43.+George+W.+Bush



= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =**I. Introduction **= = = George W. Bush was the 43rd president of the United States. He served for 2 terms from 2001 to 2009. His father, George H. W. Bush was the 41st president of the United States making George W. Bush one of only two American presidents to be the son of a preceding president. George W. Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard. This military background really boosted his reputation. He had been a politician for most of his life and knew what worked and what didn't. He was the Governor of Texas before becoming president. His presidency revolved around the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq while significant debates regarding immigration, healthcare, Social Security, economic policy, and treatment of terrorist detainees took place within the United States.
 * = Table of Contents ||
 * = I. Introduction ||
 * = II. Childhood to Mid-Life ||
 * = III. Adult/Political Life ||
 * = IV. Presidency ||
 * = V. Accomplishments ||


 * II. Childhood To Mid-Life **[[image:george-bush_1239113c.jpg align="right" caption="George W. Bush at a press conference concerning Hurricane Katrina"]]

George W. Bush was born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the first of four children. He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas for most of his life. George W. Bush was around politics his whole life because his grandfather was a senator for Connecticut and his father was Vice President and later President. He attended public school in Texas until the grade where he switched to a prep school. He went to an all boys school for High School. After High School George W. Bush continued his education at Yale University graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He was described as being an "average student". After graduating from Yale he moved on to Harvard Business School and acquired a MBA. He was the only U.S. President to earn an MBA.
 * i.**

After school, George W. Bush switched his focus to the military. He loved to fly and once he completed his training he joined the Texas Air National Guard. He faced a lot of media and such because of his father's position. He decided to move on to politics 6 years later. He moved to Alabama and began his political life by campaigning for Winton M. Blount.
 * ii.**

**III. Adult/Political Life **

In 1978, Bush ran for the House of Representatives but lost. After losing Bush decided to get back into the oil industry. His father then came to George asking for help in the presidential campaign. George W. Bush was one of 7 people that ran his father's presidential campaign. Once his father's campaign was over, George worked on becoming the Governor of Texas. His campaign focused on four themes: welfare reform, tort reform, crime reduction, and education improvement. He easily won the election and then was re-elected 4 years later for another term making him the first Governor of Texas to be re-elected for 2 consecutive 4 year terms. He was well liked by the public and won the re-election with a record 69% of the votes. in 1999 Bush announced his plans on running for president. He was a favorite to win the primary because of his focuses that included increasing the size of the U.S. Armed Forces, cutting taxes, improving education, and aiding minorities.

**I ****V. Presidency ** George W. Bush beat Gore in the election and became the 43rd President of the United States in a very close race. Bush focused on economic policies and domestic policies throughout his presidency and later shifted his focus to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the events of September 11, 2001. Terrorism was a huge problem and George Bush worked hard to try and fight this. The public began to see Bush in a negative way because of the wars and the events that were occurring because of the wars. The economy began to slowly fall and Bush was blamed. Bush tried to help the people as much as he could by increasing funding in education and health. Bush later won the re-election and continued the war against terrorism. Bush had managed to do a lot in his 2 terms that included immigration laws, stem cell research, increases in the funding of educational and science programs. Hurricane Katrina and September 11 were two events that caused problems for Bush but he did his best to try and work past them and help the people of the United States. The events of September 11 and Katrina really hurt his reputation.

**V. Accomplishments **

During his 2 terms of being president of the United States George W. Bush accomplished a lot even though there were several events that slowed him down (Katrina, 9/11, Iraq and Afganistan wars). His accomplishments include:


 * Taking the Taliban out of power
 * Worked to prevent further acts of terrorism (None on U.S. soil since 9/11/2001)
 * Established a more stable and friendly relationship with China
 * Caused trouble for al Qaeda and almost captured Bin Laden
 * Capture of Saddam Hussein
 * Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history.
 * Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled
 * Signed the No Child Left Behind Act
 * Passed several laws and policies that focused on increasing funding for education and science
 * Played a huge role in trying to stop illegal immigration
 * Funding for stem cell research
 * Improved programs and groups that help during disasters (FEMA)

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