixed feelings. On one hand, his loss had not really jeopardized his political future. The state’s Republicans needed him for building a viable party. But, still, he could not go on contradicting everything he had been taught at Greenwich Country Day School, Andover, and Yale. Lose, yes, he heard over and over again, but do it with dignity, and, for heaven’s sake, do not brag about your victories. Never demean your opponent. Make your point and let the issue rest on that. At least the National Review’s symposium had given him a chance to clear the air. Making his point among conservatives seemed even smarter. He was still thinking about that, about losing in a dirty fight, when he told the Houston Chronicle in May that he was still “ashamed for not speaking out about this kind of pandemonium.” 1
