Infant Mortality and Murder, But No Nuclear War Fears!

Now that I think of it, I do have something else to say about George the Elder. In 1991, as the Cold War was coming to an end, the United States ranked twenty-second in infant mortality, behind the United Kingdom France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Belgium. More than 75 percent of the deaths of young people in the United States were caused by suicide, murder, or accident. American children were far more likely to live in poverty or get killed before reaching twenty-five. (I turned twenty-six in 1991, so I guess I was sort of lucky.) American children graduated from high school more likely than not to be unable to read a newspaper article or understand an editorial. They ranked behind many - nay, most - Euproean countries in mathematical skills. The U.S. even ranked behind Slovenia, which, in 1991, had only just broken away from Yugoslavia. (As Bill Maher said at the time, Slovenia had only been an independent country since Tuesday.) So what was the senior George Bush proud of the most?

When the Soviet Union broke up, Bush said he was proud to bring the Cold War to an end, knowing American children would never have to fear nuclear war again.

Thanks for everything, George. You're a guy.