U.S. Presidents: George Bush

Surprisingly not many people outside of America know that the W stands for Walker. They just know him as president George W. Bush and his father, also a former president, is named George H.W. Bush. His full name is George Herbert Walker Bush. Etched in history forever is the infamous Bush shoeing incident that happened in December of 2008, less than two months to the end of his term. This was when an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at the president, who exhibited remarkable reflex moves. 

In a way, that form of protest could be used as a metaphor to describe a significant percentage of George W. Bush’s presidency. Notably, his presidency was, for the most part, tied to Iraq. 

He was elected into power during one of the most trying times in America's history, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which everyone now refers to as 9/11. Although many may view him as a tough character, the president is a down-to-earth person who enjoys ice cream and pralines after filling up on some well-prepared Mexica food. He’s also very passionate about supporting veterans. 

President George Bush’s Early Life

He grew up in Texas as a firstborn, followed by five siblings. At one point during the early years, the family was renting a tiny apartment and had to share a bathroom with neighbors who happened to be prostitutes. In '53, his sister Robin who was three at the time while George was seven, was diagnosed with leukemia. The young Bush was not aware of the event until two days later. 

Since then, he got even closer to his mother. Those who know the family attest that the president might have adapted some of his mother's characteristics, such as expressing blunt opinions, sharp wit, and quick temper. 

The President’s Education

He attended Sam Houston Elementary School located in Midland, Texas, before moving on to Kinkaid School when the family moved to Houston. For high school, the president attended the same school his father had gone to years before, known as Phillips Academy Andover, based in Massachusetts. 

That school environment hardened him into a self-sufficient young man, and after scoring a zero on a written assignment, Bush doubled down on Roget’s Thesaurus. He was determined to improve his vocabulary. The last thing on the young man's mind was to bring embarrassment to his family, so he studied hard. 

Notably, President George W. Bush, while at the school, would study well past lights-out. The source of light was the little that sipped in from the hallways. He was a social student and quickly made friends while still studying hard. 

College

Like his grandfather and father before him, the young Bush ended up at Yale. It was also the time George H. W. Bush ran for the Texas Senate seat, and his son lent a hand as much as he could. He helped out even though he was basically far north up in Connecticut, and that experience taught him a thing or two about grassroots politics. 

The president majored in History with American and European studies forming his concentration classes. While at Yale, he was also inducted into the school's secret society known as Skull and Bones. Just like his grandfather and father before. 

George Bush was relatively successful at sports. He enjoyed athletics and found rugby to be his favorite, and he made the rugby varsity team. Bush got engaged to Katherine Wolfman, but the two parted ways amicably. At the time he was graduating from Yale in '68, the country was in turmoil over the Vietnam war and notable assassinations. These were president Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. 

President Bush’s Military Service

When the country was at war, and following in the footsteps of his old man, he joined the Texas Air National Guard in ‘68. He attended Georgia’s Moody Air Force to train as a pilot. His military service was put to question when he was vying for the presidency. He became a certified pilot in June of ’70.

At Harvard

The same year his application to be admitted to law school at the University of Texas was rejected. In '73, Bush was granted early discharge from service in order to join Harvard. In '75, he emerged from Harvard with a Master in Business Administration and went straight back to Midland, Texas. Someone told him that there were fortunes to be made in the oil business. 

Early on in President Bush’s Career

Immediately he got the position of a landman at an oil and gas company of a family friend. His role was to negotiate leases and identify potential drilling sites. In '77, he went out on his own and founded Arbusto Energy; after that firm came Bush Exploration, which in '84 merged with Spectrum 7. 

His father had also succeeded as an oilman, and he too struck oil in his own right. At that time, Bush pointed out that the valuable lesson he took away from experience was how to work with people to achieve goals and treating employees fairly. 

Family

Laura Welch and George W. Bush tied the knot in 1977, but they had unknowingly attended the same school earlier. They met at a barbeque in July and were married in the first week of November. The newlyweds spent their first year on the road as Bush sort political office, and their twin girls, Jenna and Barbara, were born in '81.    

Bush went through a spiritual journey that involved a sit-down with Billy Graham. His faith got so strong that during a debate, Bush declared that Jesus was his favorite philosopher. George even wrote a book titled Decision Points that was based on his experience with alcohol abuse. On his own admission, he quit drinking because of his strong faith. 

George Bush in Politics

Before getting into politics, Bush had worked full time on the various campaigns, and he had also acted as a political aide. After successfully selling his company, Bush joined his father's presidential campaign in the capacity of a speechwriter and adviser for almost two years. 

After his father won the elections, he took out a loan and joined a business partner to purchase the Texas Rangers baseball team. The media took notice of Bush in his managerial role on the team, and that earned him some political points. In '98, George W. Bush pocketed about $15 million from the sale of the baseball team. 

In '68, Bush was the traveling aide to the Senate campaign of congressman Edward Gurney. Later on, George was in Alabama acting as political director for the Senate campaign of red Blount. In ’76, he volunteered to garner delegates for President Gerald Ford in west Texas. 

The First Try

George lost the first political race he entered. He had won in the primaries but got tossed out in the general elections. In '88, when his dad ran for the presidency, Bush moved to D.C., acting as overseer of staff and other duties as mentioned above. During that time, he represented and gave his support to his father. 

When ’92 came around, George was there by his father’s side to help with the campaign. He was also absorbing skills, which was also an opportunity for him to gain political experience along the way.  

Governor George Bush

When Bush senior lost, George took a long shot to go against Governor Ann Richards. His own mother expressed fear that he might not win because the Governor was charismatic and popular. Bush focused more on putting across the policies he was going to address once in office. These included educational reforms, tort reform, juvenile justice, and welfare policies. 

Amid rumors at the time, Bush was cleared of any wrongdoing after the SEC or Securities Exchange Commission carried out an investigation into possible insider trading from his Harken Energy stock sale. George Bush won the elections and went into history as the first child to an American president to be elected Governor of a state. 

As Governor of Texas, Bush increased what the state was spending for elementary and secondary education. The age at which children could be prosecuted as adults was lowered to 14. Earlier, Texas voters had elected for the Governor's term to stretch to four years, and George got reelected in '98. He had fulfilled a majority of the campaign promises he had made earlier.

The Presidency

During the elections, the votes had to be recounted several times because of how close the race was between Al Gore and George W. Bush. He served as the 43rd President of America from the year 2001 to 2008. Fresh into the office and the American economy was plummeting. It was the financial crisis of 2008, and the dot com bubble had just burst. 

Americans in their millions lost jobs, the lives of countless others were ruined, but the worst was to come, 9/11. Bush proposed a tax cut of about $1.6 trillion, but Congress only passed $1.35 billion. The president tried to initiate domestic projects that got shot down by the Senate. 

In foreign affairs, the government under his leadership refused the terms of the Kyoto Protocol that the previous administration signed. This was an agreement for countries to reduce their carbon emissions. The U.S. cited that the agreement was harmful to America, and it also wanted third-world countries to be included therein.

On matters of immigration, about 8 million foreigners migrated to the USA between 2000 and 2005. This was the highest number within a span of five years, and it was way more than any other time in America's history. President Bush also allowed federal funding to be used in stem cell research, and he did so by exercising his presidential veto power. 

9/11

More than 3000 people lost their lives in the terrorist attacks, and President Bush immediately announced a global war on terrorism. He also gave the FBI more power to be thorough in their investigations into terrorism. In the first month of 2002, Bush secretly allowed the NSA, otherwise known as the National Security Agency, to listen in on phone calls and read emails sent by the American public.  

America invaded Afghanistan in an effort to capture al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The leader was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was also an operation to destroy terrorist bases, and the government did an excellent job. 

Iraq

Bush gave Iraq's leader an ultimatum to step down or be removed from power using force. Saddam Hussein preferred the second option, and America invaded Iraq. The reason for the invasion is because it was believed that Saddam was hiding weapons of mass destruction. Even though inspectors reportedly never found any evidence of that. 

The war on Iraq was initially successful but, with time, challenging and unpopular with the American public. The war became expensive both in terms of casualties and financially. The president started becoming unpopular.  

In 2004, president Bush got reelected, and unemployment rates went down. In 2007 the Democrats won a majority, unemployment rates shot up, and George W. Bush left office at a time when his popularity had reached an all-time low.

What’s the President Up to These Days?

A few times in his life, Bush has been returning to Texas after a major event. And that's precisely what he did after his second term ended. Most of the time, he keeps out of the public eye, but you can always guess where he's at. If you don't find President Bush at his Texas ranch chopping wood or helping out, you’ll find him in D.C. conducting official government business. 

He worked closely with his predecessor Bill Clinton to support Haiti after an earthquake ravaged the nation. However, as time passes on, his schedule has been revolving around programs to support veterans. He holds events for vets on his farm and makes time to attend those organized in other places. No matter what you think about the president, he has always had a soft spot for veterans.