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Birth
July 6, 1946
George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut.
Bush was the first child of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush (born Pierce). He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with his four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and his father served as U.S. President from 1989 to 1993.
Texas Air National Guard
May 27, 1968
After graduating from Yale University, Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968, during the Vietnam War, with a commitment to serve until May 26, 1974. He was promoted to first lieutenant on the November 1970 recommendation of Texas Air National Guard commander Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian. He served as an F-102 11 pilot until 1972
Arrested
September 4, 1976
During this time Bush had multiple accounts of alcohol abuse. In one instance, Bush was arrested near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine for driving under the influence of alcohol at the age of thirty on September 4, 1976. He pled guilty, was fined US$150, and had his Maine driver's license suspended until 1978.
Married Laura Welch
November 5, 1977
In 1977, he was introduced by friends at a backyard barbecue to Laura Welch, a schoolteacher and librarian. Bush proposed to her after a three-month courtship and they were married on November 5 of that year.
Twins - Jenna and Barbara
November 25, 1981
In 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara; they graduated from high school in 2000 and from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, respectively, in 2004.
Jesus Day
June 10, 2000
As Texas governor, Bush extended government funding for organizations providing education, alcohol and drug use and abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence, so long as those organizations are religious. He proclaimed June 10, 2000 to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day on which he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need."
Dick Cheney as running mate
July 25, 2000
On July 25, 2000, Bush surprised some observers by asking the Halliburton corporation's chief executive officer Dick Cheney, a former White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Representative, and Secretary of Defense, to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Cheney was then serving as head of Bush's Vice-Presidential search committee.
Presidential Election 2000
November 7, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Democratic candidate Al Gore, then Vice President, and Republican candidate George W. Bush, then governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush (1989-1993). Bill Clinton, the incumbent President, was vacating the position after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Bush narrowly won the November 7 election, with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 (with one faithless elector abstaining in the official tally). The election featured a controversy over who won Florida's 25 electoral votes (and thus the presidency), the recount process in that state, and the unusual event that the losing candidate had received 543,816 more popular votes than the winner.
President of the United States
January 20, 2001 - January 20, 2009
He was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2001 and his current term is scheduled to end on January 20, 2009.
September 11th Attacks
September 11, 2001
Just eight months after Bush had taken office, came the sole day that defined his first term: September 11, 2001. On that day, terrorists hijacked airliners and flew them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, destroying both 110-story skyscrapers, and into The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. On the evening of the day of the attacks, the President declared a war on terror. Soon afterwards, President Bush's approval rating rose to 90%,[13] the highest approval rating recorded for any president[14] by the Gallup Organization, which began the poll during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"War on Terror"
September 20, 2001
The September 11 terrorist attacks were a major turning point in Bush's presidency. That evening, he addressed the nation from the Oval Office, promising a strong response to the attacks but emphasizing the need for the nation to come together and comfort the families of the victims.
In a September 20, 2001 speech, Bush condemned Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and issued an ultimatum to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, where bin Laden was operating, to "hand over the terrorists, or… share in their fate."
Homeland Security Created
October 8, 2001
Bush's first policy-related response to 9/11 came on October 8, 2001, when, during a speech to Congress, he announced the creation of the Office of Homeland Security and appointed Tom Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania, as its director. This was the first executive-level office to be created since 1988, when President Ronald Reagan appointed a head to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The stated goal of the Homeland Security office was "to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy" and "to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks."
War Controversy - "Mission Accomplished"
May 2, 2002
On May 2, from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, in front of a huge banner that read "Mission Accomplished", Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended." This move drew criticism of being premature, as many Coalition forces were still fighting in Iraq. Others counter that the banner, representing a completed military operation, was supposed to be removed before the speech and was not the work of the president.
Presidential Election 2004
November 2, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 to elect the president. It was the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for the president and vice president of the United States. Republican candidate George Walker Bush, the President of the United States, defeated Democratic candidate John Kerry, the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the War on Terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Person of the Year
December 19, 2004
On December 19, 2004, Time chose George W. Bush for its annual Person of the Year issue. Time gives the award to "the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or for ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse," and said they gave to it Bush "for sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his 10-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters this time around that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years." Bush was also Person of the Year in 2000 and his father, former President George H. W. Bush, received the title in 1990.
Assassination Attempt
May 10, 2005
On May 10, 2005, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live hand grenade toward the podium where Bush was giving a speech at Freedom Square. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was seated nearby. It landed in the crowd about 65 feet (20 m) from the podium after hitting a girl, but it did not detonate. Arutyunian was arrested in July 2005, confessed, and was convicted and given a life sentence in January 2006.
Intelligent Design Opinion
August 1, 2005
On August 1, 2005, in response to a press question about the teaching of intelligent design versus evolution in public schools, Bush answered, "Both sides ought to be properly taught... so people can understand what the debate is about.... I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought." Bush did not elaborate his personal view on intelligent design.
Veto Power
July 19, 2006
On July 19, 2006, Bush used his veto power for the first time in his presidency to veto the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. The bill would have repealed the Dickey Amendment, thereby permitting federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of an embryo.
Invoked the 25th Amendment
July 21, 2007
On 21 July 2007 Bush underwent a colonoscopy for the second time. During the 2 1/2 hour operation the 25th Amendment was invoked making Dick Cheney the acting President for the second time within Bush's presidency.
