US Presidents · 21st century

George W. Bush

1946– · American

Republican

In office: 2001–2009

George Walker Bush, the 43rd president and son of the 41st, was Governor of Texas before winning the disputed 2000 election against Al Gore. His presidency was defined by the response to the 11 September 2001 attacks, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the "War on Terror", and ended amid the 2008 financial crisis.

How to spot them

▸'Dubya'; son of George H. W. Bush; former Governor of Texas
▸Bush v. Gore and the Florida recount of 2000
▸9/11, the 'axis of evil', the Iraq War and 'Mission Accomplished'
▸No Child Left Behind; PEPFAR; Hurricane Katrina; a shoe thrown at him in Baghdad

In office

Bush v. Gore (2000)

Supreme Court decision halting the Florida recount and settling the election

The bullhorn speech at Ground Zero (2001)

Addressed rescue workers at the World Trade Center site three days after 9/11

The USA PATRIOT Act (2001)

Expanded surveillance and investigative powers after 9/11

The 'axis of evil' speech (2002)

State of the Union naming Iran, Iraq and North Korea

No Child Left Behind Act (2002)

Education reform built on standardised testing

The 'Mission Accomplished' banner (2003)

Backdrop to a speech aboard USS Abraham Lincoln announcing the end of major combat in Iraq

PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) (2003)

Global programme to fight HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) (2008)

Bank rescue during the global financial crisis

Key ideas

The Bush Doctrine: pre-emptive action against perceived threats
'Compassionate conservatism'

Quick-fire facts

•43rd president; born in New Haven, Connecticut
•The first president with an MBA (Harvard Business School); also a Yale graduate
•Former co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team
•Won the 2000 election while losing the national popular vote
•Created the Department of Homeland Security (2002)
•In December 2008 an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, threw his shoes at him in Baghdad
•Post-presidency, a painter of portraits of veterans (Portraits of Courage, 2017); memoir Decision Points (2010)
•Dick Cheney was his vice president

Drill it — 8 cards

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Sources

Miller Center, University of Virginia — George W. Bush
George W. Bush — Decision Points