George W Bush

Former

43^rd President

Of

United States of America

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Profile

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·                 George Walker Bush^[a] (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009.

·                 A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

·                 The eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush,

·                 and a member of the Bush family,

·                 he flew warplanes in the Texas Air National Guard in his twenties.

·                 After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1975, he worked in the oil industry. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers, of Major League Baseball, before being elected governor of Texas in 1994.

·                 As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform,

·                 increased education funding,

·                 set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system.

·                 He also helped make Texas the leading producer of wind-generated electricity in the United States.

·                 In the 2000 presidential election, he won over Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore, while losing the popular vote after a narrow and contested Electoral College win, which involved a Supreme Court decision to stop a recount in Florida.

·                 In office, Bush signed a major tax-cut program and

·                 an education-reform bill,

·                 the No Child Left Behind Act.

·                 He pushed for socially conservative efforts such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and faith-based initiatives.

·                 He also initiated the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in 2003, to address the AIDS epidemic.

·                  During his second term, Bush made free trade agreements.

·                 He appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

·                 He sought major changes to Social Security and immigration laws, but both efforts failed in Congress.

·                 Bush was widely criticized for his handling of Hurricane Katrina and the midterm dismissal of U.S. attorneys. Amid his unpopularity,

·                 the Democrats regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections.

·                 The Afghanistan and Iraq wars continued; in January 2007,

·                 Bush launched a surge of troops in Iraq.

·                 By December, the U.S. entered the Great Recession, prompting the Bush administration to get congressional approval for economic programs intended to preserve the country’s financial system, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

·                 After his second term, Bush returned to Texas, where he has maintained a low public profile.

·                 At various points in his presidency, he was among both the most popular and the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history. .

Early life and career

·                 George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut.^[1]

·                 He was the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce.

·                 He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas with four siblings: Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy.

Education

·                 Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade.

·                 He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School, a college-preparatory school in Piney Point Village, Texas.^[5]

·                 Bush later attended Phillips Academy, a boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, where he played baseball and was the head cheerleader during his senior year.^[6][7]

·                 He attended Yale University from 1964 to 1968, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history.^[8]

·                 During this time, he was a cheerleader and a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon, serving as the president of the fraternity during his senior year.^[9][10][11]

·                 Bush became a member of the Skull and Bones society as a senior.^[12]

·                 Bush was a rugby union player and was on Yale’s 1st XV.^[13]

·                 He characterized himself as an average student.^[14]

·                 His grade point average during his first three years at Yale was 77, and he had a similar average under a non – numerical rating system in his final year.^[15]

·                 In the fall of 1973, Bush entered Harvard Business School. He graduated in 1975 with an MBA degree, and is the only U.S. president to have earned an MBA.^[16]

Family and Personal life

·                 Bush was engaged to Cathryn Lee Wolfman in 1967, but the engagement did not last.

·                 Bush and Wolfman remained on good terms after the end of the relationship.^[17]

·                 While Bush was at a backyard barbecue in 1977, friends introduced him to Laura Welch, a schoolteacher and librarian.

·                 After a three-month courtship, she accepted his marriage proposal and they wed on November 5 of that year.^[18]

Alcohol abuse

·                 Before his marriage, Bush repeatedly abused alcohol.^[21]

·                 On September 4, 1976, he was pulled over near his family’s summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for driving under the influence of alcohol.

·                 He was arrested for DUI, was fined $150, and received a brief suspension of his Maine driver’s license.^[22]

·                 Bush has said his wife has had a stabilizing effect on his life,^[18] and he attributes his decision to give up alcohol, in 1986, to her influence.^[23]

·                 While governor of Texas, Bush said of his wife, “I saw an elegant, beautiful woman who turned out not only to be elegant and beautiful, but very smart and willing to put up with my rough edges, and I must confess has smoothed them off over time.”^[18]

·                 Bush also says that his faith in God was critical in abstaining. “I believe that God helped open my eyes, which were closing because of booze”.^[20]

Hobbies

·                 Bush has been an avid reader throughout his adult life, preferring biographies and histories.^[24]

·                 During his presidency, Bush read the Bible daily,^[25] though at the end of his second term he said on television that he is “not a literalist” about Bible interpretation.^[26][27]

Military Career

·                 In May 1968, Bush was commissioned into the Texas Air National Guard.^[31]

·                 After two years of training in active-duty service,^[32] he was assigned to Houston, flying Convair F-102s with the 147th Reconnaissance Wing out of the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base.^[31][33]

·                 In late 1972 and early 1973, he drilled with the 187th Fighter Wing of the Alabama Air National Guard.

·                 Bush remains the most recent president to have served in the military.^[39]

Business Career

·                 In 1977, Bush established Arbusto Energy, a small oil exploration company, which began operations in 1978.^[40][41]

·                 In April 1989, Bush arranged for a group of investors to purchase a controlling interest of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers for $89 million and invested $500,000 himself to start.

Early Political Involvement

·                 In 1978, Bush ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas’s 19th congressional district.

·                 Bush lost the election, receiving 46.8 percent of the vote to Hance’s 53.2 percent.^[50]

Texas Governorship (1995–2000)

·                 Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election at the same time his brother Jeb sought the governorship in Florida.

·                 His campaign focused on four themes: welfare reform, tort reform, crime reduction, and education improvement.^[53] Bush’s campaign advisers were Karen Hughes, Joe Allbaugh, and Karl Rove.^[56]

·                 After easily winning the Republican primary, Bush faced popular Democratic incumbent Governor Ann Richards.^[53][57]

·                 Bush used a budget surplus to push through Texas’s largest tax cut, $2 billion.^[56]

·                 In 1998, Bush won re-election with a record ^[53] 69 percent of the vote.^[73]

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS

2000 Presidential Candidacy

Primary

·                 Bush portrayed himself as a compassionate conservative, implying he was more centrist than other Republicans.

·                 He campaigned on a platform that included bringing integrity and honour back to the White House,

o    increasing the size of the military,

o   cutting taxes,

o   improving education, and

·                 By early 2000, the race had cantered on Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain.^[53]

·                 Bush won the Iowa caucuses and, although heavily favoured to win the New Hampshire primary, trailed McCain by 19 percent and lost.

·                 Despite this, he regained momentum and effectively became the front runner after the South Carolina primary, which according to The Boston Globe made history for his campaign’s negativity. The New York Times described it as a smear campaign.^[76][77][78]

General Election

·                 On July 25, 2000, Bush surprised some observers when he selected Dick Cheney – a former White House chief of staff, U.S. representative, and secretary of defense – to be his running mate.

·                 Bush continued to campaign across the country and touted his record as Governor of Texas.^[53]

·                 During his campaign, Bush criticized his Democratic opponent, incumbent Vice President Al Gore, over gun control and taxation.^[80]

·                 When the election returns were tallied on November 7, Bush had won 29 states, including Florida. The closeness of the Florida outcome led to a recount.^[53]

·                 The initial recount also went to Bush, but the outcome was tied up in lower courts for a month until eventually reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.^[81]

2004 Presidential Candidacy

·                 In his 2004 bid for re-election, Bush commanded broad support in the Republican Party and did not encounter a primary challenge.

·                 Following the resignation of CIA director George Tenet in 2004, Bush nominated Porter Goss to head the agency.

·                 In the election, Bush carried 31 of 50 states, receiving 286 electoral votes. He won an absolute majority of the popular vote (50.7 percent to Kerry’s 48.3 percent).^[92]

PRESIDENCY (2001–2009)

·                 Bush had originally outlined an ambitious domestic agenda, but his priorities were significantly altered following the September 11 attacks.^[93] Wars were begun in Afghanistan and Iraq, and there were significant domestic debates regarding immigration, healthcare, Social Security, economic policy, and treatment of terrorist detainees. Over an eight-year period, Bush’s once-high approval ratings ^[94] steadily declined, while his disapproval numbers increased significantly.^[95] In 2007, the United States entered the longest post-World War II recession.^[96]

DOMESTIC POLICY

Economic Policy

·                 Bush took office during a period of economic recession in the wake of the bursting of the dot-com bubble.^[97] The September 11 terrorist attacks also impacted the economy.

·                 His administration increased federal government spending from $1.789 trillion to $2.983 trillion (66 percent),

·                 while revenues increased from $2.025 trillion to $2.524 trillion (from 2000 to 2008).

·                  Individual income tax revenues increased by 14 percent,

·                 corporate tax revenues by 50 percent, and

·                 customs and duties by 40 percent.

·                 Discretionary defense spending was increased by 107 percent,

·                 discretionary domestic spending by 62 percent,

·                 Medicare spending by 131 percent,

·                 social security by 51 percent, and

·                 income security spending by 130 percent.

·                 Cyclically adjusted, revenues rose by 35 percent and spending by 65 percent.^[98]

·                 The increase in spending was more than under any predecessor since Lyndon B. Johnson.^[99]

·                 The number of economic regulation governmental workers increased by 91,196.^[100]

·                 The surplus in fiscal year 2000 was $237 billion – the third consecutive surplus and the largest surplus ever.^[101]

·                 In 2001, Bush’s budget estimated that there would be a $5.6 trillion surplus over the next ten years.^[102]

·                 Facing congressional opposition, Bush held town hall-style meetings across the U.S. to increase public support for his plan for a $1.35 trillion tax cut program, one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history.^[53]

·                 Bush argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers, saying “the surplus is not the government’s money.

·                 The surplus is the people’s money.”^[53]

·                 Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned of a recession and Bush stated that a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs.^[103]

·                 Treasury Secretary Paul H. O’Neill, opposed some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine Social Security.^[104]

·                 O’Neill disputes the claim, made in Bush’s book Decision Points that he never openly disagreed with him on planned tax cuts.^[105]

·                 By 2003, the economy showed signs of improvement, though job growth remained stagnant.^[53] Another tax cut was passed that year.^[106]

·                 Unemployment originally rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, but subsequently dropped to 4.5 percent in July 2007.^[111]

2008 Financial Crisis

·                 In December 2007, the United States entered the longest post–World War II recession,^[96] caused by a housing market correction, a subprime mortgage crisis, soaring oil prices, and other factors.

·                 In February 2008, 63,000 jobs were lost, a five-year record,^[122] and in November, over 500,000 jobs were lost, which marked the largest loss of jobs in the United States in 34 years.^[123]

·                 The Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that in the last four months of 2008, 1.9 million jobs were lost.^[124]

·                 By the end of 2008, the U.S. had lost 2.6 million jobs.^[125]

·                 To aid with the situation, Bush signed a $170 billion economic stimulus package which was intended to improve the economic situation by sending tax rebate checks to many Americans and providing tax breaks for struggling businesses.^[126]

Education and Public Health

·                 Bush undertook many educational agendas,

·                 such as increasing the funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health in his first years of office and

·                 creating education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students.

·                 Funding for the NIH was cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years, due to rising inflation.^[136]

·                 On November 1, 2005, Bush launched a National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, which culminated in an implementation plan published by the Homeland Security Council in May 2006.^[142][143]

·                 After being re-elected, Bush signed into law a Medicare drug benefit program that, according to Jan Crawford, resulted in “the greatest expansion in America’s welfare state in forty years” – the bill’s costs approached $7 trillion.^[115]: 274

·                 In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation, which was added by the Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress.

·                  On May 21, 2008, Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act, aimed to protect Americans against health insurance and employment discrimination based on a person’s genetic information. The issue had been debated for 13 years before it finally became law. The measure is designed to protect citizens without hindering genetic research.^[146][147]

Social Services and Social Security

·                 Following Republican efforts to pass the Medicare Act of 2003, Bush signed the bill, which included major changes to the Medicare program by providing beneficiaries with some assistance in paying for prescription drugs, while relying on private insurance for the delivery of benefits.^[148]

·                 Bush began his second term by outlining a major initiative to reform Social Security,^[150] which was facing record deficit projections beginning in 2005.

Environmental Policies

·                 Upon taking office in 2001, Bush stated his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which seeks to impose mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, citing that the treaty exempted 80 percent of the world’s population^[155] and would have cost tens of billions of dollars per year.^[156] He also cited that the Senate had voted 95–0 in 1997 on a resolution expressing its disapproval of the protocol.

·                 In May 2001, Bush signed an executive order to create an interagency task force to streamline energy projects,^[157] and later signed two other executive orders to tackle environmental issues.^[158]

 Energy Policies

·                 In his 2006 State of the Union Address, Bush declared, “America is addicted to oil” and launched his Advanced Energy Initiative to increase energy development research.^[167]

·                  In his 2007 State of the Union Address, Bush renewed his pledge to work toward diminished reliance on foreign oil by reducing fossil fuel consumption and increasing alternative fuel production.^[168]

·                 In his 2008 State of the Union Address, Bush committed $2 billion over the next three years to a new international fund to promote clean energy technologies and fight climate change, saying, “Along with contributions from other countries, this fund will increase and accelerate the deployment of all forms of cleaner, more efficient technologies in developing nations like India and China, and help leverage substantial private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially attractive.”

·                 He also presented plans to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to work with major economies, and, through the UN, to complete an international agreement that will slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases; he stated, “This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride.”^[171]

Immigration

·                 Nearly eight million immigrants came to the U.S. from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in the nation’s history.^[177]

·                 Almost half entered illegally.^{[178][unreliable source?]} In 2006,

·                 Bush urged Congress to allow more than twelve million illegal immigrants to work in the United States with the creation of a “temporary guest-worker program”.

Hurricane Katrina

·                 Hurricane Katrina struck early in Bush’s second term and was one of the most damaging natural disasters in U.S. history.

·                  Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States, particularly New Orleans.^[188]

Midterm Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys

·                 During Bush’s second term, a controversy arose over the Justice Department’s midterm dismissal of seven United States Attorneys.^[200]

·                 The White House maintained that they were fired for poor performance.^[201] Attorney General Alberto Gonzales later resigned over the issue, along with other senior members of the Justice Department.^[202][203]

Foreign Policy

·                 During his presidential campaign, Bush’s foreign policy platform included support for stronger economic and political relationships with Latin America, especially Mexico, and a reduction of involvement in “nation-building” and other small-scale military engagements.

·                 The administration pursued a national missile defense.^[216] Bush was an advocate of China’s entry into the World Trade Organization.^[217]

·                 Bush began his second term with an emphasis on improving strained relations with European nations. He appointed long-time adviser Karen Hughes to oversee a global public relations campaign. Bush lauded the pro-democracy struggles in Georgia and Ukraine.^[218]

·                 Bush signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty with Russia.

September 11, 2001, Attacks

·                 The September 11 terrorist attacks were a major turning point in Bush’s presidency.

War on Terror

·                 In Bush’s September 20 speech, he declared that “our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there.”^[237][238]

·                 Dissent and criticism of Bush’s leadership in the War on Terror increased as the war in Iraq continued.^{[242][243][244]}

·                 The Iraq war sparked many protests and riots in different parts of the world.^[245]

·                 In 2006, a National Intelligence Estimate concluded that the Iraq War had become the “cause célèbre for jihadists“.^[246][247]

Afghanistan Invasion

·                 On October 7, 2001, U.S. and British forces initiated bombing campaigns that led to the arrival of Northern Alliance troops in Kabul on November 13.

Iraq invasion

·                 Beginning with his January 29, 2002 State of the Union address, Bush began publicly focusing attention on Iraq, which he labelled as part of an “axis of evil” allied with terrorists and posing “a grave and growing danger” to U.S. interests through possession of weapons of mass destruction.^[239][258]

·                 In March 2010, Center for Public Integrity released a report that President Bush’s administration had made more than 900 false pretences in a two-year period about the alleged threat of Iraq against the United States, as his rationale to engage in war in Iraq.^[283]

Surveillance

·                 Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, Bush issued an executive order that authorized the President’s Surveillance Program.

·                 The new directive allowed the National Security Agency to monitor communications between suspected terrorists outside the U.S. and parties within the U.S. without obtaining a warrant, which previously had been required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.^[284]

Interrogation Policies

·                 Bush authorized the CIA to use waterboarding and several other “enhanced interrogation techniques” that several critics, including Barack Obama, would label as torture.^{[293][294][295][296]}

·                 On October 17, 2006, Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 into law.^[302]

JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

Supreme Court

·                 On July 19, 2005, following the retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on July 1, Bush nominated federal appellate judge John Roberts as her replacement;

·                 however, following the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist on September 3, that still-pending nomination was withdrawn on September 5, with Bush instead nominating Roberts to be the next Chief Justice of the United States.

·                  He was confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 2005.^[335]

·                 Finally, on October 31, Bush nominated federal appellate judge Samuel Alito, who was confirmed by the Senate to replace O’Connor on January 31, 2006.^[336]

Other Courts

·                 In addition to his two Supreme Court appointments, Bush appointed 61 judges to the United States courts of appeals and 261 judges to the United States district courts.^{[citation needed]}

CULTURAL AND POLITICAL IMAGE

Image

·                 Bush’s upbringing in West Texas, his accent, his vacations on his Texas ranch, and his penchant for country metaphors contribute to his folksy, American cowboy image.^[337][338] “

·                 I think people look at him and think John Wayne“, said Piers Morgan, editor of the British Daily Mirror.^[339]

Job Approval

·                 Bush began his presidency with approval ratings near 60 percent.^[346] After the September 11 attacks, Bush gained an approval rating of 90 percent,^[347] maintaining 80–90 percent approval for four months after the attacks. It remained over 50 percent during most of his first term^[348] and then fell to as low as 19 percent in his second term.^[349]

·                 By the beginning of 2008, his final year in office, Bush’s approval rating had dropped to a low of just 19 percent, largely from the loss of support among Republicans.^[349]

Foreign Perceptions

·                 Bush was criticized internationally and targeted by the global anti-war and anti-globalization movements for his administration’s foreign policy.^[380][381]

·                 Views of him within the international community – even in France, a close ally of the United States – were more negative than those of most previous American presidents.^[382]

POST-PRESIDENCY (2009–PRESENT)

Residence

·                 Former President George W. Bush and his wife being escorted to a waiting helicopter by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on January 20, 2009.

·                 Following the inauguration of Barack Obama, Bush and his family flew from Andrews Air Force Base to a homecoming celebration in Midland, Texas, following which they returned to their ranch in Crawford, Texas.^[403]

·                 They bought a home in the Preston Hollow neighbourhood of Dallas, Texas, where they settled down.^[404]

Publications and Appearances

·                 Since leaving office, Bush has kept a relatively low profile.^[411]

·                 Bush has spoken in favour of increased global participation of women in politics and societal matters in foreign countries.^[412][413]

Collaborations

·                 President Obama with former presidents Clinton and Bush present the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund after the 2010 earthquake.

·                 In January 2010, at President Obama’s request, Bush and Bill Clinton established the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to raise contributions for relief and recovery efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake earlier that month.^[478]

·                 On September 7, 2017, Bush partnered with former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama to work with One America Appeal to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma in the Gulf Coast and Texas communities.^[481]

·                 Over the years, President Bush has had a good-natured friendship with Michelle Obama.

Art

·                 After serving as president, Bush began painting as a hobby after reading Winston Churchill‘s essay “Painting as a Pastime”.

Legacy

·                 Bush’s legacy continues to develop today, as time passing allows the development of a more nuanced historical perspective.

·                 Several historians and commentators hold that Bush was one of the most consequential presidents in American history.

·                 Bush has been widely portrayed in film and television, both during and since his presidency.^{[498][499][500]}

·                 He has had various nicknames, including “Dubya”, “GWB” and “Shrub”.^{[501][502][503]}

Reception

·                 The George W. Bush presidency has been ranked as below-average in surveys of presidential scholars published in the late 2000s and 2010s.^{[504][505][506]}

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