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George Walker Bush
43rd President of the United States
Vice President	Richard B. Cheney
Preceded by	Bill Clinton
Personal details
Nationality	american
Political party	Republican

George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States and a former Governor of the State of Texas. A lifelong member of the Republican Party, he served in the Texas Air National Guard, and was a businessman in both the oil industry and professional sports, serving as managing general partner of the Texas Rangers, an American League baseball team.

Bush was elected as the 46th Governor of Texas in 1994, and was re-elected in 1998. He won the Republican nomination in the 2000 presidential election, and was elected President after a particularly close general election with a controversial aftermath that was argued all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and was finally settled when the Court declined by a 5-4 vote to intervene in the matter. Bush was elected to a second term in the 2004 election.

Bush is a member of a prominent political family. His father, George H. W. Bush, served as the 41st U.S. President for four years and as the 43rd Vice President for eight, while his brother, Jeb Bush, is the 43rd and current Governor of Florida. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a United States Senator. He also has two other younger brothers, Marvin Bush and Neil Bush, both businessmen. He and John Quincy Adams are the only presidents to have fathers (George H. W. Bush and John Adams respectively) who were presidents themselves.

He Just a Bitch

Religious beliefs and practices

After meeting with evangelist Billy Graham in 1985, Bush became more involved in religion. During this period he left the Bush family's Episcopalian faith to join his wife's United Methodist Church, a denomination that espouses more conservative views.

In one of the televised debates in the Republican primaries in 2000, all of the candidates were asked to name the philosopher that had most impacted their life. Bush responded by naming "Jesus Christ" - stating that he was the person who had changed his life.

Currently, Bush holds private daily morning Bible study periods and sponsors the Thursday lunch Bible study meetings at the White House. He advocates conservative Christian religious values, but avoids directly discussing the particulars of his faith.

Professional life

Business

Bush began his oil industry career in 1979 when he established Arbusto Energy, an oil and gas exploration company he financed with his education trust fund surplus and money from other investors. In 1984, Bush sold the company, hurt in the wake of the 1979 energy crisis and renamed Bush Exploration Co., to Spectrum 7, another Texas oil and gas exploration firm. Under the terms of the sale, Bush became CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Spectrum 7 lost revenue and was merged into Harken Energy Corporation in 1986, with Bush becoming a director of Harken.

After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, Bush learned from fellow Yale alumnus William DeWitt, Jr., that family friend Eddie Chiles wanted to sell the Texas Rangers baseball franchise. In April 1989, Bush assembled a group of investors from his father's close friends, including fellow fraternity brother Roland W. Betts; the group bought an 86% share of the Rangers for $75,000,000 (USD). Bush received a 2% share by investing $606,302, of which $500,000 was a bank loan. Against the advice of his counsel, Bush repaid the loan by selling $848,000 worth of stock in Harken Energy. Harken reported significant financial losses within a year of this sale, triggering allegations of insider trading. On March 27, 1992, the Securities and Exchange Commission concluded that Bush had a "preexisting plan" to sell, that Bush had a "relatively limited role in Harken management", and that insider trading did not occur.

As managing general partner of the Rangers, Bush assisted the team's media relations and the construction of a new stadium. His public role generated valuable goodwill and name recognition throughout Texas.

Political career

Bush started his political career assisting his father's 1964 and 1970 campaigns for the U.S Senate. After a United States National Guard transfer in 1972, he served as political director for an Alabama senate campaign. In 1978, Bush ran for the U.S. House of Representatives but lost to a State Senator, Democrat Kent Hance (now Republican). Ronald Reagan endorsed Bush's opponent in the Republican primary.

In 1994, Bush took a leave of absence from the Rangers to run for Governor of Texas against the popular incumbent, Democrat Ann Richards. On November 8, 1994, he defeated Richards by a margin of 53% to 46%. That same year, he and his partners sold the Texas Rangers, with the Govenor realizing a profit of more than $14 million. As Governor, Bush forged a legislative alliance with powerful Texas Lt. Governor Bob Bullock, a longtime Democrat. 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). During Bush's governorship, he undertook significant legislative changes in criminal justice, tort law, and school financing. Bush took a hard line on capital punishment and received much criticism from advocates who wanted to abolish the death penalty and also those who argued that there tangible imperfections in the Texas legal system that required a more cautious approach to carrying out the death penalty. Under Bush, Texas's incarceration rate was 1014 inmates per 100,000 in 1999, the second-highest in the nation, owing mainly to strict enforcement of drug laws. In September 1999, Bush signed the Texas Futile Care Law. Bush's transformative agenda and family pedigree now provided an opportunity to advance his political career to the national level.

George Bush is Gay. THats what I heard.

Important people in Bush's life and career

Bush is recognized as a born-again Christian, very close to his wife Laura, his father George H. Bush and mother Barbara Bush. He is also close to his sister Dorothy Bush Koch and brother Marvin Bush. Loyalty to family is an important cornerstone of Bush's attitude to his family relationships, and despite some differences in policy and attitudes, and independent of each other, Bush and his brother Jeb Bush have worked closely to help each other's political career.

In his career, Bush values loyalty as the greatest asset, and has developed a close band of advisors deeply loyal to him. In his second term, he has elevated them from personal political jobs to top government positions.

Some of the closest and most trusted advisors to Bush in affairs of policy and politics are women. Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State was Bush's close confidant in the first term as National Security Advisor, and a Bush loyalist. Margaret Spellings was Bush's chief domestic policy advisor from his days as Governor of Texas, and now runs the U.S. Department of Education. Moreover, Karen Hughes was one of Bush's most trusted political advisors, playing important roles in all his campaigns from 1994 to 2004. She was briefly White House counsel, and now is Undersecretary of State for public diplomacy - responsible for the specific mission of improving America's image in the world, and particularly with Muslim countries. Harriet Miers was legal counsel and a close loyalist to Bush in Texas, and had been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court — though she later withdrew her nomination.

Karl Rove has played perhaps the greatest influence on Bush's life and career. Ever since meeting in 1972, Rove built Bush's political campaign machine when he decided to run for Texas's governorship in 1994, and was his closest political advisor. When elected President in 2001, Bush asked Rove to give up his direct mail business and join him full-time in Washington. Officially designated White House political advisor, Rove designed the political strategy to enact Bush's legislative agenda, and guide the political strategy on important national issues of both the White House and the Republican Party, in view to the 2004 re-election campaign. After winning re-election, Bush called Rove The Architect of his campaign, and Rove now serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, for domestic policy and national security. Rove is also responsible for the elevation of Bush loyalist Republicans like Ken Mehlman, Bush's campaign manager and now Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Rove is now (2005) facing a grand jury trial for allegedly leaking to the media the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame who was the wife of a critic of Bush.

Alberto Gonzales was the Governor's legal counsel in Texas, and later Attorney General. He joined Bush in 2001 in Washington, and in 2005, was appointed U.S. Attorney General, the first Hispanic American ever to run the U.S. Justice Department.

Colin Powell's exit as Secretary of State in 2004 is widely attributed to his lacking a personal rapport with the President and not merging his political image and fortunes with those of the President.

Presidency of the United States

Foreign policy and security

During his first presidential visit to Europe in June 2001, European leaders criticized Bush for his rejection of the Kyoto Protocol. In 2002, Bush rejected the treaty as harmful to economic growth in the United States, stating: "My approach recognizes that economic growth is the solution, not the problem." The administration also disputed the scientific basis of the treaty. In November 2004, Russia ratified the treaty, meeting the quota of nations required to enforce it without ratification by the United States.

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. However, after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks (9/11 attacks), the State Department focused primarily on the Middle East.

Terrorism

Soon after the 9/11 attacks, Bush made a brief speech appearance holding a bullhorn at Ground Zero surrounded by rescue workers. CNN reported, "As he stood on a pile of rubble in Manhattan, some people in the crowd shouted they couldn't hear him." In reply, Bush stated that the attackers would soon be "hearing from all of us".

On October 7, 2001, the United States, with international support, launched a war against the Afghani Taliban regime, charged with harboring Osama bin Laden. Subsequent nation-building efforts with the United Nations and Afghan president Hamid Karzai have had mixed results; bin Laden (as of 2005) is still at large. Democratic elections were held on October 9, 2004. International observers called the elections "fairly democratic" at the "overall majority" of polling centers, despite 15 of the 18 presidential candidates threatening withdrawal over allegations of flawed registration and validation.

In response to terrorism concerns, Bush withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to promote a new missile defense system, arguing the treaty's Cold War benefits were no longer relevant. The American Physical Society criticized this policy change, citing doubts about the system's effectiveness. Under Bush, total military spending has increased to a level comparable with the Cold War resulting in further suggestions that his primary objective is to feed the Military-Industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned about in 1961.

Iraq

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration promoted urgent action in Iraq, announcing that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), that Hussein was a threat to U.S. security, destabilized the Middle East, inflamed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and financed terrorists. CIA reports noted that Hussein tried to acquire nuclear material, had not properly accounted for Iraqi biological weapons and chemical weapons material in violation of U.N. sanctions, and that Iraqi missiles had a range greater than allowed by the UN sanctions. Critics countered that U.S. economic interests in Iraqi petroleum resources were the underlying motive.

Asserting that Hussein could provide terrorists with WMD, Bush urged the UN to enforce Iraqi disarmament mandates, precipitating a diplomatic crisis. On November 13, 2002, under UN Security Council Resolution 1441, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei led UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. Lapses in Iraqi cooperation triggered intense debate over the efficacy of inspections. UN inspection teams departed Iraq upon U.S. advisement given four days prior to full-scale hostilities.

Secretary of State Colin Powell urged his colleagues in the Bush administration to avoid a war without clear UN approval. The Bush administration initially sought a UN Security Council resolution authorizing the military force pursuant to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter but, facing vigorous opposition from key nations including the public threat of an embarrassing French veto, dropped the bid for UN approval and, with a few other nations designated the "coalition of the willing", prepared for war.

Military hostilities commenced on March 20, 2003 to preempt Iraqi WMD deployment and remove Hussein from power. Casus belli included Hussein's hindering weapons inspections, an alleged 1991 assassination attempt on Bush's father George H. W. Bush, broach of a 1991 ceasefire, and violation of numerous Security Council resolutions. Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan and other world leaders questioned the war's legality. Bush declared victory on May 1, 2003, but U.S. deployment continued through 2005 despite the capture of Hussein because of ongoing Iraqi insurgencies.

On September 30, 2004, the U.S. Iraq Survey Group Final Report concluded, "ISG has not found evidence that Saddam Husayn (sic) possessed WMD stocks in 2003, but the available evidence from its investigation—including detainee interviews and document exploitation—leaves open the possibility that some weapons existed in Iraq although not of a militarily significant capability." The 9/11 Commission report found no credible evidence that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD, although the report did conclude that Hussein's government was actively attempting to acquire technology that would allow Iraq to produce WMDs as soon as U.N. sanctions were lifted. In addition, the 9/11 commission found that despite contacts between Iraq and Al-Qaeda in 1996, "no collaborative relationship" emerged in regards to the attacks on 9/11.

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Other disputed issues have included questions about the biased selection and/or distortion of pre-war intelligence reports, democratization of the Middle East, relationship to the War on Terror, effect on the United States' relationship with European powers and on the role and function of the United Nations, debate over nation building, and the impact on nearby countries such as Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. Still, Bush has defended his decision, arguing, "The world is safer today."

The decision-making process of the Bush administration was the subject of a classified British document from July 22, 2002, known as the Downing Street memo, which became public in May 2005. In it, the British Head of the Secret Intelligence Service, Sir Richard Dearlove, reported on his visit to Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2002:

There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.

Some critics charged that the Downing Street memo was a "smoking gun", claiming it proved that Bush already committed to attacking Iraq at a time when he publicly stated that he had not yet made up his mind on the issue. The existence of this debate, however, does not negate the opposing contextual events that preceded it; Bush denied this aspect of the Downing Street memo and re-asserted that he had not yet made up his mind to go to war at the time in question. Several political pundits claimed that the phrase "fixed around the policy" was ambiguous and did not insinuate that administration was cherry picking the evidence, rather it simply meant the administration was "preparing" the intelligence for presentation.

Political ideology

Bush describes his ideology as compassionate conservatism. Some conservatives have questioned Bush's commitment to traditional conservative ideals for his willingness to incur large budget deficits by permitting substantial spending increases. In his 2005 inaugural address he outlined his vision of foreign policy and claimed plan for democracy promotion, National Security Strategy of the United States of America (pdf). Critics have charged that Bush's foreign policy has been influenced by neo-conservative think tanks including Project for the New American Century, supposedly evidenced by the presence of PNAC founders Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld in high positions in his administration.

Domestic policy

Faith-based initiatives

In early 2001, Bush worked with Republicans and social conservatives in Congress to pass legislation changing the way the federal government regulated, taxed and funded charities and non-profit initiatives run by religious organizations. Although prior to the legislation it was possible for these organizations to receive federal assistance, the new legislation removed reporting requirements that required the organizations to separate their charitable functions from their religious functions. Bush also created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Several organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have criticized Bush's faith-based initiative program, arguing that it involves government entanglement with religion and favoritism to religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Diversity and civil rights

Bush has been criticized for encouraging alleged racial profiling of Muslims and Arab-Americans. Among the cited actions by the administration have been secret detentions of 2,000 people and "the targeting of individuals, primarily Muslims from certain countries, based on national origin for voluntary interviews, registration and fingerprinting, and deportation." Bush supporters counter that these actions are necessary to protect against terrorism. In June 2003, Bush announced guidelines forbidding federal employees from racial profiling. Although these guidelines provided some protection for ethnic minorities, they did allow racial profile in certain circumstances to help "stop potential catastrophic attacks".

Bush is opposed to the legal recognition of same-sex marriages, but supports the establishment of civil unions ("I don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement" - ABC News October 26, 2004). He has endorsed the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would define marriage as being the union of one man and one woman. Bush reiterated his disagreement with the Republican Party platform that opposed civil unions, and said that the issue of civil unions should be left up to individual states. In his February 2, 2005, State of the Union address he repeated his support for the constitutional amendment.

Bush is the first Republican president to have appointed an openly gay man to serve in his administration (Scott Evertz as director of the Office of National AIDS Policy), and the first president to see one such appointment, that of openly gay Ambassador to Romania Michael E. Guest, receive Congressional confirmation. Bush has claimed to support the executive order issued by President Bill Clinton banning employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but Scott Bloch, whom Bush chose as Special Counsel in 2003, does not feel he has the legal authority to enforce the ban. During his 2000 campaign trail he met with the Log Cabin Republicans, a first for a Republican Presidential candidate. The organization endorsed him in 2000 but not in 2004.

Bush obtained a statistically significant increase in support from African-Americans for a republican candidate during his presidency. Although he only got 9% of the black vote in 2000, he received nearly 12% in 2004, with the increased black vote in Ohio giving the victory to Bush over Kerry. His popularity among African-Americans dropped dramatically to only 2% following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, according to an NBC/Washington Post poll. This drop is attributed to harsh criticism of African-American pundits such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, and rapper Kanye West (see Hurricane Katrina section). Some claim Bush has opposed most forms of affirmative action. Although Bush expressed appreciation for the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the selection of college applicants for purposes of diversity, his Administration filed briefs against it. Bush has said he opposes quotas and racial preferences, but that the private and public sector should be encouraged to reach out to minorities. Bush has met with the National Urban League as President, but has not yet met with the NAACP as a group since he became president (though he did address the NAACP at its 2000 convention in Baltimore as a presidential candidate, and he met with outgoing NAACP President and former Congressman, Kweisi Mfume on December 21, 2004).

An August 2005 report by the United States Commission on Civil Rights states that "the government fails to seriously consider race-neutral alternatives as the Constitution requires." Chairman Gerald A. Reynolds explained, "Federal agencies do not independently evaluate, conduct research, collect data, or periodically review programs to determine whether race-neutral strategies will provide an adequate alternative to race-conscious programs." Civil rights groups have expressed concern that this report is an attack on affirmative action inconsistent with Grutter v. Bollinger.

In his first term, Bush appointed Colin Powell as Secretary of State, who became the first African-American man to serve in that position. He was succeeded by Condoleezza Rice in 2005, who became the first African-American woman to hold the post. In 2005, he appointed Alberto Gonzalez as the United States Attorney General, the first Hispanic to hold that position. In total, Bush has appointed more women and minorities to high-level positions within his administration than any other U.S. President.

Economy

During his first term Bush sought and obtained Congressional approval for three major tax cuts, which increased the standard income tax deduction for married couples, eliminated the estate tax, and reduced marginal tax rates. The cuts are currently scheduled to expire a decade after passage. Bush has asked Congress to make the tax cuts permanent. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, by 2003 these tax cuts had reduced total federal revenue, as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to the lowest level since 1959.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the economy suffered from a recession that lasted from March 2001 to November 2001.

Federal spending in constant dollars increased under Bush by 26% in his first 4 and a half years. Non-defense spending increased 18% in that time.

The tax cuts, recession, and increases in outlays all contributed to record budget deficits during the Bush administration. The annual deficit reached record current-dollar levels of $374,000,000,000 in 2003 and $413,000,000,000 in 2004. National debt, the cumulative total of yearly deficits, rose from $5.7 trillion (58% of GDP) to $7.9 trillion (68% of GDP) under Bush, as compared to the $2.7 trillion total debt owed when Ronald Reagan left office, which was 52% of the GDP.

In an open letter to Bush in 2004, more than 100 professors of business and economics at U.S. business schools ascribed this "fiscal reversal" to Bush's "policy of slashing taxes - primarily for those at the upper reaches of the income distribution". Bush's supporters have countered that, primarily because of the doubling of the value of the child tax credit, "7,800,000 low and middle-income families had their entire income tax liabilities erased by the cuts."

According to the "baseline" forecast of federal revenue and spending by the Congressional Budget Office (in its January 2005 Baseline Budget Projections, the budget deficits will decrease over the next several years. In this projection the deficit will fall to 368,000,000,000 (USD) in 2005, 261,000,000,000 (USD) in 2007, and 207,000,000,000 (USD) in 2009, with a small surplus by 2012. The CBO noted, however, that this projection "omits a significant amount of spending that will occur this year--and possibly for some time to come--for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for other activities related to the global War on Terrorism." The projection also assumes that the Bush tax cuts "will expire as scheduled on December 31, 2010". If, as Bush has urged, the tax cuts were to be extended, then "the budget outlook for 2015 would change from a surplus of 141,000,000,000 (USD) to a deficit of 282,000,000,000 (USD)".

Inflation under Bush has remained at about 2-3% per year. The recession and a drop in some prices led to concern about deflation from mid-2001 to late-2003. More recently, high oil prices have caused concern about increasing inflation. So far, the economy has withstood these threats.

Private employment has decreased significantly under Bush according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Payroll Survey. After private employment (seasonally adjusted) peaked at 111,680,000 in December 2000, it dropped to 108,250,000 in mid-2003. The percentage drop in jobs was the largest since 1981-1983.

The economy added private jobs for 25 consecutive months (July 2003 to August 2005), but the private employment level remained below the pre-Bush level until June 2005 when it reached 111,828,000. Considering population growth, that still represents a 4.6% decrease in employment since Bush took office.

The Current Population Survey (aka Household Survey) measures the percentage of the population that is employed and unemployed. The result can be multiplied by population estimates to get total employment estimates. This survey has the advantage over the Payroll survey in that it includes self-employed. The Household Survey is less accurate in producing total numbers (since it requires population estimates) and in that it samples many fewer people (60,000 households versus 400,000 business establishments). For better or worse, the Household Survey counts multiple jobs held by one person only once, and it includes government workers, farm workers, unpaid family workers, and workers absent without pay. The Household Survey indicates that the percentage of the population employed decreased from 64.4% in December 2000 and January 2001 to 62.1% in August and September of 2003. By August 2005, it had recovered only to 62.9%. In absolute numbers, this corresponds to a drop of 1.6 million jobs but an eventual net gain of 4.7 million jobs during the Bush administration.

Under Bush, the seasonally adjusted Unemployment Rate based on the Household Survey started at 4.7% in January 2001, peaked at 6.2% in June 2003, and retreated to 4.9% in August 2005.

In September 2005, total private average weekly earnings in constant dollars as measured by the Payroll Survey dropped to their lowest level since July 1998. While Hurricane Katrina and associated price increases may have played a role, real earnings had decreased for seven of the prior eight months. Through 2002-2004, earnings had been slightly higher than when Bush came into office.

The rise in GDP since the recession was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity, in part due to layoffs of underutilized workers. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.

While the GDP recovered from the recession that Bush claims he had inherited from the previous administration, poverty has since worsened according to the Census Bureau. The percent of the population below the poverty level increased in each of Bush's first four years, while it decreased for each of the prior seven years to a 11-year low. Although the poverty level increased, it is important to note that the increase was still lower between 2000-2002 then it was between 1992-1997 (which reached a peak of 39.3% in 1993). In 2002 the poverty rate was 34.6% which was almost equal to the rate in 1998, which was 34.5%. Poverty was at 12.7% in 2004.

Social security

Bush called for major changes in Social Security (United States), identifying the issue as a priority early in his second term. From January through April of 2005, he toured the country, stopping in over 50 cities across the union with an argument that there is a "crisis", a view disputed by critics as being manufactured. Initially, Bush emphasized his proposal for partial privatization, which would allow individual workers to invest a portion of their Social Security Tax (FICA) into personal retirement accounts. The main idea behind this privatization of Social Security is to allow workers to own the money they place into retirement, as with the existing social security system, a person who passes on loses all benefits they paid for, and the benefits are non-transferable, even to family members.

One criticism of this approach was that it might actually worsen the imbalance between revenues and expenses that Bush pointed to as a looming problem. In addition, many Democrats opposed changes that they felt were turning Social Security into a welfare program that would be politically vulnerable. Some even claim that the point of Bush's plan is to benefit private companies, and that it would turn Social Security into just another insurance program.

Health

In July of 2002, Bush cut off U.S. funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Bush claimed that the UNFPA supported forced abortions and sterilizations in the People's Republic of China.

Bush signed the Medicare Act of 2003, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare (United States), subsidized pharmaceutical corporations, and prohibited the Federal government from negotiating discounts with drug companies. Bush said the law, estimated to cost 400,000,000,000 (USD) over the first 10 years, would give the elderly "better choices and more control over their health care". Seniors can buy a Medicare-approved discount card for $30 or less to help offset the increasing costs of prescription drugs. The legislation also adds prescription drug coverage to the federal health insurance program for the elderly, starting in 2006. The bill encourages insurance companies to offer private plans to millions of older Americans who now receive health care benefits under terms fixed by the government, an idea against which several Democrats have lashed out.

Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003, having declared his aim to "promote a culture of life". The law was never enforced, having been ruled unconstitutional by three District Courts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld one of these rulings. The federal law would have prohibited Intact dilation and extraction procedures "in which the person performing the abortion partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery". Several liberal and conservative critics alike feel that the law is merely a political gesture, as a fetus could technically be aborted inside of the womb and removed thereafter.

Education

In January of 2002, Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, with Senator Ted Kennedy as chief sponsor, which aims to close the achievement gap, measures student performance, provides options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and targets more federal funding to low-income schools. Critics (including John Kerry and the National Education Association) say schools were not given the resources to help meet new standards, although their arguement is based on premise that authorization levels are spending promises instead of spending caps. Some state governments are refusing to implement provisions of the act as long as they are not adequately funded. In January of 2005, USA Today reported that the United States Department of Education had paid $240,000 to African-American conservative political commentator Armstrong Williams "to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same." Williams did not disclose the payments, and has since acknowledged them may return some of the money.

The House Education and Workforce Committee stated, "As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act, signed by Bush on January 8, 2002, the Federal government today is spending more money on elementary and High School (K-12) education than at any other time in the history of the United States".

Science

On December 19, 2002, Bush signed into law H. R. 4664, far-reaching legislation to put the National Science Foundation (NSF) on a track to double its budget over five years and to create new mathematics and science education initiatives at both the pre-college and undergraduate level.

Bush opposes any new, and has limited the federal funding of existing, embryonic stem cell research. Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research was first approved under Clinton on January 19, 1999, but no money was to be spent until the guidelines were published. The guidelines were released under Clinton on August 23, 2000. They allowed use of unused frozen embryos. On August 9, 2001, before any funding was granted under these guidelines, Bush announced modifications to the guidelines to allow use of only existing stem cell lines. While Bush claimed that more than 60 embryonic stem cell lines already existed from privately funded research, scientists in 2003 said there were only 11 usable lines, and in 2005 that all lines approved for Federal funding are contaminated and unusable. Adult stem cell funding has not been restricted, and is vehemently supported by President Bush as a more viable means of research. Some scientists have repeatedly criticized the Bush administration for reducing funding for scientific research and setting restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

On February 18, 2004, the scientific watchdog group the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report entitled Scientific Integrity in Policymaking. Included was a statement "opposing the Bush administration's use of scientific advice." The report alleged that "the Bush administration has ignored unbiased scientific advice in the policy-making that is so important for our collective welfare" and "has suppressed or distorted the scientific analyses of federal agencies to bring these results in line with administration policy" to an extent that is "unprecedented." The report has been signed by over 7,000 scientists, including 49 Nobel laureates, 63 recipients of the National Medal of Science, and 154 members of the National Academy of Sciences.

On January 14, 2004, Bush announced a major re-direction for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Known as the Vision for Space Exploration, it calls for the completion of the International Space Station by 2010 and the retirement of the space shuttle while developing a new spacecraft called the Crew Exploration Vehicle under the title Project Constellation. The CEV would be used to return American astronauts to the Moon by 2018, with the objective of establishing a permanent lunar base, and eventually sending future manned missions to Mars.

Although the plan was met with a largely tepid reception, the budget eventually passed with a few minor changes after the November elections. In January 2005 the White House released a new Space Transportation Policy fact sheet, which outlined the administration's space policy in broad terms and tied the development of space transport capabilities to national security requirements.

On August 1, 2005, Bush took a controversial stance favoring the teaching of Intelligent Design alongside evolution in science classes, saying, "I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought, and I'm not suggesting - you're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes." Proponents of Intelligent Design (ID) contend that organisms exhibit strong evidence of having been designed because they exhibit "irreducible complexity" that is "unlikely to be produced by numerous, successive, slight modifications of prior systems." The ID assertation claims to leave speculation on the nature of the designer to other disciplines. Although ID does not posit the existence of God, critics claim that its teaching is an unconstitutional use of the science curriculum to promote theism (see Creation-evolution controversy). Intelligent Design is considered by the vast majority of the main-stream scientific community to be unsuitable for science class. For example, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (the world's largest general scientific society) contrasts the "scientific robustness of the contemporary theory of biological evolution" with the proposed teaching of intelligent design that it says will "confuse students about the nature of science." The National Academy of Sciences says, "Creationism, intelligent design, and other claims of supernatural intervention in the origin of life or of species are not science because they are not testable by the methods of science."

Environment

Bush signed the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002, authorizing the federal government to begin cleaning up pollution and contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes, as well as the Brownfields Legislation in 2002, accelerating the cleanup of abandoned industrial or brownfield sites.

Bush's environmental record has been attacked by most environmentalists, who charge that his policies cater to industry demands to weaken environmental protections. Environmental groups note that many Bush Administration officials, in addition to Bush and Cheney, have ties to the oil industry, automotive industry, and other groups that have fought against environmental protections. In December 2003, Bush signed legislation implementing key provisions of his Healthy Forests Initiative; environmental groups have charged that the plan is simply a giveaway to timber companies. Another subject of controversy is Bush's Clear Skies Initiative, which seeks to reduce air pollution through expansion of cap-and-trade programs. Opponents say that instead of reducing air pollution, the initiative will allow utilities to pollute more than they do currently.

Partially due to gas price hikes, Bush proposed tapping the oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a particularly sensitive ecosystem due to its arctic location. Some claim that it is the last untouched wilderness left in the US, and that the majority of oil dug from the refuge will be sent to foreign countries, such as Japan, where larger profits can be made by domestic oil companies.

Bush has opposed the Kyoto Protocol saying it would harm the U.S. economy. Bush said it is unfairly strict on the U.S. while being unduly lenient with developing countries, especially China and India. Bush stated, "The world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases is China. Yet, China was entirely exempted from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol." He has also questioned the science behind the global warming phenomenon, insisting that more research be done to determine its validity. (See America's Kyoto protocol position.)

Immigration

Bush proposed an immigration bill that would have greatly expanded the use of guest worker visas. His proposal would match employers with foreign workers for a period up to six years; however workers would not be eligible for permanent residency ("green cards") or citizenship. The bill is opposed by certain Democrat Senators such as Barbara Boxer and Edward M. Kennedy.

Trade

Bush's imposition of a tariff on imported steel and on Canadian softwood lumber was controversial in light of his advocacy of free market policies in other areas, and attracted criticism both from his fellow conservatives and from nations affected. The steel tariff was later rescinded under pressure from the World Trade Organization. The softwood lumber dispute is still ongoing.

Administration

Bush is famous for placing a high value on loyalty, and the result has been an administration with peerless message discipline. He maintains a "hands-off" style of management that he believes prevents him from being tangled by intricacies that hinder sound decision-making. "I'm confident in my management style. I'm a delegator because I trust the people I've asked to join the team. I'm willing to delegate. That makes it easier to be President," he said in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC in December of 2003. However, critics contend that Bush is willing to overlook mistakes made by loyal subordinates, and that Bush has surrounded himself with "yes men".

Bush's presidency has been characterized by a vigorous defence of executive privilege, evidenced in such acts as signing Executive Order 13233, which suspends the release of presidential papers, tight control of Congressional inquiries into White House officers such as in the 9/11 Commission's interviews with Condoleezza Rice, Bush and Richard B. Cheney, and the generally high-level of coordination between the White House, Congressional Republicans and Senate Republicans in both of Bush's terms. Many commentators have claimed that deference to executive privilege was one of the principal considerations Bush's administration considered when proposing and John G. Roberts and Harriet E. Miers as candidates for the Supreme Court, and John R. Bolton's appointment to the United Nations .

Bush also has performed many of his presidential duties from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, dubbed "The Western White House". As of August 2, 2005, Bush had visited the ranch 49 times during his time as President, accruing 319 days away from the White House and nearly reaching Reagan's eight-year record of 335 days in 5.5 years, though it is acknowledged that all of these trips were "working" vacations. Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record Critics contend that he takes more vacation than any president in history, but officials respond that his longest visit to Crawford, in August 2005, included only one week of actual respite in the five-week visit.

Cabinet

Supreme Court nominations

Bush nominated the following individuals to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States:

• John G. Roberts, Jr. – Chief Justice, 2005 (confirmed by the Senate)
• Harriet E. Miers – 2005 (nomination withdrawn)
• Samuel A. Alito, Jr. 2005 (before the Senate)

Major legislation signed

2001

• June 7: Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
• September 18: Authorization for Use of Military Force
• September 28: United States-Jordan Free Trade Area Implementation Act
• October 26: USA PATRIOT Act
• November 28: Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act

2002

• January 8: No Child Left Behind Act
• March 9: Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002
• March 27: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
• May 13: Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
• July 30: Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
• October 16: Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq
• November 25: Homeland Security Act of 2002

2003

• March 11: Do-Not-Call Implementation Act
• April 30: PROTECT Act of 2003 (Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act) (see also Age of consent)
• May 27: United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003
• May 28: Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003
• September 3: United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
• September 3: United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
• November 5: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003
• December 8: Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
• December 16: Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)

2004

• April 1: Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Laci and Conner's Law)

2005

• February 18: Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
• April 20: Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005
• August 2: Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
• August 8: Energy Policy Act of 2005
• August 10: Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 (SAFETEA)
• October 26: Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act

Public perception and assessments

Bush has been the subject of both popular praise and scathing criticism. His supporters believe he has done well with the economy and homeland security, and shown exemplary leadership after the September 11 attacks. His detractors have disagreed on those very subjects and have also criticized the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, the controversial 2000 election, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The magazine TIME named Bush as its Person of the Year for 2000 and for 2004. This award is traditionally given to the person considered by the editors to be the most important newsmaker of the year.

Due to Bush's colorful mistakes when speaking, detractors coined a new term, “bushism”, to describe the grammatical configuration unique to Bush. Bushisms have been widely popularized and archived across the internet due to their humorous nature. Some of his detractors, with varying degrees of seriousness, consider him unintelligent. On the other hand, his score on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (at age 22) suggests that his I.Q. was the mid-120s, above average.

Domestic

In the time of national crisis following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush enjoyed approval ratings of greater than 85%. Since then, his approval ratings and approval of handling of domestic, economic, and foreign policy issues have steadily dropped. For a comprehensive look, one can see an image of polling trends over the course of Bush's presidency here.

In 2002, Bush had the highest approval rating of any president during a midterm congressional election since Dwight Eisenhower. In an unusual deviation from the historical trend of midterm elections, the Republican Party retook control of the Senate and added to its majority in the House of Representatives. Typically, the President's party loses congressional seats in the midterm elections; 2002 marked only the third midterm election since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress (others were 1902 and 1934).

In 2003, Bush's approval spiked upward at the time of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February. The upward trend continued through the invasion of Iraq in March. By late 2003, when presidential opponents typically begin their campaigns in earnest, his approval numbers were in the low to middle 50s. Most polls tied the decline to growing concern over the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and a slow recovery from the 2001 recession. Polls of May 2004 showed anywhere from a 53% to a 46 % approval rating. More recently, a poll taken by American Research Group from August 18 to 21, 2005, shows that 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president (6% below the number in July), while 58% disapprove. This figure is lower than that of any modern president in his second term, including Nixon's approval rating of 39% during the Watergate scandal that eventually led to his resignation, though not lower than President Jimmy Carter's nadir of 17%. A concurrent Gallup Poll performed from August 28 to 30 showed a 45% approval and 52% disapproval rating. A Zogby Poll of September 6-7, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, showed a 41% approval, an all-time low for Bush in Zogby's polling. The poll also showed his favorability ratings going below 50% for the first time as 49% saw him as favorable and 50% viewed him unfavorably. A CBS News poll conducted on October 3 to 5, 2005, showed that Bush's approval rating had dropped to 37%, his lowest as measured by CBS News.

Polls show greater support for the impeachment of Bush than ever seen for the 1998 impeachment of Clinton. An Ipsos poll on October 9, 2005, found that by a margin of 50% to 44% Americans say that "If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable by impeaching him." Fully 72% of Democrats favored impeachment, compared to 56% of independents and 20% of Republicans. A three-day telephone poll starting on June 27, 2005, conducted by Zogby International found that 42% of Americans would support impeachment "if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq.". It should be noted, however, that the polling data on impeaching Bush is couched in hypotheticals, whereas polling done concerning President Clinton's impeachment concerned an actual event. For this reason, direct comparisons between the two situations should be approached with caution.

Hurricane Katrina

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the floodwalls protecting New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain broke in the early hours of August 30, leading to widespread flooding. In the aftermath of the disaster, thousands of city residents, unable or unwilling to evacuate prior to the hurricane, became stranded with little to no relief for several days resulting in lawless and unsanitary conditions in some areas. Although blame was also attributed to state and local authorities, public outcry in the disaster's early hours was largely directed at the Bush administration, mainly FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security alleging weak crisis management and coordination.

Exacerbating the perceptions that the Bush Administration was slow to respond to the crisis, news organizations juxtaposed live footage of the unfolding disaster in New Orleans with coverage of Bush's pre-planned August 30 trip to California, where he promoted his prescription drug plan for senior citizens and gave a speech to American troops at a Navy base outside San Diego. News footage of the Navy base event showed country singer Mark Wills presenting a guitar to Bush who proceeded to strum the instrument.

The Bush Administration faced accusations of slow response and mismanagement from members of Congress and other public figures. Many critics noted that the potential for disaster involving a breach of the New Orleans levees was well documented, by both FEMA and the Louisiana State University. One of the critics was rap icon Kanye West who stated live on NBC television, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." The Bush Administration—like previous administrations—failed to address this concern, and consistently funded less than was requested by the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the levees, although this did not affect the part of the levees that failed. The criticism and poor planning of the local government led to the resignation of FEMA director Michael Brown and a September 15 admission by Bush that mistakes had been made by his administration. Brown's weak qualifications came under scrutiny during this time and some have regarded his appointment as a blatant case of cronyism.

Valerie Plame affair

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Various members of George W. Bush's White House team were alleged to play a role in what became known as the Plame affair. Valerie Plame, wife of retired ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, was identified as a CIA "operative on weapons of mass destruction" in a July 2003 column by well-known conservative pundit Robert Novak. Novak's column was published only eight days after the publication of a New York Times op-ed written by former ambassador Wilson, which was highly critical of the Bush administration's use of "unreliable" "yellowcake" documents as part of its justification for the Iraq War.

Wilson claims that Novak had conspired with sources within the Bush administration to divulge his wife's identity as political retribution for his earlier criticism. Exposing the identity of an undercover CIA agent is—under some circumstances—a federal crime in the United States.

The Plame Affair includes the subsequent White House Special Prosecutor investigation by appointee Patrick Fitzgerald into the actions of Bush administration officials—including Karl Rove, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Ari Fleischer, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and unknown others—regarding their knowledge of the leak of Plame's identity. In addition to Novak, six other journalists are reported to have known Plame's identity before the Novak column was published, including Judith Miller of The New York Times, who spent eighty five days in jail for failing to divulge the identity of her confidential administration source to a grand jury.

According to an October 21-23, 2005 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, only one in ten Americans said they believe Bush administration officials did nothing illegal or unethical in connection with the Plame affair. On October 28, 2005, Scooter Libby was indicted with five criminal felony charges. Notably, none of these indictments directly concerned the original reason for the investigation (i.e., the alleged outing of a covert CIA agent).

In the wake of Libby's indictment, media pundits on both sides of the idealogical divide seemed to be in agreement that this ongoing situation would raise interesting questions about how the Bush administration handled criticism of their push to go to war in Iraq.

Outside the United States

A survey conducted by Ipsos for the Associated Press in 2004 found that "just over half in Mexico and Italy had a negative view of Mr. Bush's role. In Britain, the closest U.S. ally in the war in Iraq, and in Canada, traditionally America's closest ally, two-thirds had a negative view...Three-quarters of those in Spain and more than 80 % in France and Germany had a negative view of Mr. Bush's role in world affairs." While those in the United States were evenly divided on whether the war has increased or decreased the terror threat, by far the majority of those sampled outside the United States believe that Bush's foreign policy decisions in the Iraq war have "increased the threat of terrorism in the world."

Muslim countries are even less favorable to Bush. In these countries, Bush's unfavorable ratings are particularly high, often over 90%. Among the non-U.S. nations polled in another worldwide poll by the CBC, Bush's popularity was highest in Israel, where 62% reported favorable views, however in the CBC poll, Israel was the only foreign country polled that had a net favorable opinion of Bush. (Q2)

A 2005 poll conducted by the Canadian research company Globescan for the BBC across 22,000 people in 21 nations found that a majority of world opinion (58%) believed that George Bush's re-election would have a negative impact on their peace and security. Only 26% believed it would have a positive one. Public opinion in the Philippines and India showed strong majorities in favor of Bush. , but these were the only countries in favor. The same poll revealed that support for the Iraq occupation had dropped to 37% in Britain. In Turkey, 72% of those polled said that George Bush's re-election made them "feel worse about Americans".

Famous personalities' opinions

• Nelson Mandela:"Bush is now undermining the United Nations," Mandela told the International Women’s Forum after Bush started the Iraqi War. At that time Mandela said he would support action against Iraq’s former President Saddam Hussein only if the UN orders it. "What I am condemning is that one power, with a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust."
• Hugo Chavez: Has called George Bush "The Emperor of evil" in June 2004 and "Mr Danger" in October 2005.

See also

• 2003 invasion of Iraq
• Books about George W. Bush
• Bush administration
• Bush Doctrine
• Bush family
• Bush family conspiracy theory
• Bushism
• Caterair
• Christian Right
• Compassionate conservatism
• George W. Bush's first term as President of the United States
• George W. Bush's second term as President of the United States
• Harken Energy Scandal
• History of the United States (1988-present)
• Laura Bush First Lady
• List of books and films about George W. Bush
• List of state leaders
• List of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2005
• Michael Scheuer
• Movement to impeach George W. Bush
• Neoconservatism (United States)
• Paleoconservatism
• Plame affair
• Skull and Bones
• Veteran(s) with Disputed Status
• War on Terrorism
• White House Communications Agency

Media

Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end

References

• About.com's article: Bush's Faith-Based Initiative Launched
• Faith Based and Community Initiatives official website
• Graphs of approval ratings ,
• Time-analysis of Bush's popularity .
• Collection of Bushisms
• Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are now species of slime-mold beetles—but strictly in homage Cornell University article
• Template:Nndb name

Notes

Template:Anb The White House (2005). Biography of President George W. Bush. Retrieved June 21, 2005. "Owner, oil and gas business" "Partner, Texas Rangers Baseball Team"

External links

Official

• Official White House biography
• RNC biography

Speeches

• Audio recordings of Bush's speeches
• Audio archive of the Bush's weekly radio addresses

Transcripts

• 2000 GOP Convention Nomination Speech (August 3, 2000)
• First Inaugural Address
• Second Inaugural Address
• Remarks by the President After Two Planes Crash Into World Trade Center (September 11, 2001)
• Remarks by the President Upon Arrival at Barksdale Air Force Base (September 11, 2001)
• Presidential Address to the Nation (September 11, 2001)
• Declaration of War on Terrorism
• Issues Military Order No. 1, Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism November 13, 2001
• 2002 State of the Union Address
• 2003 State of the Union Address
• Presidential Address to the Nation Announcing Operation Iraqi Freedom
• President Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended
• Presidential Address to the Nation on America's Actions in the War on Terrorism
• Address to the UN General Assembly
• Presidential Address to the Nation on the Capture of Saddam Hussein
• 2004 State of the Union Address
• 2004 GOP Convention Nomination Acceptance Speech (September 2, 2004)
• Second Inaugural Address
• 2005 State of the Union Address

Other

• George W. Bush at IMDb
• Works by George W. Bush at Project Gutenberg

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