President Bush’s visit was notable for several reasons. This ceremony was Bush’s first appearance outside of Washington DC after suffering atrial fibrillation while jogging at Camp David. In addition, Bush’s speech (beginning at 00:50:26) was expected to be a major policy speech, though a report indicates that the president rewrote the address en route to Princeton in order to tone down direct attacks on Congress (Daily Princetonian, Volume 115, Number 65, 13 May 1991). While still peppered with criticism of Congress, the President’s talk was mainly a discussion of the Executive Branch’s policy making role compared to that of the Legislative, and Bush’s personal opposition to creating new bureaucracies. The speech is also peppered with humor about the Princeton/Yale rivalry and the President’s place within it (51:42), as well as Bush’s health(50:39), the Nude Olympics (51:22), John F. Kennedy (52:02), and the Princeton allegiances of Secretaries of State George Shultz ’42 and James Baker ‘52  (52:28).

But, this ceremony was not without controversy, including the publication of an open letter signed by hundreds of students who objected to the awarding of honorary degrees to Bush and Secretary of State James Baker (Daily Princetonian, Volume 115, Number 64, 10 May 1991). Furthermore, a crowd of approximately 250 protestors, including the “George Bush Reception Committee” gathered during the visit to protest issues including the Persian Gulf War, Bush’s veto of the 1990 Civil Rights Act, Presidential treatment of HIV/AIDS victims, and the nature in which Bush’s degree was awarded.

In fact, the awarding of Bush’s honorary degree was an unusual event. While US Presidents often receive honorary Princeton degrees, and Bush was the 17^th President to receive this award, President Bush’s visit and degree granting occurred on May 10, several weeks before the traditional awarding of honorary degrees that occurs in conjunction with Commencement. This ceremony was especially extraordinary since Bush’s honorary Doctor of Laws was the first degree to be awarded outside of Commencement since Lyndon Johnson received his L.L.D. in 1966 (see, and the ceremony was also conducted in a closed-door gathering in the Faculty Room at Nassau Hall, instead of the usual grounds outside that building.