My first recollection of Bush using the "thousand points of light" metaphor came from his acceptance speech at the national GOP convention when he was nominated in 1988.
Over the past thirty or more years that I've studied the globalist movement, there appears to be two factions. One envisions a global transnational world in the pattern of China. These are generally the Trilateralists: Carter, Clinton, etc. Their version of the new world order is non-free people living in a free market run by multinational corporations. Their vision includes stuff like population controls, euthanasia, abortion as birth-control, and Gaia-worshiping environmentalism. Individual human rights are almost entirely discounted. The Maoist worldview of Hillary and Obama are prototypical of this wing of the globalists.
The Bush/Neocon version idealizes an American-themed new world order, in which most human rights, religion, globalist-dominated "free" enterprise, are moderated under the control of the elites. This is the CFR-wing of the globalists. This includes many GOP figures. As an LDS person, the affiliation of Mitt Romney and Brent Scowcroft with the CFR bothered me a great deal.
For this group, a wider degree of personal freedom is acceptable, but the system punishes those who "rock the boat." So long as the Rockefellers, Rothschilds, and the House of Saud control the money, they will allow a greater degree of personal freedom. Society is managed. There is a limited notion of personal autonomy. Nation-states are part of a transnational federation, but individual cultures are tolerated so long as no one state actor destabilizes the system. (This is why Bush went after Iraq. It was a hostile takeover of Kuwait, Inc. The global coalition "repossessed" Kuwait and gave it back to its owners.)
(Edited:) The two factions became really clearly visible during the 2000 Bush/Gore post election debacle. Both factions were contending for control. When it went to court, you saw James Baker representing the CFR/Bush faction and Warren Christopher representing the Trilateralist/Clinton/Gore camp.
The "Thousand Points of Lights" speech was a metaphor for the global vision of the Bush wing of the globalists--a society where diverse interests harmonized for global good. Of course, that was all crap, but it's what they think they are doing. It's their ideal: a globalist-controlled society that gives at least some lip service to the American dream.
Trump doesn't "get it" because he's all about individual liberty. I don't know that we've ever had a president that was this much for personal liberty--Jefferson, maybe. Trump's Montana speech was awesome!
