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George H. W. Bush

2009-11-02T22:31:11Z

TJones1959: /* Supreme Court */

{{President
|image=Gwtgg.jpg
|seq2=43
|office2=vice
|term_start2=January 20, 1981
|term_end2=January 20, 1989
|party2=
|pres2=Ronald Reagan
|previous2=Walter Mondale
|next2=Dan Quayle
|seq=41
|term_start=January 20, 1989
|term_end=January 20, 1993
|party=
|vp=Dan Quayle
|previous=Ronald Reagan
|next=Bill Clinton
|birth_date=June 12, 1924
|age={{age|1924|6|12}}
|birth_place=Milton, Massachusetts
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=Barbara Bush
|spouse2=
|religion=Episcopalian
}}

'''George Herbert Walker Bush''' (born June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts) is a [[World War II]] veteran who served as the 43rd [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] of the [[United States]] from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st [[President of the United States]], serving January 20, 1989 - January 20, 1993.

During most of his public career, George Bush served other presidents loyally in a number of important positions. Not until 1988, after eight years as vice president under [[Ronald Reagan]], did Bush step into the limelight as the Republican nominee for president. The pre-presidential Bush was often described as the public figure with the perfect resumé, but he was also known as "the man who left no footprints," because there was little evidence of what he had accomplished in his many public capacities.

In 1988 he was elected president, defeating a [[liberal]] [[Democrat]] by a landslide. His presidency was defined by two major events. Victory in the [[Cold War]] and the collapse of Soviet [[Communism]], and a triumphant in the 1991 [[Persian Gulf War]]. Despite his [[foreign policy]] triumphs, Bush had troubled relations with the Democrat controlled [[Congress]], and alienated [[conservative]]s by raising taxes after pledging, "Read my lips: No New Taxes.". He was defeated for reelection in 1992 by [[Bill Clinton]], and even when his son [[George W. Bush]] was president (2001-2009), he avoided the limelight.

== Early life ==

George Bush was born in Milton, [[Massachusetts]] to [[Prescott Bush]] and Dorothy Walker, on June 12, 1924. His father was a wealthy investment banker and later a partner in the [[Wall Street]] firm of Brown Brothers, Harriman and Company. Prescott Bush was also a two-term [[Republican Party|Republican]] senator from [[Connecticut]] from 1952 to 1963.

Bush's maternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was George Herbert Walker, a wealthy businessman and important figure in American golf history.

With his sister and three brothers, Bush was raised in Greenwich, [[Connecticut]]. George Bush attended Greenwich Country Day School before entering Phillips Academy from 1936 to 1942 in Andover, [[Massachusetts]]. At Andover, he played Varsity baseball, was captain of the basketball and soccer teams, and president of the senior class. He was also a member of an exclusive fraternity called the A.U.V, or "Auctoritas, Unitas, Veritas" – Latin for "Authority, Unity, Truth". His roommate at the boarding school was a young man named Edward G. Hooker. It was at Phillips Academy that Bush learned of the surprise attack on [[Pearl Harbor]] on December 7, 1941.

== Military career ==

[[Image:3.jpg|left|thumb|200px|U.S. Navy Pilot George Bush in the cockpit of an Avenger (1942-1945)]] When George Bush graduated from Andover, he had already been admitted to [[Yale University]], but the United States had entered [[World War II]], and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on his 18th birthday instead. After completing the 10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve at [[Corpus Christi]] at 18 years old, which made him the youngest naval aviator to that date.

Serving in the Pacific theater, he flew 58 combat missions. On one mission over the Pacific, as a torpedo bomber pilot his aircraft was hit by Japanese antiaircraft fire and his engine caught on fire. Despite the fact that his plane was on fire, he completed his attack and released the bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine on fire, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft.

While Bush waited four hours in his inflated raft, several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback. For this action Bush received the [[Distinguished Flying Cross]] for bravery in action. During the month he remained on the USS Finback, Bush participated in the rescue of other pilots.

== Postwar years ==

While at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected President. He also captained the Yale baseball team. A left-handed first baseman, Bush played in the first College World Series. As a Senior he was, like his son [[George W. Bush]] in 1968 and his father Prescott S. Bush in 1917, inducted into the Skull and Bones secret society in 1948, helping him to build friendships and political support.

He married Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945. George and [[Barbara Bush]] have six children: [[George W. Bush|George W.]] (who would later become the 43rd U.S. President), Pauline Robinson ("Robin") (1949–1953, died of leukemia), John [[Jeb Bush|(Jeb)]], Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy Walker.

In 1964, Bush ventured into conventional politics by running against [[Texas]]' [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[Ralph Yarborough]]. However, he lost in the 1964 Democratic landslide. Bush did not give up on elective politics, and was elected in 1966 and 1968 to the [[House of Representatives]] from the 7th District of Texas.

Bush lost his second attempt at a [[United States Senate|Senate]] seat in 1970 to Democrat [[Lloyd Bentsen]], who had defeated the incumbent Yarborough in the Democratic primary.

== Political career ==

After the 1970 election loss, Bush was nominated and confirmed to the position of United States Ambassador to the [[United Nations]], at which he served from 1971 to 1973.

After President [[Richard Nixon]] was re-elected President in 1972, he asked Bush to become Chairman of the [[Republican National Committee]]. After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Bush was considered for appointment as the replacement Vice President, but new President [[Gerald Ford]] chose [[Nelson Rockefeller]] instead. Ford appointed Bush to be Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the [[People's Republic of China]]. (Since the United States at the time maintained official relations with the [[Republic of China]] on Taiwan and not the PRC, the Liaison Office did not have the official status of an embassy and Bush did not hold the position of "ambassador" even though he unofficially acted as one.)

In 1975, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become Director of Central Intelligence. The [[CIA]] had been rocked by a serious of revelations about illegal and unauthorized activities, and Bush helped to restore the agency's morale and integrity. In 1999, the CIA headquarters facility in Langley, Virginia was renamed the George Bush Center for Intelligence.

After Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] took the presidency in 1977, Bush became Chairman of the First International Bank in Houston. He also became a board member of the Committee on the Present Danger.

== 1980 Presidential campaign ==
''Main Article: [[United States presidential election, 1980]]''

In the 1980 presidential election, Bush ran for the office, stressing his wide range of government experience. In the contest for the Republican Party nomination, despite Bush's establishment backing the front-runner was [[Ronald Reagan]], the former Governor of [[California]], who was now running for President for the second time after narrowing losing the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976. The Bush campaign team coined the term "voodoo economics" to describe the supply-side economic theory that Reagan supported, but later he said he became "converted" and supported the policies as Vice President.

Bush won the Iowa caucus to start the primary season. However, Reagan came back to decisively win the following [[New Hampshire]] primary. With a growing popularity among the Republican voting base, Reagan won most of the remaining primaries and the nomination.

After some preliminary discussion of choosing former President Gerald Ford as his running mate, the original "dream" ticket, Reagan selected Bush as his Vice President, placing him on the winning Republican Presidential ticket of 1980 when current President [[Jimmy Carter]] was handidly defeated. [[Image:Reagan_and_HWBush.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Vice President George H.W. Bush with President Ronald Reagan]]

== Vice presidency ==

As Vice President, Bush had influence on Reagan's staffing and was given many foreign affairs responsibilities. Bush was kept busy on overseas diplomatic trips; he attended so many state funerals that he famously quipped, "I'm George Bush. You die, I fly." Vice President Bush headed a task force over illegal drug trade and attended many high level policy meeting in the [[White House]], including the national security council. Bush was seen as being a very loyal Vice President who supported his commander-in-chief even though he had come from a more moderate background. When President Reagan was shot and seriously wounded by [[John Hinckley, Jr.]] in March 1981, Vice President Bush performed the duties of President until he recovered. With a staff of 68 people Bush kept informed on international issues and maintained political [[friend]]ships, thus preparing him for a 1988 presidential campaign.

In 1984, the Reagan/Bush ticket was re-elected in a landslide against the Democrats' [[Walter Mondale]]/[[Geraldine Ferraro]] ticket.

== 1988 Presidential campaign ==
''Main Article: [[United States presidential election, 1988]]''

In 1988, after seven years as Vice President, Bush ran for President. Though considered the early front-runner for the nomination, Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, beaten by winner U.S. Senator [[Bob Dole]] and runner-up televangelist [[Pat Robertson]]. Reagan himself remainded neutral in the contest, choosing not to support any individual candidate. Bush was able to rebound to win the New Hampshire primary, much as Reagan had done against him 8 years earlier. Once the multiple-state primaries such as [[Super Tuesday]] began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was his.

Leading up to the 1988 [[Republican National Convention]], there was much speculation as to Bush's choice of running mate. Bush chose little-known U.S. Senator [[Dan Quayle]] of [[Indiana]]. On the eve of the convention, Bush trailed Democratic nominee [[Michael Dukakis]], then [[Massachusetts]] governor, by double digits in many polls. He was aided during the convention by Reagan's speech, which eloquently passed the baton to Bush as the next leader of America and his own man. Bush had been dogged by the "wimp" moniker by the press and Reagan's speech was part of the process to remove that. When it came his turn to speak at the convention, Bush, often criticized for his lack of eloquence compared to Reagan, surprised many by giving possibly the best speech of his public career, widely known as the "Thousand points of light" speech for his use of that phrase to describe his vision of American community. Bush's acceptance speech and a generally well-managed Convention catapulted him ahead of Dukakis in the polls, and he held the lead for the rest of the race. Bush's acceptance speech at the convention included the pledge, "Read my lips: no new taxes."

In the [[United States presidential election, 1988|1988 Presidential election]] the Bush-Quayle ticket beat Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen soundly in the [[Electoral College]], by 426 to 111 (Lloyd Bentsen received one vote). In the nationwide popular vote, Bush took 53.4% of the ballots cast while Dukakis gained 45.6%.

== Presidency (1989-1993) ==
[[Image:Photo-01201989-ghwbush-square.jpg|right|thumb|175px|President George H. W. Bush Inauguration, 01/20/89]] George H. W. Bush succeeded Reagan as the 41st President of the United States.

===Administration===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Office
! Name
! Term
|-
| [[President]]
| George H. W. Bush
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]]
| [[Dan Quayle]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of State]]
| [[James Baker]]
| 1989-1992
|-
|
| [[Lawrence Eagleburger]]
| 1992-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Treasury]]
| [[Nicholas Brady]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Defense]]
| [[Richard Cheney]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Attorney General]]
| [[Dick Thornburgh]]
| 1989-1991
|-
|
| [[William Barr]]
| 1991-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Interior]]
| [[Manuel Lujan]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Agriculture]]
| [[Clayton Yeutter]]
| 1989-1993
|-
|
| [[Edward Madigan]]
| 1991–1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Commerce]]
| [[Robert Mosbacher]]
| 1989-1992
|-
|
| [[Barbara Franklin]]
| 1992-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Labor]]
| [[Elizabeth Dole]]
| 1989-1990
|-
|
| [[Lynn Martin]]
| 1990-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Health and Human Services]]
| [[Louis Sullivan]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Education]]
| [[Lauro Cavazos]]
| 1989-1990
|-
|
| [[Lamar Alexander]]
| 1990-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Housing and Urban Development]]
| [[Jack Kemp]]
| 1989-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Transportation]]
| [[Samuel Skinner]]
| 1989-1992
|-
|
| [[Andrew Card]]
| 1992-1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Energy]]
| [[James Watkins]]
| 1989–1993
|-
| [[Secretary of Veterans Affairs]]
| [[Ed Derwinski]]
| 1989-1993
|-
|}

==Domestic Policy==
On domestic issues, there were few new programs launched and gridlock between the administration and Democratic-[[Congress]]. The economy was in a [[recession]] by late 1991.

===Economy===
With a large federal deficit, Democrats in Congress believed in raising taxes and Republicans believed in reducing federal domestic spending. President Bush and Congressional Democrats reached a compromise that would both have spending cuts and increased taxes, which would reduce the deficit $500 billion over five years as part of a 1990 budget agreement. In 1991 the U.S. entered into a mild recession. Unemployment was at 7.8%, although inflation and interest rates were at its lowest in years. The recession lasted for about six months, although Democrats made it an issue for two years.

===Government Acts===
On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed the [[Americans with Disabilities Act]], which stated that [[business]]es can not discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability. This includes job hiring, job training, [[worker's compensation]] and other terms. Bush also signed the Clean Air Act of 1990, [[environment]]al legislation that is aimed at reducing smog and [[air]] [[pollution]].

===Supreme Court===
President Bush appointed two Justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Bush nominated Circuit Judge [[David Souter]] as an Associate Justice of the [[Supreme Court]] on July 25, 1990; he was sworn in in October after being confirmed by a 90-9 vote in the Senate. Senators [[John Kerry]] and [[Ted Kennedy]] opposed him, saying he was too [[conservative]], although on the court he usually voted with [[liberal]]s. On July 1, 1991, President Bush announced Judge [[Clarence Thomas]] to the Supreme Court to replace [[Thurgood Marshall]]. He was confirmed by a much more narrow 52-48.
[[Image:Bush_and_Gorbachev_sign_agreements.jpg|left|thumb|275px|President Bush and President Gorbachev sign United States/Soviet Union agreements in the East Room of the White House, Washington, DC. 06/01/90]]

==Foreign Policy==

Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency from its first days. In his January 20, 1989 Inaugural Address upon taking the Presidency, Bush said:

:''"I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken."''

His Presidency was extraordinarily eventful from a foreign policy standpoint. Over the course of four years the [[Cold War]] ended, [[Germany]] reunified, the [[Soviet Union]] collapsed, American troops intervened in [[Panama]] to over trough a criminal dictator and in [[Somalia]] to save people from starvation, and the [[United States]] led a coalition victory in the Persian [[Gulf War]] in [[Iraq]].
=== End of Cold War ===

With the help of [[Secretary of State]] [[James Baker]], Bush used his strength in foreign policy and helped steer the world through a period of historical [[change]]. In 1989 the world watched in amazement as Germans tore down the [[Berlin Wall]], within a year West Germany and East Germany were reunited. Through out the winter of 1989 [[communist]] governments in Eastern [[Europe]] crumbled. Democratic [[government]]s were created in [[Poland]], [[Hungary]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Romania]], and [[Bulgaria]]. As the [[Soviet Union]] was unraveling, President Bush and Soviet President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] declared a U.S.-Soviet strategic partnership at the summit of July 1991, decisively marking the end of the [[Cold War]] with the Soviet breakdown that had begun under Ronald Reagan. In December 1991, Gorbachev announced that the end of the Soviet Union. President Bush declared that U.S.-Soviet cooperation during the [[Persian Gulf War]] in 1990-1991 had laid the groundwork for a partnership in resolving bilateral and world problems.

=== Crisis in China ===

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist governments, [[China]]'s communist leaders were determined to stay in power. Although the country had relaxed controls of their economy, it continued to repress it's country's political speech. In May 1989, Chinese [[student]]s and workers held demonstrations for [[democracy]]. In June, government tanks crushed their protests in Tienanmen Square in [[Beijing]], the country's capital. Many people were killed and hundreds of activists were arrested. Many were later sentenced to life.

These events shocked the world. The United States and European countries halted arms sells with China and reduced their diplomatic contacts. President Bush resisted calls from congressional leaders for harsher sanctions, instead believing that [[trade]] and diplomacy would moderate China's behavior.

=== Invasion of Panama ===
[[Image:Ghwbush.jpg|right|thumb|275px|President Bush meets with Defense Secretary [[Richard Cheney]] and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman [[Colin Powell]], 08/15/90]]
As President, Bush continued Reagan's [[war on drugs]]. In 1989 he ordered 24,000 United States troops into [[Panama]] to capture one time anti-communist ally General [[Manuel Noriega]], the dictator of Panama, and return him to the United States to face drug charges after Noriega made comments that could be interpreted as threatening the United States. Noreiga eluded the first effort to capture him and reached the Vatican embassy where he sought asylum. After a standoff which included 24 hour high powered lights and a constant blaring of the Billy Ray Cyrus song ''Achy Breaky Heart'' at the embassy, a deal was reached where Noreiga was released to United States custody. U.S. troops then helped Panamanians hold elections and organize a new government. In 1992, Noriega was sentenced to serve 40 years in prison.

=== Persian Gulf War ===
See: ''[[George H .W. Bush Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the End of the Gulf War]]''

[[Image:20.jpg|right|thumb|275px|President Bush talks with the troops in Saudi Arabia, 11/22/90]] Leading up to the first [[Gulf War]], on September 11, 1990 President Bush addressing the United Nations stated: ''Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a New World Order -- can emerge: a new era'' thus becoming the first President of the United States of America to openly state and work toward global governance.

As President, Bush is perhaps best known for leading the United Nations coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. In 1990, led by [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Iraq]] invaded its oil-rich neighbor to the south, [[Kuwait]]. The broad coalition sought the limited objective of removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait and ensure that Iraq did not invade [[Saudi Arabia]]. Bush summed up his and the entire free world's position succinctly when he said, "This aggression will not stand," and "this is not a war for oil. This is war against aggression."

Along with troops from the United States, Canadian, [[Europe]], and Arab Nations, President Bush launched "operation desert storm" in which dozens of cruise missiles and laser guided bombs fell on Iraq, destroying its air defenses, bridges, artillery, and other military targets. Then the coalition launched a massive ground attack, were fewer then 300 coalition forces were killed with the war lasting just 100 hours. President Bush achieved his stated objectives of liberating Kuwait and forcing Iraqi withdrawal. President Bush's popularity rating in America soared during and immediately after the success of the military operations and American troops returned home to cheering crowds.

=== NAFTA ===
Bush's government, along with the Progressive-Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, spearheaded the negotiations of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA), which Bill Clinton signed in 1993.

=== [[Israel]] ===
George Bush resisted efforts by American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC) and other organizations to secure American loan guarantees to assist Israel in the construction of new settlements in territories Israel occupied after the 1967 [[Six Day War]]. Bush's larger goal was to undermine the [[conservative]] [[Likud]] government and replace it with a [[leftist]] Labor coalition led by [[Yitzhak Rabin]]. Having secured the election of an Israel government more to its liking, Bush gave his support to a new loan guarantee package.

=== Conflict in [[Somalia]] ===
On December 4, 1992 President Bush ordered 28,000 U.S. troops to the east [[African]], war-torn nation Somalia, where rival warlords were preventing the distribution of humanitarian aid to it's citizens. However, the mission lasted 15 months from having U.S. troops embroiled in Somalia's political conflict. In 1993, the new President [[Bill Clinton]] was anxious to bring all troops home. He did so on March 25, 1994, and as a result fighting in Somalia continued into the 21st century.

== 1992 Presidential Campaign ==
''Main Article: [[United States presidential election, 1992]]''

During the 1980s, as President Reagan lead efforts to enable the Soviet Union to collapsed defense spending was increased, which later lead to the end of the Soviet empire as the Soviets could not compete with U.S. military ingenuity. However, in addition to this increase of spending to protect the United States, the Democrat-controlled Congress increased spending on social welfare programs. The resulting increase in the federal deficit helped lead to an economic recession which dogged most of Bush's term in office and was a contributing factor to his defeat in the 1992 Presidential election.

Several other factors were key in his defeat, including siding with Congressional Democrats in 1990 to raise taxes despite his famous "Read my lips: No new taxes" pledge not to institute any new taxes. In doing so, Bush alienated many members of his conservative and libertarian base, losing their support for his re-election. The issue of foreign policy had faded into the background after the collapse of the USSR, courtesy of Ronald Reagan, which rendered it unimportant to voters in 1992. The failure to remove Saddam after Desert Storm later contributed to the perception that it was a failure, after the initially impression of success. While many believe Ross Perot's 1992 candidacy cost Bush re-election, when looking at [[Ross Perot]]'s pro-homosexual pro-abortion and protectionist stances, combined with Slick Willie's smooth talk and exit poll analysis of Perot's vote, it is clear that President Bush still would have lost without Perot in the race. [[Bill Clinton]] was able to capitalize on a Democrat Congress induced poor economy by telling the American public that Bush's tax hike raised taxes on the middle class, which shows 1992 to be a testament as to why Republicans must stick to economically conservative values. Bush's unpopular stance on life also cost him many votes with moderates, along with Pat Buchanan's famous "Culture War speech" which railed against baby-murder, homosexual privilege, and Bill Clinton's draft dodging.

After the election, with the outbreak of war in Somalia, President Bush, a war hero, unlike Bill Clinton committed troops to Operation Restore Hope, and as the American public appreciated what they had, gave him a send off approval rating of 56%.

== Post-presidency ==

Since leaving office, Bush has largely retired from public life. The Bushes live in [[Houston]] and their summer home in Kennebunkport, [[Maine]]. He holds his own fishing tournament in Islamorada, an island in the Florida Keys.

In April 1993, the Iraqi Intelligence Service attempted to assassinate former President Bush via car bomb during a visit to [[Kuwait]]. However, Kuwaiti security foiled the car bomb plot. On June 26, 1993, the U.S. launched a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for the attempted attack against Bush.

[[Image:Hires_20061007-1_ghwbush3-515hc.jpg|left|thumb|275px|President Bush with First Lady Barbra Bush, 10/07/06]] Bush has never written a memoir of his political life, and says he does not plan to. He has, however, published a book containing a series of collected letters (''All The Best, George Bush'', 1999), and co-authored a book on recent foreign policy issues with his former National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft (''A World Transformed'', 1998). He has given a number of paid speeches and participated in business ventures with the Carlyle Group.

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the Southwest corner of the campus of [[Texas A&M]] University in College Station, Texas.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas was renamed after the former president in 1997. The tenth ''Nimitz''-class [[aircraft carrier]] will be named USS ''George H. W. Bush'' when it is launched in 2009.

In 2001, he became the first president since [[John Adams]] to be father of another president when his son George W. Bush, previously Governor of Texas, took office as President of the United States. During his term of office, George H. W. Bush was simply known as President George Bush, since his son had never held elective office and was not especially well-known to the public. He is now commonly referred to with his initials as "George H.W. Bush" as well as by various nicknames and titles, including "Former President Bush," "Bush the Elder," "the first President Bush," "Bush 41," and simply "41", in order to avoid confusion between his presidency and that of his son. Although the names of the two men are similar, they are not identical—George W. Bush lacks his father's first middle name Herbert—so they are not known as "senior" and "junior."

On June 12, 2004, he went skydiving in honor of his 80th birthday. It was his third parachute jump since World War II. He also made a jump on June 9, 1999, before his 75th birthday, and told reporters then he had also parachuted in [[Arizona]] two years earlier. The day before his 80th birthday jump, he and his son both took part in eulogizing his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, at the latter's state funeral.

On November 22, 2004, [[New York]] Republican Governor [[George Pataki]] named Bush and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the [[World Trade Center]].

On January 3, 2005, Bush and [[Bill Clinton]] were named by the current President Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the Indian Ocean [[tsunami]]. Bush and Clinton both appeared on the [[Super Bowl XXXIX]] pre-game show on FOX in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics." Thirteen days later, they both traveled to the affected areas to see how the relief efforts are going.

In August 31, 2005, following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by [[Hurricane Katrina]], Bush again teamed with Clinton to coordinate private relief donations. Reports were common that Bush and Clinton had developed a friendship by now, despite the latter having defeated the former in the 1992 election. (Such friendships were not unknown, as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter had developed one despite a similar history.) When Gerald R. Ford died in December, 2006 George Bush became the oldest surviving President.

== Family ==
George Bush came from an old, rich [[Yankee]] family. He was the son of [[Prescott Bush]], Wall Street banker and liberal Republican Senator from Connecticut from 1952-1963.

Upon his return from the war, George Bush married Barbara Pierce. Their marriage later produced six children: [[George Walker Bush]], Pauline Robinson Bush, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (who became governor of Florida), Neil Mallon Bush, Marvin Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch.

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* Naftali, Timothy. ''George H. W. Bush: The American Presidents Series: The 41st President, 1989-1993'' (2007). short survey [http://www.amazon.com/George-Bush-Presidents-President-1989-1993/dp/0805069666/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2 excerpt and text search]
* Rose, Richard. ''The Postmodern President: George Bush Meets the World'' (1991) [http://www.questia.com/read/98398503 online edition]
* Tarpley, Webster Griffin, and Anton Chaitkin. ''George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography'' (2004), a hostile attack from the far left [http://www.amazon.com/George-Bush-Webster-Griffin-Tarpley/dp/0930852923/ref=sr_1_23/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367559&sr=8-23 excerpt and text search]
* Tiefer, Charles. ''The Semi-Sovereign Presidency: The Bush Administration's Strategy for Governing Without Congress'' (1994), 216pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14173303 online edition]
* Yetiv, Steve A. ''Explaining Foreign Policy: U.S. Decision-
Making and the Persian Gulf War'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Explaining-Foreign-Policy-Decision-Making-Persian/dp/0801878101/ref=sr_1_7/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194380341&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]

===Primary sources===
* [http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/ERP/ Council of Economic Advisors, ''Economic Report of the President'' (annual 1947- )], complete series online; important analysis of current trends and policies, plus statistcial tables
* Bush, George H. W. ''All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/All-Best-George-Bush-Writings/dp/0743200411/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367309&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Bush, George H. W. and Brent Scowcroft. ''A World Transformed'' (1999), foreign policy. [http://www.amazon.com/World-Transformed-George-H-Bush/dp/0679752595/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194367309&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq10-1.htm War Record of LTJG George Bush]
* [http://www.maam.org/flightsim/news/tbm_history.htm History's Youngest Naval Aviator]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gb41.html White House biography]
* [http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/ George Bush Presidential Library and Museum]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George Herbert Walker}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
[[category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:American war heroes]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:United States History]]

Talk:George W. Bush

2009-11-02T22:28:01Z

TJones1959:

{{Protected|TK}}

== Liberal Media? ==
um, isn't that an opinion phrase? I don't really think there's a scientific basis for such a remark.

:::Didn't you hear? This is conservapedia, a place where ignorance coalesces into a gungy goo of people who think their opinions are always right. Anyone who doesn't agree with them is a goshdang Communist! Liberal Media, haha, oh boy that's a larf.

:::::Everyone thinks their opinions are right. That's why they're their opinions. But you are right, the phrase "liberal media" has become an oft-lampooned indication of conservative paranoia. The use of it will only serve to make this article sound Stephen Colbert-ish. Not only do I think the phrase should be deleted; I think it should become the policy of conservapedia to strive to avoid it in the future. --[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 18:42, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

::::::The [[Liberal-Biased Media]] is the GOP's equivalent of Hillary Clinton's [[Vast Right-wing Conspiracy]], as well as being an all-purpose scapegoat from when the facts turn out to have an anti-Bush agenda. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 21:49, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

:::::::Considering this page has been locked, I'd greatly appreciate it if an administrator would remove this clearly biased phrase.--[[User:Ge Ming|Ge Ming]] 15:38, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

::::::There IS no Liberal Media! [[User:MrDubya|MrDubya]] 01:27, 2 June 2007 (EDT)

*Don't you mean "there is no cabal!" ? --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 01:39, 2 June 2007 (EDT)

It is well known that the media is overwelmingaly liberal. This is based on facts. --[[User:Patriot1505|Patriot1505]]

:Based on facts that come from the liberal media itself! Mindblowing, isn't it?

== Edits ==

1) Removed the line about Bush executing Saddam. Saddam was executed by the Iraqis under Iraqi law.
2) Removed the un-encyclopediac comment about John Kerry.

Why's this page locked? It's not going to get any better if you don't let people add to it.

The SysOp locked it b/c of rampant vandalism. It's an obivous target for such action.

This page should be unlocked. All of Bush's good (and bad) deeds will not be known to the world until this page is unlocked. The point of our site here is to inform the people, and without people interacting and adding information, Conservapedia will die out. People will go elsewhere to a more democratic environment, and that is not good for this site.

That's just fine. The Liberals can go to Communistpedia, and the people who want a more REPUBLICAN Wiki can come here! --[[User:Ballon|Ballon]] 21:03, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

The liberals would probably be far more intelligent than the people that frequent this site and go to wikipedia [[User:You're wrong|You're wrong]] 15:17, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

:::communists can go to http://eng.anarchopedia.org/index.php/Main_Page [[User:Jaques|Jaques]] 15:21, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

:I'd rather Communism if Fascism were the other choice. If you really need to think you're always right to sleep at night, then be my guest my lil' Yank friend.

Shouldn't the first sentence read Name, birth date, political party, etc. and then say only President of the United States? After all, it's not like there is a Democratic President. --[[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 16:48, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

If they didn't know bush was republican we don't want them on the site.

::I think by "democratic," the above poster (who failed to sign his/her comment) was referring to the political idea of democracy rather than the American political party, [[User:Ballon|Ballon]]. And let's try not to deride each other with pejoratives like "commie" and "fascist." Anyway, I agree that this page needs to be watched closely. It is an obvious location for vandalism. However, very sensible changes (exempli gratia: moving references of George Bush's religious values to a section other than "Foreign Policy") have been suggested on this page, and they seem to have been largely ignored. This article is not passable in its current state. The sysops must either unlock the page or at the very least make changes that we agree upon on this talk page.
::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 17:09, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

== Photo ==

Somebody deleted the body of this page and substituted a photo-- can anybody verify that this photo actually is President Bush? (Could we maybe print the photo as a thumbnail, and link to the large photo?)

I believe the photo is one of Prince Harry, who has recently taken up active duty in Iraq for the UK, in compliance with the American notion that leaders such as George Washington and the sons of prominent and wealthy people should be involved in and at risk from armed conflict for their country in equal measure to the legions of the poor they send to do their work for them.

==Lacking Substance==
Conservapedia will go absolutely nowhere if its alternative viewpoints from wikipedia consist purerly in pejorative adjectives and vague speculative references. Disprove alternative opinions with facts, not derogatory adjectives and slanted phrases. I would provide examples, but they are more than clear and numerous.

This article is useless. It is a stub, which is fine, except that this is GWB, not some arcane entry. This is made more eggregious since this page has undergone many edits, and nobody has decided to actually make it a full article, just back and forth fluff. I admit that I don't particularly want to put the work in, because I don't care about this entry, I just think that conservapedia needs a credible entry for GWB to be taken seriously. Compare with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush Wikipedia's entry].

As a starting point, how about information that would be useful, that you don't hear about in the liberal media; Major (and minor) legislative pushes, both successful and not. Who were his good conservative judicial appointments? --[[User:Whatter|Whatter]] 01:51, 24 February 2007 (EST)

== Nation building ==

It's interesting that Bush's stated opposition to nation building isn't modified to show that he has been involved in exactly that in both Afghanistan & Iraq for over half his time in office.

I'd argue he hasn't done much nation-building in either of those places. :(
It is weird, though--having a site for Conservative politics and having such dinky articles about President Bush and Iraq is like having a wiki about oceanography and not mentioning water. --[[User:Sandbagger|Sandbagger]] 14:38, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

I am concerned that the entry reads as if it were written by a gushing fan instead of one who spent significant time researching the President. If the point of conservapedia is to become a credible resource intellectually honest about its bias, we must demand these entries be written at the highest standard possible. This is gossipy drivel; the libs are bound to cackle over it. }-(

== Economy ==

Since when is Exxon Mobile the bellwether of the US economy?

Does it bother the reader that while citing Exxon Mobile profits being at record highs, gas prices also are at record highs? This may not be a very good supporting argument as it raises suspicion that our current American way of life is at risk due to the high costs of fuel, which is hurting real estate as more and more people re-urbanize living closer to their workplaces in the city as well as the overall economy as people go out less because they want to conserve fuel. {{unsigned|Tchen}}
::Does it bother the reader that [[China]] has one fifth of the planets population and only 1% drive cars? Does it bother the reader that China's economy is growing at 17%? Does it bother the reader that when 2% of China's population own cars, gas will go from $3 to $6 per gallon? Does it bother the reader that US politicians in Washington DC can nothing about this? Does it bother readers that implied solution here is to exterminate the Chinese? Yes, it does bother this reader. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 15:28, 24 May 2007 (EDT)

:Whoever wrote that is probably a Liberal grousing about the fact that Bush has made his corporate benefactors a great deal richer by strip-mining the American economy. --[[User:Ballon|Ballon]] 18:25, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

Paul O'Niell (the man who rescued Alcoa) tried to talk economic sense to Bush. Good advice fell on deaf ears. Then Cheney arranged his dismissal.

I've just visited the Yahoo! article linked to by reference 7, and it says nothing about unemployment being at an all-time low in March, 2007. In fact, the article's assessment of the economy is quite bleak.

Regarding “the Clinton years which lead to the lowest point of the stock market in January 2000 AD since the great depression of 1929 AD” it should be noted that the source that is cited states the opposite. The stock market hit it’s highest in January 2000, before GWB took office.

Per the article quoted: “Oct. 9, 2002, the Dow Jones industrial average, battered by the worst stock market meltdown since the 1929 crash, hit bottom. It closed 4,437 points below its January 2000 all-time high”.

The major blow to the stock market took place in 2002, about 20 months after Bush took office. It should be noted that this took place exactly one week after Congress authorized Bush to invade Iraq. Investors claimed this as a reason for the drop in the stock market.

Such frequently found mistakes underlines why Conservapedia is more propaganda than an online encyclopedia and should never be used as a source of information. The information is at best one sided, and more frequently, blantently false. The truth does not have a conservative or liberal slant. There seems to be a trend, however, in the last 12 or so years of American political media to baselessly proclaim an extream slant in media. Just because the reader does not like the truth does not mean that the carrier is slanted.
Artical

:"As we all know, the facts have an anti-Bush agenda." -- Steven Colbert. (Or, to be more accurate, it looks like Bush has an anti-facts agenda. :( --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:32, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

== Skull and Bones Club ==

MountainDew, why did you take that part out? It's a matter of public record (and any number of jokes) that Bush and Kerry are in the same club.

The guy who put that in there was a known vandal, so I was just reversing all his edits at once. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 18:53, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Locked Page ==

Should we really lock a page with so many typos? [[User:Czolgolz|Miguel_Cervantes]] 09:13, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

I can understand why the page is locked, obviously people will target Bush, but the page needs LOTS of improvement, not just typos, but the Economy section is laughable.

: Indeed. No mention of the 8 trillion (is it 9 now) debt? [[User:GofG | GofG]] [[Special:Contributions/GofG||||]] [[User talk:GofG | Talk]] 20:07, 15 March 2007 (EDT)

:: Debt only matters if you ever intend to pay it off. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:29, 1 April 2007 (EDT)
:::not true, it also matters if you want to get lent more money, and it is also a matter of principal-[[User:Greenmeanie|Greenmeanie]] 22:38, 21 May 2008 (EDT)

== Economy ==

''Though the liberal media continues to disparage Bush's handling of the economy, they often neglect to report the many aspects of the economy that Bush has improved. For example, during his term Exxon Mobile has posted the largest profit of any company in a signle year, and executive salaries have greatly increased as well [5]. This is due to changes in the stock market that lead to a record high in 2006, recovering from the Clinton years which lead to the lowest point of the stock market in January 2000 AD since the great depression of 1929 AD, and "Companies are churning out double-digit profit growth" currently.[6] Even the working class is benefiting from the Bush economy, as unemployment hits an all time low in March 2007.[7] Bush worked with Democrats to raise the minimum wage to a more livable level.[8]''

The information in this section appears to have either been written by a liberal who was interested in subtly undermining the informative authority of this particular entry (and possibly Conservapedia in general), or by someone who is perhaps good-intentioned but very badly informed.

First of all, using Exxon-Mobil and executive salary increases as an indication of how much Bush has done for the economy is actually quite bad press for him. The majority of Americans are not voting to line the pockets of the people at the very top. They prefer to have their own pockets lined, even if it is just in small ways, like in tax cuts for the middle class. Suggesting that Bush has done good for our economy as evidenced by the economic boon of the elite would seem to give credit to Bush's detractors who have accused him of being concerned only with his "oil buddies" and largest contributors. Let's not add more wood to that fire, please. That's how we lost the mid-terms - shooting ourselves in the foot.

Second point, please, whoever has write permissions, clean up the spelling errors at the very least (Exxon-Mobile, signle - in this section)

Third, someone else cited the error in referencing January 2000 as the lowest point of the stock market. In addition to their points (including the quote from the article that was supposedly used as reference for that inaccurate "fact"), I think it's important to clarify that while the market has never dropped as low as it did following the crash of 1929, the *percentage* drop could again be as great as it was in 1929. In 1929 the percentage drop was 23%. In 1987, the crash of October caused a dip of 22.7%. The actual numbers of 1929 were in the 200-400 range, whereas the Dow Jones is over 12,000 right now. If, in the modern era, the DJIA ever dropped as low as it did in 1929, i.e., down ot the 200-400 range, then we may as well prepare for Armageddon, because the state of the world would probably be *that* bad.

Fourth, is it necessary to place A.D. after every year, even when it is obvious that the referenced year is In the Year of Our Lord (i.e. Anno Domini)? It seems unnecessary, and certainly cumbersome to have A.D. following years that are obviously referring to U.S. political events. Our conservative audience is not so dumb as to be confused about whether the Clinton administration of the year 2000 is in reference to 2000 years before or 2000 years after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mostly I agree that we should not be concerned about the stereotypes our liberal brothers and sisters have placed upon us, but when possible for us to avoid looking stupid and playing into the stereotypes the liberals have assigned to us, I think we ought do so.

Fifth, the unemployment rate is dropping for March 2007, and this is wonderful and it speaks well of Bush's handling of the economy. It is not the lowest rate of all time, however. I don't feel compelled to provide sources here, because this information is readily available in under 2 minutes of searching for "U.S." and "unemployment rate" on any search engine of your choosing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, can tell you that the lowest unemployment rate of the last 60 years was in 1953 at just under 3%. It's an easy fact to check, and a ridiculous error to lock into an entry about our President. There are true pieces of information about President Bush that make him worthy of admiration. There is no need to attempt to bolster his image with false information.

And finally, let's please be honest about the minimum wage situation. The decision to raise the minimum wage is controversial among conservatives, and I am having difficulty finding a reliable source that suggests Bush supports, in isolation, the idea of raising the minimum wage (i.e. without tax-cuts for small-businesses also tacked on as a proviso). In terms of economic growth, raising the minimum wage may not be helpful, and everything I have read about President Bush seems to indicate that he knows that. So any suggestion that his personal opinion is that the minimum wage should be raised is questionable. Aside from his personal opinion, in his professional capacity, he most certainly hasn't been placed in a position of "working with the Democrats to raise the minimum wage to a livable level." The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 has passed in both the House and the Senate, but it has not yet been presented to our President to be signed into law, because it is pending committee review. Additionally, crediting Bush with "working with Democrats" on this is erroneous. Bush has reached across partisan lines on many occasions, but this particular bill was brought on entirely by Democratic feather-ruffling during their "First 100-Hours" campaign. It was an attempt by the Dems to make a garish display of their new "authority," having gained the majority in Congress.

:For starters, what powers do the executive branch have over economics? --[[User:JamesLipton|JamesLipton]] 22:29, 19 March 2007 (EDT)

::My personal political philosophies aside, I completely agree that Exxon-Mobile is probably the worst company that could have been chosen to show support for Bush's economic policies. This is an encyclopedia for conservatives, but if it's going to stand up to the criticisms of the liberal community and not be a major source of embarrassment for conservatives as a whole, it must hold itself to a higher level of political awareness. Whether one believes Exxon-Mobile's booming business is proof the economy is in great shape or not, the majority of those who read this (including conservatives) will fall out of their chairs when they read that. I guarantee you, liberal citizens all across America will copy and paste the paragraph into their blogs for their readers to laugh at.

::This is probably the most important article on conservapedia. It HAS to be beyond reproof. --[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 14:42, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

: When is this going to be fixed? The "lowest unemployment rate in history" is not true, it was far lower in the 60s, and lower during the later years of the Clinton administrator. The claim isn't even supported by the reference, which claims "the lowest in five years", which I suppose is true enough. Concise and fact based indeed. --[[User:Abrown|Abrown]] 16:02, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

== Ridiculous claim ==

"He is now working tirelessly to end the Iraqi insurgency and stabilize the region."

Eh, ok? Source? A silly attempt to try to create some kind of sympathy for the man. It's like saying "Jesus was very kind." in his entry. It has got nothing to do with facts and people should be given facts on this site and then determine for themselves if Jesus was kind and if GWB is working tirelessly.

:Agreed. Authors establish bias effectively by utilizing fact selectivity and through awareness of the perspective from which those facts are related. Ineffective authors establish bias by simply writing their opinions. An openly biased article is not the same thing as an opinion column. An encyclopedia does not need to allow itself to be tainted with opinions in order to be biased. This is supported by conservapedia itself in its article "Examples of Bias in Wikipedia." (Wikipedia, however biased it may or may not be, never allows anything close to the candid opinions of its editors to pollute articles.)
:[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 17:29, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

== "Hard Work" ==

George W Bush has never done a day's hard work in his lifetime.

Oh wait, he was having trouble reading his children's book when he heard about 9/11. Dang, forgot about that.

:Sarcasm and exaggeration are the didactic devices of idiots.
:[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 17:31, 2 April 2007 (EDT)
:: and just insulting people to disprove their point is also idiotic. and sarcasm isn't idiotic at all its actually quite clever-[[User:Greenmeanie|Greenmeanie]] 22:41, 21 May 2008 (EDT)

== Ridicolous Article ==

This whole article is a joke, right? How can you put this out as fact when it has been debunked so many times?

==Better Picture==
[[Image:Busio.jpeg|thumb|right]]

::I agree, that is a much better picture. It's the same one used on wikipedia, but it's public domain. I'd use it, but get a higher resolution copy of the image at http://www.defenselink.mil/DODCMSShare/NewsPhoto/2003-02/030114-O-0000D-001.jpg
::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 14:49, 1 April 2007 (EDT)
This article does not just neglect important information, but also gives incorrect facts. Al Gore won the popular vote in the 200 election. Also, this I laugh out loud that people are actually believing this conservopedia crap.
:writing unsigned comments is quite annoying, although i agree about the conservapedia point (tip there was no 200 election in america)-[[User:Greenmeanie|Greenmeanie]] 22:42, 21 May 2008 (EDT)

== Requested edits ==

* The article needs to have <tt style="background-color:#bfb"><nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George W.}}</nowiki></tt> added just above the categories at the bottom, so its category sortkey is set properly. Thanks. --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 17:02, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

:Please add <nowiki>[[Category:Military Commanders]]</nowiki>
:He is after all our [[Commander in Chief]] leading the hugely successful war against [[terrorism]] in [[Iraq]] and elswhere.
::"Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people." (Isaiah 55:4)
:[[User:JC|JC]] 10:26, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

:::"Hugely successful?" I missed the announcement that they'd caught Osama Bin Laden. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:56, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

== Poor addition to a poor article ==

You neglected to mention that Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 by a half-million votes. Your refusal to address it is just plain sad. Jesus hates liars.

The line, "Many people feel that George W. Bush's faith is sincere and profound. The Faith of George W. Bush, a non-political book by author Stephen Strang, made the New York Times best-sellers list" should be quickly deleted from this article. I know wikipedia doesn't allow such B.S. qualifiers as "many people feel," and neither should conservapedia if it's going to be taken seriously. Just state that he's a Christian. How profound his Christian-ness is is both irrelevant and unquantifiable.

At least move it out of the "Foreign Policy" section of the article.

--[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 18:53, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
:I don't agree with the first paragraph by Mechrobioticon, but I do agree with the second paragraph. I think that faith statement should be moved from the "Foreign Policy" section to a new "Faith" section. There is tons of material from the book ''God and George W. Bush''. [[User:Crocoite|Crocoite]][[User Talk:Crocoite|talk]] 02:30, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

::OK, maybe requesting that the reference be completely omitted is a little harsh to ask of a conservative encyclopedia, but I still stand by my statement that it needs to be drastically reworded. "Many people feel" is simply a phrase that should never be used in scholarly writing. It's an obvious euphemism for "I feel," and a bad attempt to cover up personal bias. It makes the article appear very amateurish and will become a point of ridicule for knowledgeable readers.
::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 14:28, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

:::Who cares how 'sincere' he is? [[Marshall Applewhite]] was 'sincere', but that didn't stop him from being lethally deluded. Or are we hoping the [[Great Pumpkin]] will visit Bush this Halloween? --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:51, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

::::I agree that how "profound" or "sincere" one's faith in something is is a poor indicator of one's character (not to mention highly arbitrary and impossible to confirm), but this isn't my encyclopedia. It's conservapedia. The ideas of the secular humanist must yield to the consensus of the conservative majority. I think that even bearing this fact, however, that there is a good case to be made for the removal of the sentences in question on the basis that they are, in fact, an opinion that can't be indisputably confirmed. But again, that's not my place to decide, and if the conservative editors and sysops of conservapedia say "it stays," then it stays. Secularists should always remember that we are here to advise and help, not to ridicule and lampoon.
::::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 16:54, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

== No information ==

There's no information about how GWB is being named the Worst President in History [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history] by alot of people, as well as having some of the lowest approval ratings ever.[http://www.hist.umn.edu/~ruggles/Approval.htm][http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/27/opinion/polls/main1350874.shtml] And lack of information about major events in his presidency. Such as Katarina, September 11th and stuff like that.

==No Information==
Period. This isn't an encyclopedia entry, this is more like the bio somebody writes for the program to their high school musical. Could it be more bland? Ish. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 16:02, 24 April 2007 (EDT)

Nothing about his childhood, his college, or his time as Texas governor. And there never will be. Conservapedia doesn't trust their editors to write about this icon. (They might mention, for instance, his drunk driving arrest or allegations of cocaine use). [[User:Czolgolz|Czolgolz]] 13:36, 30 April 2007 (EDT)

== Someone tell me when this article is fixed ==

I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that this article is hopeless. It's not my opinion that George W. Bush's "sincere and profound faith in God" doesn't belong in the foreign policy section of this article. It's a demonstrable fact. Someone tell me what qualifies his religion as a formal written policy by which America's interactions with other countries are deliberated, and I will shut up. The addition is also poorly written, vague, unscholarly, conjectural, impossible to confirm, and dripping with bias and ethnocentrism, but I'll ignore that. Just move it. Please just move it. If this ever happens, please email me at happyhealey@gmail.com, and will resume contributing to Conservapedia. It's ludicrous for a wiki project to be unable to correct its own typographical errors. It's been a month. A whole month. If this were Wikipedia it would have been corrected in less than five minutes. This is, without exaggeration, pitiful.
[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 23:24, 29 April 2007 (EDT)

Well, at least you changed the picture. Good to know the article isn't completely stagnant.
[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 23:32, 29 April 2007 (EDT)

== How can I edit this article? ==

There are some spelling mistakes (Exxon Mobil not Exxon Mobile) and grammar that need correcting but I can't get on to fix it. [[User:Erasmus|Erasmus]] 11:19, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

Could someone add "Category:Christian warriors" which I created specifically for Dubya?[[User:Muschifresser|Muschifresser]] 08:23, 3 May 2007 (EDT)

== Protected articles ==

Protected articles infringe on the right to free speech. I am greatly opposed to this policy. Bush happens to be one of my favorite people and you are depriving the fact that I can't contribute to this article is appalling. I know you are worried about vandals, but you are just punishing the innocent. The world is being deprived of my great knowledge, these are sad times.--[[User:BushRules12|BushRules12]] 23:22, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

== Eavesdropping program ==

When it becomes possible to edit this article again, something should be added about the NSA eavesdropping program. As today's New York Times indicates, this program is extremely controversial even among conservatives and almost led to the resignations of Attorney General Ashcroft and FBI Director Mueller.--[[User:Amyz]] 10:04, May 16, 2007 (EDT)

== This is one sad page... ==

....And since it's locked, only the syspos (who have enough to do as it is) can DO anything with it. --[[User:Gulik3|Gulik3]] 02:37, 21 May 2007 (EDT)

*I quite agree, Gulik3. Me, for instance, I have been reading your many posts, all seeming to be unhappy ones. I hope you will straighten us out with good, solid examples of article production so that we may learn from you! --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 05:16, 21 May 2007 (EDT)

::That's be a good trick on my part, seeing how everything worth editing is locked. --[[User:Gulik3|Gulik3]] 23:53, 21 May 2007 (EDT)

:::There actually is a real simple way around that: try, for the first time in known history, to actually write an article according to WP's NPOV. It would actually work here. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 00:15, 22 May 2007 (EDT)

::::'''Wikipedia's''' NPOV? The onbe that's "Six times more Liberal than America"? That NPOV? I can try... --[[User:Gulik3|Gulik3]] 00:29, 22 May 2007 (EDT)
:::::Yep. Since WP does not enforce its only policies, perhaps we can have the first ever NPOV article written here. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 00:42, 22 May 2007 (EDT)

Wait, wait. So Wikipedia has "a horrible anti-liberal" and "Anti American" bias, and you follow its rules on NPOV? [[User:NaglfarorGleipnir|NaglfarorGleipnir]] 18:58, 28 March 2008 (EDT)

== template ==
I think this article should use a template similar to the others in Presidents of the United States category.. see [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] for example. --[[User:Colest|Colest]] 13:03, 24 May 2007 (EDT)

== Public Criticisms? ==
Shouldn't Bush's page have a public criticisms page as suggested in the manual of style? It is an issue significant to his presidency. And what about his handling of 9-11? And why does the economic section sound sarcastic with respect tp executive salaries. This article needs a lot of help. [[User:Pokowpane|Pokowpane]] 18:00, 31 May 2007 (EDT)
:What? You think you can do it? [[User:RobS|RobS]] 22:28, 31 May 2007 (EDT)

This page should have a criticism title like those for other President's. I don't think it has much credibility unless it does. [[User:Priestspez|Priestspez]] 10:24, 18 June 2007

:Absolutely. Unless it's Conservapedia policy not to report on criticism of presidents. [[User:Daphnea|Daphnea]] 16:35, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

== Comment ==

Bush had an alcohol problem until 1986, as he has openly admitted in the past. The severity of this problem remains open to doubt. Comment by User: Darkmind1970 (08:23, 4 January 2008)

== Threats ==

We can't have a threats section. Otherwise, every liberal/communist would be on it!

== Economic Policy ==

To write that Bush worked with the Democrats to raise the minimum wage is a little disingenuous. The minimum wage increase was a platform of the 2006 Democrats. While Bush didn't specifically issue a veto threat, as per the article referenced, the White House wanted tax breaks for small businesses to offset the cost to those businesses. I think the current revision is a better recount of the minimum wage increase. It credits both Democrats, as it was their issue, as well as Bush, who signed the provision after he got what he wanted in the bill.

I'm not trying to vandalize, merely provide more context to the actions.--[[User:Jdellaro|Jdellaro]] 12:22, 17 January 2008 (EST)

:Yes, "worked with" is the operative phrase. In general, Republicans oppose increases in the [[minimum wage]], on the grounds that it hurts [[inner city]] youth - making it harder for them to get [[entry-level]] jobs. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 12:44, 17 January 2008 (EST)

== Poll #'s Are Wrong ==

His most recent poll rating, according to ARG on 2/20/08, is 19%! http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/

user:armstongandmiller says:

i heard that his approval rating dropped below that of broccoli

==Faith==

"Most people feel his faith is sincere and profound". Evidence please? Polls showing this to be true? This is clearly the writer's personal belief and not an encyclopedic fact. Please remove this sentence. {{unsigned|StephenS}}

:Absolutely. Without saying who it is that feels this, and quoting some reference to back it up, this is just puffery. [[User:Daphnea|Daphnea]] 16:33, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

==Cats==
Please add this article to [[:Category:Texas]] and [[:Category:United States Governors]] -- [[Image:50 star flag.png|12px]] [[User:Deborah]] [[Special:Contributions/Deborah|(contributions)]] [[User_talk:Deborah|(talk)]] 16:25, 5 May 2008 (EDT)

==biased reports==
"mostly due to biased media reports". This statement about the President's popularity clearly reflects the writer's opinion. Do we have a reference to back it up? If not, why is it here? [[User:Daphnea|Daphnea]] 13:29, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

:Click the wikilink on the word "bias" in the section. Also check out [[media bias]]. [[User:Jinxmchue|Jinxmchue]] 13:54, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

:Read those. Nothing there indicates that Bush's falling polls are the fault of liberal media. [[User:Daphnea|Daphnea]] 16:29, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

:Daphnea has a point, I think the American populace is more upset that gas prices are skyrocketing while we have two oilmen in the Whitehouse and Americans are dying overseas for oil. I don't see a media bias in this, or if there is, how this bias isn't reflective of reality (I mean, 4.34?! a gallon)--[[User:MarkS|MarkS]] 16:32, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

==2000 election controversy==

Why is there no mention at all of the 2000 Florida vote controversy? Surely we can't ignore what happened there? [[User:Daphnea|Daphnea]] 13:30, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

:There is an article on the [[United_States_presidential_election%2C_2000|2000 election]] where such material would be more appropriate. [[User:Jinxmchue|Jinxmchue]] 13:57, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

:: Perhaps a link to that in the first paragraph where the 2000 election is mentioned would be helpful for readers. --[[User:Jareddr|Jareddr]] 14:03, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

:::I agree. [[User:Jinxmchue|Jinxmchue]] 18:46, 23 June 2008 (EDT)

==Early life==
No mention of anything before governorship? No mention of National Guard? What exactly are we allowed to write in this article? [[User:Daphnea|Daphnea]] 16:49, 23 June 2008 (EDT)
:Write up what you would like added and post it here. [[User:Jinxmchue|Jinxmchue]] 13:19, 24 June 2008 (EDT)

==Economic Legacy?==

The current version of Bush's economic legacy is no longer valid, and leaves out any mention of the record deficits run up during his administration. I'm willing to put together an objective, properly referenced record of the positive and negative impact this administration has had on the US economy, if someone will pledge to unlock and post it so it's not a wast of time. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 11:13, 28 July 2008 (EDT)
:It seems like this would be a good time to revise the "Economic Legacy" section. [[User:Corry|Corry]] 12:38, 9 October 2008 (EDT)
:This page needs to be unlocked so this section can be edited - it's so out of date it hurts the usefulness of this site for students looking to use it as a reference. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 09:20, 23 October 2008 (EDT)
::I want to remind you not to use word hyperbole to make an unwarranted point. As a percent of GDP, the deficits aren't even close to being "records". I hope that any alterations you make will accurately reflect this and treat it in a balanced way. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 16:33, 23 October 2008 (EDT)
:::Thanks, and I'll be careful to be fair. My intention is to divide the Bush economic legacy into three phases - one for his first administration, one for the first half of his second administration (2005-06), and the third covering 2007-08. This way he can be acknowledged for areas where progress was both made and lost. I'll also cite statistics from the government instead of the media for objectivity. If the page gets hit by vandalism and needs to be locked, I'll post my suggested edits here and you can apply them. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 16:58, 23 October 2008 (EDT)

== Wikilinks ==

Could someone add wikilinks to "Laura Bush" and "United Methodist" in the infobox please? Thank you. '''[[user:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]]'''[[User:FernoKlump/petition|Look at this petition!]] 17:45, 28 August 2008 (EDT)

== Plg6067's edit ==

I must say that I found his edit very good: up to the point, concise, and... right. Does anyone have any proof on the contrary? --[[User:LadaNiva|LadaNiva]] 16:18, 13 November 2008 (EST)
:Try making some serious edits. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 16:23, 13 November 2008 (EST)

==Unscourced==

''"Liberals have accused him of having a barbaric foreign policy, but actually Bill Clinton invaded more countries than Pres. Bush."''

This is a good and valid point, but it needs references. Please cite a scource for both things. It'd be nice if you could get some quotes from more prominent liberals.--[[User:BenjaminS|Ben]] [[User Talk:BenjaminS|Talk]] 15:36, 11 December 2008 (EST)

==Still President?==

==Still President?==

This page still reads as though he is the current president. E.g. it says "Serving as president since 2001" and also lines like "when he leaves office". Just a thought. [[User:JohnKite|JohnKite]] 11:19, 28 January 2009 (EST)

== Zogby poll referenced should have link changed ==

The link to the document on the poll should be changed to be a link to the poll itself.

http://www.zogby.com/search/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1588

"As the President's job approval ratings hit a new record low, job performance ratings for Congress have again fallen to their previous record-low of 9% it slipped to in August. The Democratically-controlled Congress earns positive ratings from 13% of Democrats, a drop from 18% who said the same in September. Republican approval has also fallen to 6% from 10% who said the same last month, while Congressional job approval ratings from political independents held steady at 10%."

== Faith and the use of "Immoral" ==

The use of the phrase "immoral embryonic stem cell research." is quite clearly opinion and since there is no source for the the whole line, it should be deleted.

== Vice President link ==

The redirect [[Vice President]] was recently deleted. I fixed all the other links in actual articles, but can't get this one. Can an admin change it to [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]]? {{unsigned|MarkGall}} -- 11:14, 7 July 2009

:Thanks, Mark, I have. Sorry for this obvious oversight I missed! --[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 15:24, 7 July 2009 (EDT)

== Easy Re-election ==
I was wondering what constituted "easy" in terms of election results. I think, one, easy is a subjective and qualitative term. Also, I believe that the closeness of the election would lend the term "narrow." I feel that this would even be a better, albeit more honest, descriptor in light of the fact that the liberals tried so hard to suppress a re-election. --[[User:BLJones|BLJones]] 22:44, 18 September 2009 (EDT)

"Albeit"? I assume you mean "and even", unless you're suggesting the article is ''intentionally'' misleading? [[User:FREConservative|FREConservative]] 19:07, 19 September 2009 (EDT)

== Spelling mistakes ==
Early Life -- First line "were he attended Yale" I believe it should be WHERE not WERE