George Walker Bush (born New Haven, Connecticut 1946) was the Governor of Texas (1995-2000) and served as the 43rd President of the United States of America from 2001 to 2009. Campaigning on the notion that the United States should not be in the business of nation-building[1] and promising "to restore honor and dignity" to the office of the President,[2] he won the office by a narrow margin in the decisive State of Florida in the 2000 Presidential election. Legal challenges to the certified vote count went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court when liberal Democratic contender Al Gore contested the outcome for weeks until the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore.
In the 2004 Presidential election Bush won re-election, helped in part by a 300,000 vote victory (5%) in the State of Florida, where the outcome had been so close in 2000.[3] Leftist Democratic candidate John Kerry conceded defeat the day after the election.
Bush's presidency was defined by foreign policy because of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which eventually resulted in the liberation of the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush named two conservatives to the Supreme Court. He reformed K12 education with a major new program, No Child Left Behind, and pushed a series of major tax cuts through Congress. Conservatives cheered. All this happened in his first term, aiding his easy reelection. His performance in dealing with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were widely ridiculed, though some Republicans argued that local Democrats did an even worse job.
As the Financial Crisis of 2008 smashed into the banking system and the nation plunged into the Recession of 2008, Bush responded with a massive aid program of $700 billion to banks, and loan guarantees amounting to the trillions of dollars. Conservatives were dismayed, and he left office with the economy spiraling downward. Above all, he made the most dramatic federal interventions in American history by his rescues of the financial system and the automobile industry in 2008. Bruce Bartlett, a Republican economist, says, "Bush clearly is not a Reaganite or "small 'c' conservative."
Conservatives and libertarians have criticized Bush for greatly increased domestic spending, creating a new entitlement program for prescription drugs, failing to veto a single bill, and expanding both the size and scope of government. The man made extremely difficult decisions under extraordinary circumstances. Unlike any president before him, he was subjected to an all out attack by liberal aligned groups intent on playing politics, while forcing him to admit defeat in Iraq. Bush's last year in office was a combination of Democrat Alinsky tactics and abandonment by his own Republican party. Lobbyists and Congress contributed greatly to the collapsing financial markets. Mistakes, questionable interests, Federal Reserve lack of transparency, Liberal Media, Unions, Homeland Security and you understand why the Bush team was to falter, they were in over their heads. Bush is a man with convictions that didn't cower from protecting America and putting America first. [4] George would engineer two government rebate checks, giving back to the people. Average unemployment over eight-years of the Bush Administration was 5.3%. [5] and he can be credited for having the most pro-life policies of any president.
