George Bush

I

Introduction

George Bush (1946- ), American politician, 43rd President of the United States (2001- ). Bush, who was also the 46th Governor of Texas (1995-2001), was the first son of a former president, as son of George Bush, to take occupancy of the White House since John Quincy Adams in 1825.

II

Education and Early Career

Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a Wall Street financier who was elected to the Senate of the United States from Connecticut. His father, George Bush, began his career in the oil industry before embarking on his political career. George W. Bush was brought up in the Texas town of Midland until he attended Phillips Academy, Massachusetts, in 1959. He later enrolled at Yale University, receiving a history degree in 1968. From 1968 to 1973 he served in the Texas Air National Guard as a jet fighter pilot. During this time he also helped with Republican campaigns for Congress.

Following his military service Bush studied for an MBA at Harvard Business School. On graduating in 1975 he entered the oil industry as a “landman”, someone who helps organize oil-drilling ventures by bringing together geologists, property owners, and investors. Two years later he launched his first campaign for office, standing as a member of the House of Representatives from Texas. He was unsuccessful, and returned to the oil industry as the founder and chief executive of an oil and gas investment partnership, Arbusto Energy (arbusto is the Spanish word for “bush”), which in 1984 was merged into Spectrum 7, of which Bush became chairman. Falling oil prices caused Spectrum to be merged with Harken Energy Corporation in 1986, for which Bush acted as a consultant. In 1989 he became the public face of the managing partners of the Texas Rangers baseball franchise, and supervised the building of the team’s new stadium in Arlington. He sold his shares in the franchise in 1998 for a reported US$15 million.

In 1977, Bush married Laura Welch, a librarian and teacher. They have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, who were born in 1981.

III

Governor of Texas

Alongside his business career Bush continued to nurture his political ambitions. In 1980 he worked for the presidential election campaign team of Ronald Reagan, and in 1988 he was a senior adviser in his father’s successful campaign, and again when he lost to Bill Clinton in 1992.

In 1994 Bush ran for the governorship of Texas against the popular Democrat incumbent Ann Richards, and in an upset took 53 per cent of the vote. He set about creating a coalition of bipartisan support for his programme of education, criminal justice, and welfare reforms. In his re-election campaign of 1998 he portrayed himself as a “compassionate conservative”, an ideology based on the traditional conservative policies of reducing taxes and limiting government, while encouraging private companies and religious associations to support welfare and education initiatives. He won 69 per cent of the vote, making him the first governor of Texas to be elected for two consecutive four-year terms. Bush was criticized by liberals for his poor record on the environment and the increased use of the death penalty during his governorship. Nevertheless, at the end of his second term Bush’s popularity with voters meant that he was well placed to run for the White House.

IV

President of the United States

In July 2000 Bush and running mate Dick Cheney received the Republican nominations for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The campaign against incumbent vice-president and Democrat candidate Al Gore was sometimes bitter and extremely close. Bush was finally awarded the election after weeks of legal wrangling over the result in the key state of Florida that enabled him to secure a majority in the electoral college of 271 to 267, despite losing the national popular vote by approximately 335,000 votes. Bush was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2001.