Lived

July 6, 1946

Home State

Texas

Party

Republican

Vice President

Dick Cheney

George W. Bush was the son of the 41st President whose two terms were defined by the September 11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He signed the No Child Left Behind Act, Medicare prescription drug coverage, and PEPFAR, credited with saving millions of lives in Africa. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, justified by intelligence about weapons of mass destruction that proved incorrect, the USA PATRIOT Act, and warrantless surveillance were sharply criticized. His presidency ended amid the 2008 financial crisis and the TARP bank rescue. Texas Air National Guard pilot, businessman, managing partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, two-term Governor of Texas.

Phillips Academy; Yale University, 1968; Harvard Business School, 1975.

Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, the Medicare Prescription Drug program (Part D), and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), credited with saving millions of lives in Africa. Signed the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. Ordered the invasion of Afghanistan following 9/11. Signed the USA PATRIOT Act (2001), the No Child Left Behind Act (2002), the Medicare Modernization Act (2003), and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act / TARP (2008).

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was justified by intelligence about weapons of mass destruction that proved incorrect. The USA PATRIOT Act, the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation' program, and warrantless NSA surveillance were sharply criticized. The federal response to Hurricane Katrina (2005) was widely regarded as inadequate. His administration ended amid the 2008 financial crisis; he signed the Troubled Asset Relief Program authorizing a bank rescue.