WHEN INTENTIONS GO AWRY - THE BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS FOREIGN-POLICY RHETORIC

During George Bush's presidency the Cold War drew to a close and his a dministration triumphed in the Gulf War. Some viewed these events as a harbinger of a new world order. Basking in the success of the Gulf Wa r, Bush's approval ratings soared, and prominent Democrats reconsidere d challenging him in 1992. Foreign policy themes might have seemed a n atural emphasis in campaign rhetoric. Yet, on the eve of the election, Bush abandoned efforts to rally the public with such appeals. This ar ticle identifies primary metaphorical themes employed by Bush to defin e foreign policy reality. Bush's rhetoric was fundamentally ordered by the orientational metaphor of war. Other themes reinforced central pr emises of the war metaphor and reflected enduring premises of American exceptionalism. However, critical constraints blunted Bush's rhetoric al intentions, and perhaps nullified constraints presidents traditiona lly have harnessed to define rhetorical situations to fit a preferred world view. A disjuncture between rhetorical expectations and intentio ns beset the administration as the 1992 election approached. The elect orate turned an anxious gaze to domestic politics and the condition of the economy. Furthermore, the war metaphor met a public demonstrably leery of U.S. meddling in the internal politics of other countries. Pr eference for the war metaphor, finally, represented a significant chal lenge to the political identity of Bush and the Republican Party.