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1、14 The Late-Blooming George W.Bush Jr.The late-blooming1 Bush was a failure at 40. But he changed his life and is now the President of the United States. Heres how he did it. 大器晚成的小布什在40岁时还是一个失败者，但是他改变了他的生活，并且现在是美国的总统。这里讲述他是如何做到的。(绿色为编者话，因为注释，所为保留)Since George W. Bush joined the U.S. presidential ra
2、ce officially in June, 1999, he has been drawing large crowds and media coverage. The world certainly knows from whence2. Bush sprang3 biologically4. Few could miss the features of George Sr. in the sons face, and his personality is frequently compared with mother Barbaras. But the trajectory5 of hi
3、s political career is less familiar. When George Bush Sr. last ran for president in 1992, his eldest son had yet to hold elected office. Seven years later, after only four years as Governor of Texas, George W. is trying to become the first second-generation American president in history. The story a
4、bout Bush began officially in 1973. In that year, after being rejected by the University of Texas Law School, he applied to Harvard Business School and was accepted. Masters degree in hand, he headed for6 a buddys7 ranch8 in Tacson and stopped to visit friends in Midland. There he met one old pal9 w
5、ho was getting into oil. “ It occurred to me that Midland was the place I needed to go,” Bush says. “ There was excitement in the air.” He decided to be an independent oilman.Rich friends of his father backed10 his business ventures11. They also backed him when he decided to run for Congress in 1977
6、 (after only two years in town). However, the decision of Bush to plunge into politics violated12 a basic family tenet13: First make your mark and your fortune, then run for office. Finally, Bush lost, 47 to 53 . Bush had also surprised friends by courting and marrying-in just 3 months-a librarian n
7、amed Laura Welch, who was as reserved14 and knowing15 as he was brash16 and noisy17. After he lost in the election, Bush went back into the oil. He started building his own company, Arbusto (Spanish for Bush). “ The politician was in him,” says his former working partner. “ He was a great promoter18
8、 and money raiser.” Bush also possesses a Clintonian ability to remember names of countless people he was met only briefly. In 1986, Bush was about to turn 40. This year was also the worst of Midland. Oil prices were crashing19. Independent oilmen like Bush were going under every day. Bushs company
9、was also facing the death. He would either have to sell out or shut down20. Bush of that time became very restless and bored. He had other issues as well. Booze21 was one. His wife and friends all tried to persuade him to quit. Soon after, he became clear he couldnt go on like that. So he decided to
10、 quit. He said nothing -at first, not even to Laura. It wasnt until they got home that he told her he was to quit. “ He just said, Im going to quit, and he did it,” Laura remembers.“ We joked about it later, saying he got the bar bill and thats why.” Another reason which prompted him to give it up w
11、as that he didnt want to do anything to embarrass his father. George Sr. was then preparing to run for President.His friends and family all said he became less edgy22,less angry. “ George was already disciplined23 in a lot of ways except for drinking,” says Laura, “ And when he was able to stop, tha
12、t gave him a lot of confidence and made him feel better about himself.” Bush also acknowledges that 1986 was a watershed24 year in his life. “ A year of change, when I look back on it.” He says. Later Bush gave up oil and came to Washington to help his father. In his fathers presidential race in 198
13、8, Bush Jr. became his fathers aid. This was the first time the two had worked together closely as adults, and Big George came to appreciate his sons political instincts. When George Bush won the election, his eldest son returned to Texas, a move that shocked Washington careerists25. But Junior had
14、something also in mind. He was thinking hard about running for Governor of Texas. Texas is a big media state. Name identification is important. And Bush had got it. But he needed an accomplishment that belonged to his own. He didnt want anyone to say “ he is riding on26 Daddys name.” So he bought a
15、baseball team titled “ Texas Rangers” . He gave speeches across Texas in support of the team. His down-home27 style was always on display. He hated to ride in limo28, even someone elses, and the Bushes lived in a modest brick house. Their only luxury was private school for their twin daughters, Barb
16、ara and Tenna. He dressed as indifferent as ever, in cheap suits and boots emblazoned29 with the flag of Texas. At the Rangers office, he insisted on wearing a pair of shoes with a large hole in them. Someone said that Bushs political base was built on twin platforms30: his Rangers celebrity and the prodigious31 campaigning he had done for his father throughout Texas in 1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992. In 1992, after his father lost in his presidenti
