George H.W. Bush: “I will not use politics to counter a decision by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense. And…”

“I will not use politics to counter a decision by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense. And Congress will take a look at these matters. But do not count on the President to look after my political interests, confident as I am of the ability of that shipyard and other shipyards around this country, air-bases around this country. That is, the President has to rise above politics no matter whether it hurts him or helps him politically. And I have to look at it that way. And my appeal to the American people if I run again will be, look, we're doing what's in the best interest of the United States. And I make one more observation. There's some history to base closings. And there's also a history that after bases close, if the economy is in good shape, there's a vigorous private sector that comes in and that gets these facilities in one way or another. There's a public service aspect where some of these could be turned into facilities for other purposes. But I am not going to use politics to second-guess my Secretary of Defense. And I hope the American people understand that. Vice President”