George+W.+Bush

George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001 and was re-elected during the election of 2004. He also served as the Governor of Texas for 6 years before he was elected President in 2000. His Vice President during his time in office was Dick Cheney. Bush is the son of former President George H.W. Bush, one of only two father son pairs to be President. George W. Bush is a graduate of Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975. In his first year as President, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 occurred ([|9/11 report]). National security, the economy, health care, and education were among the major issues that Bush dealt with during his time as President.

"The most significant event of President Bush’s tenure came on September 11, 2001, when terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil." President Bush responded to the attacks by starting a global war on terror and forming the Department of Homeland Security. The main goal of the war on terror was to defeat terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and terrorist organizations based in the Middle East such as the Taliban and al Qaeda. The war in Afghanistan began when the U.S. launched [|Operation Enduring Freedom] on October 7, 2001. The Iraq War, also known as Operation Iraqi Freedom, began on March 20, 2003. Bush also created detention camps such as Guantanamo Bay which held prisoners captured in the Middle East. These camps were criticized due to allegations of abuse by the U.S. Army of the prisoners held there. There weren't any other terrorist attacks in the U.S. for the remainder of Bush's time in office and the war on terror is still going on today.

Besides the war on terror, George W. Bush had many laws that he passed to improve the lives of the American people. The first law passed was the No Child Left Behind Act. This act raised academic standards, gave federal money to schools, increased testing performance, and gave minority students better educational opportunities. Bush also lowered the federal income tax which helped create 52 consecutive months of job creation. President Bush also had the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) passed in 2003. "The MMA enabled Medicare enrollees to obtain prescription drug coverage from Medicare through private insurance companies, which then received a government subsidy..." The Medicare Modernization Act is thought by many to be "the most far-reaching overhaul of Medicare to date..." Bush negotiated many free trade agreements and appointed two Supreme Court Justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts as well during his administration.

George W. Bush dealt with one of the most significant events in U.S. history, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He strengthened the security of the country and created new defense departments. He was able to prevent more attacks from occurring in the United States. Bush's approval ratings ranged from 19-90% during his time as President, the 19% number being the lowest ever. While Bush was heavily criticized during his second term, mainly due to his handling of the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina, he had very high approval ratings in his first term, especially early on with his response to the 9/11 attacks.

__Fun Facts:__
 * Bush was part of a group that owned the Texas Rangers
 * His favorite food is Mexican
 * He enjoys fishing

Bibliography: Scholarly links: Pictures:
 * "George W. Bush | The White House." The White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewbush (accessed May 20, 2010).
 * "George W. Bush (president of United States) :: Medicare -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/86112/George-W-Bush/278449/Medicare (accessed May 22, 2010).
 * Johnson, Priya. "Interesting Facts about George W. Bush." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/interesting-facts-about-george-w-bush.html (accessed May 22, 2010).
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