George Walker Bush

George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States.

Bush, a member of the Republican Party, was elected 46th Governor of Texas in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998. From there, he moved on to win the nomination of the Republican Party for the 2000 presidential race and ultimately defeated Democratic Vice President Al Gore in a particularly close and controversial [1] general election. In 2004, Bush was elected to a second term, defeating Democratic Senator John Kerry. This term will expire on January 20, 2009.

Bush's presidency has been defined by the ongoing War on Terror including the Iraq War following the September 11, 2001 attacks. In the aftermath of 9/11, the United States and a multinational force took military action in Iraq, overthrowing and capturing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The war proved controversial both domestically and internationally. In response to the September 11th attacks, Bush and the United States Congress created the Department of Homeland Security and increased the powers of law enforcement agencies with the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Bush has also signed into law large tax cuts and a Medicare prescription drug plan. He has appointed two justices to the Supreme Court, including a new Chief Justice. Bush's terms of office coincided with Republican control of the United States Congress, giving him greater control over policy formulation than presidents dealing with an opposition-controlled Congress. While continuing American policy of support for Israel, President Bush became the first U.S. President to also endorse the creation of a Palestinian state. His promise of $15 billion (over 5 years) to Africa for AIDS relief was funded by Congress. In late 2005 and 2006, Bush led the world community in opposition to Iran's announced intention to develop nuclear technology.

Bush is a member and leader of a prominent political family: his father, George H. W. Bush, served as U.S. President for four years and as Vice President for eight, his brother Jeb Bush is the current Governor of Florida, and his grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a Republican United States Senator from Connecticut. Among his family, he acquired the nickname "W" (for his middle initial; later Dubya, a literal spelling of a colloquial pronunciation of the letter), which has become a common public nickname, used both affectionately and pejoratively. He is the second son of a former United States president to become president himself.

Prior to his political career, he was an entrepreneur in the oil industry and served as the managing general partner/owner of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team.

Bush before his presidency

The eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara Bush (née Pierce), George Walker Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He moved to Texas with his family at the age of two and he identifies himself as a native Texan. He was raised in Midland, and Houston, Texas with his siblings Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Another younger sister, Robin, died in 1953 at age three from leukemia. [2]

Following family tradition, he attended prep school in New England, at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, the same school his father attended. Bush then enrolled at Yale University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1968. As a senior, Bush was a member of the secretive Skull and Bones society, as was his father. In May 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, he entered the Texas Air National Guard. He trained in the guard for two years, where he was among the last to learn to fly the F-102, a plane not used in Vietnam and due to be retired. Bush was promoted to First Lieutenant in November 1970 on the recommendation of his commander Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian. He served as an F-102 pilot until 1972.

In 1974, he obtained permission to end his six-year service obligation six months early in order to attend Harvard Business School, from which he earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1975; he is the first U.S. President to hold an MBA. After graduation, Bush returned to Texas to enter the oil business. Two years later, he married Laura Welch, a school librarian originally from Midland, Texas. Their twin daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush were born in 1981. Bush is the only U.S. President to be the father of twins.

Early in his professional life, Bush ran, or was a partner in a number of oil companies, including Arbusto Energy, Spectrum 7, and the Harken Energy Corporation. Bush started his political career assisting his father's 1964 and 1970 campaigns for the U.S. Senate, neither of which was successful. He then served as political director for an Alabama senate campaign. In 1978, Bush ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives. After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, Bush purchased a share in the Texas Rangers baseball franchise, in April 1989, where he became managing general partner.Bush served as managing general partner of the Rangers for five years. He was active in the team's media relations and in securing the construction of a new stadium, which opened in 1994 as The Ballpark in Arlington. Bush's prominent role with the Rangers gave him valuable goodwill and recognition throughout Texas.

In 1993, Bush and his brother Jeb Bush both decided to run for governor in Texas and Florida, respectively. Although his brother was unsuccessful, George Bush ended up defeating popular incumbent Ann Richards on 1994-11-08, to become Governor of Texas. That same year, he and his partners sold the Texas Rangers with the governor realizing a profit of nearly $15 million. [3] In 1998 Bush went on to win re-election in a landslide victory with nearly 69% of the vote, becoming the first Texas governor to be elected for two consecutive four-year terms (before 1975, the gubernatorial term of office was two years). [4] During Bush's governorship, he undertook significant legislative changes in criminal justice, tort law, and school financing.

Important people in Bush's life and career

Bush's family and advisers are considered important to him in his life and career. His father, George H. W. Bush, served as U.S. President, his younger brother, Jeb Bush is the current Governor of Florida, and his grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a United States Senator. His wife Laura and his mother Barbara Bush are also considered important to his life. His most trusted advisers have included many women, including Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes, and Harriet Miers. Karl Rove has had perhaps the greatest influence on Bush's professional life.

2000 campaign

Advisors convinced George W. Bush that 2000 would be the right time to run for president. He had more than enough money, and the Republicans lacked any single strong candidate. Before Bush had even committed to the race, he was the clear favorite in the polls, and contributions abounded from political donors. Bush declared himself a "compassionate conservative", a term coined by University of Texas professor Marvin Olasky, and his political campaign promised to "restore honor and dignity to the White House." Bush proposed lowering taxes in response to a projected surplus, supported participation of religious charities in federally funded programs, and promoted education vouchers, oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a balanced budget, and structural changes to the United States armed forces. Bush's foreign policy campaign platform supported a stronger economic and political relationship with Latin America, especially Mexico, and reduced involvement in "nation-building" and other minor military engagements indirectly related to U.S. interests.

Bush lost the New Hampshire primary to Senator John McCain of Arizona, but rebounded to capture 9 of 13 Super Tuesday states, effectively clinching the nomination. Bush then chose Dick Cheney, a former U.S. Representative and Secretary of Defense for Bush's father, as his running mate in July of 2000.

On November 7, 2000 (Election Day), television networks initially called the state of Florida for his opponent, Vice President Al Gore, then withdrew that projection and later called the state for Bush along with the entire election, and finally declared that it was too close to call. Sometime after the networks reported that Bush had won Florida, Gore conceded the election and then rescinded that concession less than one hour later. Though Bush had 47.9% of the popular vote and Gore had 48.4%, the electoral votes were less clear. The Florida vote count, which favored Bush in preliminary tallies, was contested over allegations of irregularities in the voting and tabulation processes. Allegations included confusing ballots, defective voting machines, faulty absentee ballots from the military, and the illegal barring of some voters. Because of Florida state law, a state-wide machine recount was triggered and completed. Although it narrowed the gap, the recount still left Bush in the lead. Eventually four counties in Florida which had large numbers of Presidential undervotes began a manual hand recount of ballots. A legal battle ensued between the Bush and Gore campaigns over these recounts. On December 8, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that every county with a large number of undervotes would perform a hand recount. On December 9, in the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case, the Court stopped the statewide hand recount and upheld the machine recount due to time constraints. The machine recount showed that Bush had won the Florida vote, giving him 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266; Bush carried 30 of the 50 states. Several months later, a group of newspapers commissioned a study of what would have happened had the hand recount continued. The researchers conducting the study concluded that, under the standard for assessing ballots in use during the actual count, Bush still would have won. However, other reasonable counting methods would have given the victory to Bush in four cases and Gore in four others [13] [14]. Since the Supreme Court did not allow the recount to continue, no one knows what standard might have been prescribed by it, or by a lower court at its direction, had the recount been reinstated. In the final official count, Bush had won Florida by only 537 votes (2,912,790 for Bush to 2,912,253 for Gore to 97,488 for Nader) [15] earning the needed 25 electoral votes and the presidency. Bush was inaugurated January 20, 2001.

Not since the 1888 election had a winner failed to receive a plurality of the popular vote. It was the first since the 1876 election in which the Supreme Court affected the decision.

2004 campaign

In the 2004 election, Bush was able to win re-election against John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and Senator from Massachusetts. Despite the fact that Kerry was a decorated naval officer in the Vietnam War, polls showed that Bush had shown the people he and his administration would be better able to protect the nation from another terrorist attack. Bush carried 31 of 50 states for 286 Electoral College votes and collected the most popular votes ever (62,040,610 votes/50.7%), thanks to the highest voter turnout since 1968. This was the first time since 1988 that a President had received a popular majority. However, Bush's victory margin, in terms of absolute number of popular votes, was the smallest of any sitting president since Harry S. Truman in 1948 and, percentage-wise, the closest popular margin of victory ever for a sitting president. Senator John Kerry carried 19 states and the District of Columbia, earning him 251 Electoral College votes (59,028,111 votes/48.3%). A faithless elector, pledged to Kerry, voted for Democratic Vice Presidential running mate, John Edwards, giving him one Electoral College vote. No other candidate won College votes. Notable third-party candidates included Independent Ralph Nader (463,653 votes / 0.4%), and Libertarian Michael Badnarik (397,265 votes/0.3%). Congress debated potential election irregularities, including allegations of voting irregularities in Ohio and electronic voting machine fraud. An official challenge to the Ohio election was rejected by a landslide vote of 1-74 by the Senate and 31-267 in the House.

Bush was inaugurated for his second term on January 20, 2005. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Bush's inaugural address centered mainly on a theme of spreading freedom and democracy around the world.

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