George W. Bush was the 43rd president and the first person since Benjamin Harrison in 1888 to be elected president despite having lost the nationwide popular vote. It was one of the most controversial elections in which Bush won by a narrow margin of Electoral College votes. This happened in 2001.
Bush had a sound background in politics; his father George H.W. Bush had been the 41st president. His grandfather Prescott Bush had been a senator and his brother Jeb was a governor of Florida.
As president, Bush had a successful start. The government had a budget surplus from Clinton’s tenure and Bush got the Congress to reduce taxes. He also passed the No Child Left Behind bill; this bill increased funds for education. However, one of the most tragic events in the history of America also happened when Bush was the president- the 9/11 attack!
The airborne terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre on 11 September, 2001 killed nearly 3000 Americans. The attack was orchestrated by a terrorist organization called Al Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden. Less than a month after the attacks, Bush sent U.S. troops to Afghanistan, where Bin Laden was thought to be hiding. He later sent forces to Iraq despite opposition from many quarters.
Bush was elected for a second term. The country was in the shackles of the Great Recession in 2007. After finishing his second term, Bush returned to Texas. Decision Points, his memoir was published a year later.
Picture Credit : Google