How History Was Used at the Republican Convention
How did Republicans attempt to use history to bolster their case for President George W. Bush? We asked HNN intern Brandi Lux to find out by compiling a list of the historical allusions, analogies and metaphors speakers employed.
PRESIDENTS
Given that Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president, it is no surprise that his name was frequently invoked by the main speakers (five times). But FDR was cited three times to draw comparisons between the war on Nazism and the war on terrorism. Surprisingly, only one of the main speakers saw fit to cite another Roosevelt, Teddy, even though Republicans have favorably compared George Bush's presidency to TR's. Four speakers invoked the name of Ronald Reagan--including President Bush himself, in an attempt to reinforce the impression that Bush's presidency is the natural extension of Reagan's. One speaker, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a unique moment in the history of recent Republican conventions, recalled with fondness the presidency of Richard Nixon. Poor Dwight Eisenhower, whom Republicans have long had ambivalent feelings about--he seemed too moderate, too bipartisan, too accepting of the New Deal for many dyed in the wool party members--got a single reference--thanks to Democrat Zell Miller.
Laura Bush, First Lady “No American President ever wants to go to war. Abraham Lincoln didn’t want to go to war, but he knew saving the union required it. Franklin Roosevelt didn’t want to go to war -- but he knew defeating tyranny demanded it. And my husband didn’t want to go to war, but he knew the safety and security of America and the world depended on it.”
Zell Miller, Democratic Senator of Georgia “In the summer of 1940...our country was not yet at war but even we children knew that there were some crazy men across the ocean who would kill us if they could. President Roosevelt, in his speech that summer, told America ‘all private plans, all private lives, have been in a sense repealed by an overriding public danger.”
"Today’s Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator…Tell that to the one-half of Europe that was freed because Franklin Roosevelt led an army of liberators, not occupiers…to the lower half of the Korean Peninsula that is free because Dwight Eisenhower commanded an army of liberators, not occupiers…to the half of a billion people…who are free today from the Baltics to the Crimea, from Poland to Siberia, because Ronald Reagan rebuilt a military of liberators, not occupiers.”
Elizabeth Dole, Senator North Carolina “The party of Abraham Lincoln has not wandered in a desert of disbelief or uncertainty. Led now by President Bush, this Grand Old Party is still guided by a moral compass, its roots deep in the firm soil of timeless truths.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California “I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting government off your back, lowering taxes, and strengthening our military…I’m proud to belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln…Teddy Roosevelt…Ronald Reagan and the party of George W. Bush.”
George W. Bush, President of the United States“My father served eight years at the side of another great American -- Ronald Reagan. His spirit of optimism and goodwill and decency are in this hall, and in our hearts, and will always define our party.”
HISTORY
While President Bush has insisted that he doesn't worry about what history will say about his presidency, one speaker after another argued that his presidency will long be remembered as a turning point in history.
Laura Bush, First Lady “…because of President Bush’s leadership in the past we don’t hide under our desks anymore. Because of President Bush’s leadership and the bravery of our men and women in uniform, I believe our children will grow up in a world where today’s terror alerts have also become a thing of the past.”
Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States “Moments come along in history when leaders must make fundamental decisions about how to confront a long term challenge.”
George W. Bush, President of the United States “We were honored to aid the rise of democracy in Germany and Japan and Nicaragua and Central Europe and the Baltics -- and that noble story goes on. I believe that America is called to lead the cause of freedom in a new century.”
“The story of America is the story of expanding liberty: an ever-widening circle, constantly growing to reach further and include more. Our Nation’s founding commitment is still our deepest commitment: In our world, and here at home, we will extend the frontiers of freedom.”
Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom. This is the everlasting dream of America -- and tonight, in this place, that dream is renewed.”
Rudy Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York “… there are times in our history when our ideas are more necessary and important for what we are facing. There are times when leadership is the most important.”
“From the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, to President George W. Bush our party’s great contribution is to expand freedom in our own land and all over the world.”
“People who live in freedom always prevail over people who live in oppression. That’s the story of the Old Testament. That’s the story of World War II and the Cold War."
“They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan. But like President Bush, they were optimists; leaders must be optimists. Their vision was beyond the present and set on a future of real peace and true freedom.”
Sam Brownback, Kansas Senator “At our party’s convention in 1860, we affirmed that America is a land of liberty and equality for all. We nominated Abraham Lincoln, and we denounced, and ultimately defeated, the scourge of slavery. Our nation is again called to the defense of human life and dignity."
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California “My family and so many others lived in fear of the Soviet boot. Today, the world no longer fears the Soviet Union and it is because of the United States of America."
Zell Miller, Democratic Senator of Georgia “Time after time in our history, in the face of great danger, Democrats and Republicans worked together to ensure that freedom would not falter."
WAR
While the Democrats at their convention dwelled on Vietnam, the Republicans most often made references to the Civil War and World War II. Both wars were used to symbolize struggles America has fought for freedom, linking the war on terrorism to the wars against slavery and Nazism.
Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States “Just as surely as the Nazis during World War Two and the Soviet communists during the Cold war, the enemy we face today is bent on our destruction. As in other times, we are in a war we did not start, and have no choice but to win.”
George W.Bush, President of the United States “We have seen Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds, and charging through sandstorms, and liberating millions with acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy proud.”
Rudolph Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York City"Winston Churchill saw the dangers of Hitler while his opponents characterized him as a war-mongering gadfly. Ronald Reagan saw and described the Soviet Union as ‘the evil empire’ while world opinion accepted it as inevitable and belittled Ronald Reagan’s intelligence. President Bush sees world terrorism for the evil that it is.”
John McCain, Senator of Arizona: “In a time of deep distress at home, as tyranny strangled the aspirations to liberty of millions, and as war clouds gathered in the West and East, Franklin Delano Roosevelt accepted his party’s nomination by observing, ‘There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.’ ”