How would George HW Bush handle Cold War in 1981?

Suppose Reagan had died from being shot by John Hinckly in 1981. Bush would then become president. His Soviet Counterpart would be Brezhnev. Though Brezhnev was very ill and would soon be followed by Andropov and Chernenko.

Would Bush be more or less confrontational than Reagan regarding Cold War tensions?
 
He would have handled the Soviets a lot better than his son. And, I don't think Bush would have been quite as confrontational as Reagan.
 
My gut guess would be a slight return to detente policies, maybe behind-the-door detente while maintaining a public "Reaganesque" more hard-line stance.
 
Poppy Bush probably moves toward a more Nixon-esque detente strategy rather than Reagan's hardliner stance.
 
He would have handled the Soviets a lot better than his son. And, I don't think Bush would have been quite as confrontational as Reagan.

His son did not have to handle the Soviets. The U.S.S.R imploded nearly a decade before GW Bush took office.
 
Poppy Bush probably moves toward a more Nixon-esque detente strategy rather than Reagan's hardliner stance.
Would Bush have offered to remove Pershing II & Tomahawk from Europe, in return for the Soviet Union to remove their RSD-10 Pioner (SS-20) missiles pointing at Europe, in effect trading a mutual removal of of both...?
 
Not really. :confused:

No, agitprop aside, that was precisely what Reagan did. The first term was about tightening the screws on the 'evil empire', the second was pure detente from a position of strength. Rekjavik, etc.

I am honestly not sure whether Bush would take the rhetoric and arms buildup to Reaganesque levels though. I think Bush might try both a limited, very cautious detente and a smaller buildup simulataneously. It's hard to judge really, because by the time Bush became President detene (or at least, serious attempts at it) with Gorbachev was already becoming ingrained. Bush is just as likely to look at Brezhnev and Chernenko the same was as Reagan did, but I would guess he will try to gain more of the diplomatic high ground than Reagan's first term.
 
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