George W. Bush

George W. Bush first assumed office as the 43rd president of the United States in January of 2001 and is set to complete his second term in January of 2009.

He was elected as a Republican over Democrat Al Gore in a controversial election in 2000. In that election, he lost on the general votes, but won the Electoral College election, due to 500 ballots difference in Florida. His victory in Florida was corroborated by the 5-4 Supreme Court decision Bush v. Gore. He was re-elected over his opponent, Senator John Kerry in 2004, winning 51% of the votes and a 3 million majority. Prior to his presidency he was governor of Texas (1994-2001), and served as an aide to his father, President George H.W. Bush.

Important markers during his administration included the September 11th terrorist attack, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the expansion of NATO to the Russian border, the midterm election gains of 2002, the midterm loss of Congress in the 2006 elections, improved relations with India, the passage of the PATRIOT Act, the No Child Left Behind education act, repeated large-scale tax cuts, the economic recovery, the boom (and later correction) in real estate, the debate on illegal immigration, the handling of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, the U.S. Attorneys dismissal controversy, and the appointments of conservatives to the Supreme Court and Federal Reserve chairmanship. Intense controversy in 2007 focused on the war in Iraq, with the Democrats uniting in opposition. Bush will be ineligible for the presidential election in 2008 due to a two-term limit in the United States Constitution.

September 11th and the War on Terror

On September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden directed a team of 19 hijackers in suicide attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon, causing 3000 deaths in the worst terrorist attack in American history. Bush declared a War on Terror to combat against terrorism. He ordered the invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban government, which had given asylum to Bin Laden. However, Bin Laden himself was never found. The ramifications of the September 11th also included the invasion of Iraq, overthrowing the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, and the passage of the PATRIOT Act, to facilitate the detection of terrorist activities.

Federal court nominations

During his presidency, Bush nominated outspoken conservatives to the U.S. federal courts, most notably John Roberts as Chierf Justice and Samuel Alito as Associate Jistice of the Supreme Court, moving it a bit to the right. Liberal opponents denounced the these nominees as too conservative, but both were speedily confirmed. His nomination of three judges to the federal circuit courts, Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor, and Priscilla Owen were threatened with filibuster from Senatorial Democrats, but a bipartisan coalition (calling itself the "Gang of 14") reached a bipartisan compromise and these judges were confirmed.

Bibliography

Academic

• Berggren, D. Jason, and Nicol C. Rae. "Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush: Faith, Foreign Policy, and an Evangelical Presidential Style." Presidential Studies Quarterly. 36#4 2006. pp 606+. online edition
• Campbell, Colin, and Bert A. Rockman, eds. The George W. Bush Presidency: Appraisals and Prospects. Congressional Quarterly Press, 2004.
• Anthony Corrado, E. J. Dionne Jr., Kathleen A. Frankovic. The Election of 2000: Reports and Interpretations (2001) online edition
• Edwards III, George C. and Philip John Davies, eds. New Challenges for the American Presidency New York: Pearson Longman, 2004. 245 pp. articles from Presidential Studies Quarterly
• Greenstein, Fred I. ed. The George W. Bush Presidency: An Early Assessment Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003
• Greenstein, Fred I. “The Contemporary Presidency: The Changing Leadership of George W. Bush A Pre- and Post-9/11 Comparison” in Presidential Studies Quarterly v 32#2 2002 pp 387+. online edition
• Gregg II, Gary L. and Mark J. Rozell, eds. Considering the Bush Presidency Oxford University Press, 2004. 210 pp. British perspectives
• Hendrickson, Ryan C., and Kristina Spohr Readman, "From the Baltic to the Black Sea: Bush's NATO Enlargement." White House Studies. (2004) 4#3 pp: 319+. online edition
• Hilliard, Bryan, Tom Lansford, and Robert P Watson, eds. George W. Bush: Evaluating the President at Midterm SUNY Press 2004
• Jacobson, Gary C. “The Bush Presidency and the American Electorate” Presidential Studies Quarterly v 33 #4 2003 pp 701+. [www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002052614 online edition]
• Moens, Alexander The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy, and Loyalty. Ashgate, 2004. 227 pp.
• Sabato, Larry J. ed. The Sixth Year Itch: The Rise and Fall of the George W. Bush Presidency (2007), experts on the 2006 elections in major states

Pro-Bush

• Barnes, Fred. Rebel-in-Chief: How George W. Bush Is Redefining the Conservative Movement and Transforming America (2006)
• Robert Draper. Inside the Bush White House: The Presidency of George W. Bush (2007), authorized biography* Karen Hughes. George W. Bush: Portrait of a Leader, (2005)
• Bob Woodward. Plan of Attack (2003) on Iraq war

Anti-Bush

• Bruce Bartlett, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (2006), conservative attack by former aide
• James Moore and Wayne Slater. Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential. 2003. online edition
• Ron Suskind. The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill (2004), complaints of ex Treasury Secretary
• James Moore and Wayne Slater. Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential, (Wiley, 2003) online edition

Primary sources

• George W. Bush. George W. Bush on God and Country: The President Speaks Out About Faith, Principle, and Patriotism (2004)