George W. Bush: Presidency, Policy, and Legacy
This paper examines the life and presidency of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States. It traces his early biography, education, and entry into politics before surveying the defining events of his two terms in office, including the September 11 attacks, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the War on Terror, and the Guantanamo Bay detention controversy. The paper also profiles key advisors Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, analyzes domestic initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Act and PEPFAR, and assesses the economic conditions — including the financial crisis — that shaped Bush's legacy. The author argues that Bush's record remains difficult to evaluate objectively given how recently his presidency ended.
- Early Life, Education, and Path to Politics: Bush's biography, education, and pre-presidential career
- Key Domestic Policies and Initiatives: Tax cuts, education reform, PEPFAR, and NATO expansion
- Foreign Policy: War on Terror and the Invasion of Iraq: 9/11 response, Afghanistan and Iraq invasions, Guantanamo
- Dick Cheney and Colin Powell: The Bush Team: Profiles and tensions between Bush's top advisors
- Economic Performance and the Financial Crisis: Recession, bank failures, and Bush's economic record
- Assessing the Bush Presidency: Balanced final evaluation of Bush's overall legacy
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper balances biographical background with substantive policy analysis, giving readers context for evaluating Bush's decisions rather than simply listing events.
- It acknowledges the polarized nature of Bush's legacy without fully endorsing either camp, modeling intellectual fairness on a contested political subject.
- The inclusion of direct quotations from key figures — Bush, Cheney, and Powell — grounds abstract claims in primary source material and adds credibility.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of the concessive argument: it acknowledges the strongest criticisms of Bush's presidency (Iraq WMD failures, Hurricane Katrina response, economic decline) while also noting genuine achievements (NATO expansion, PEPFAR, the Afghanistan campaign). This "yes, but" structure prevents the essay from reading as a one-sided polemic and shows analytical maturity appropriate for a political biography paper.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with Bush's biography and pre-presidential career, then moves through his domestic agenda, foreign policy decisions, and key advisors. It pivots to the economic record before concluding with a measured overall assessment. This roughly chronological-then-thematic structure keeps the narrative clear while allowing the author to synthesize across policy areas in the final sections.
Early Life, Education, and Path to Politics
George Walker Bush is the second man in the history of the United States to have followed in his father's footsteps and become President. Bush served two consecutive terms, beginning in January 2001. He was born in 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent most of his childhood in Midland and his teenage years in Houston, Texas. George W. Bush was the first child born in George and Barbara Bush's family. At the time of his birth, his father was an undergraduate at Yale (Bush, A Charge to Keep, 15). George W. Bush enrolled at the same university and received a B.A. in history. He later graduated from Harvard Business School with an M.B.A. in 1975. Between his studies at Yale and Harvard, Bush served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard.
After graduation, Bush began a career in the energy and oil business, married Laura Welch, and settled in Midland, Texas. An avid baseball fan, he became involved in the purchase of the Texas Rangers Baseball team and served as one of its managing partners, holding a small ownership share. Beyond business and sports management, Bush entered political life — first as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives for the state of Texas, then as an active fundraiser for his father's political campaign, and finally as an adviser and speechwriter for that same effort (Biography.com).
Bush launched his own political career as governor of Texas in 1994 and was reelected to a second term in 1998. Following closely contested and controversial poll results between presidential candidates Bush and Al Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately declared Bush the winner of the 2000 presidential election, and he took the oath of office in January 2001.
Although born in New Haven, Connecticut, George W. Bush is widely regarded as a true son of Texas. Midland, where he grew up from the age of two, shaped his childhood and youth. In his biography, Bush recalls the place as having a frontier-like feeling: dusty, dry, and windy. Midland is the county seat of Midland County, located in West Texas. The city was founded around 1880 as a passage point on several trails — the Chihuahua Trail, the Emigrant Road to California, and the Comanche War Trail. In 1881, as a stop on the railroad linking Fort Worth to El Paso, Midland was formally established as a city. Its economic destiny became tied to the large oil reserves discovered there, which greatly boosted its economy.
References
Moens, Alexander. The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy and Loyalty. Ashgate Publishing, 2004.
Bush, George Walker. A Charge to Keep. HarperCollins, 1999.
George W. Bush Biography. Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, 1996–2010.
Dick Cheney Biography. Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, 1996–2010.
Colin Powell Biography. Academy of Achievement.
Amadeo, Kimberly. "Is the U.S. Headed Towards the Second Great Depression?" About.com: U.S. Economy.
Lobe, Jim. "The Bush Team Reloaded." Middle East Report, No. 234 (Spring 2005), pp. 10–16. Middle East Research and Information Project.
King, D.S., and Edwards, G.C. III. The Polarized Presidency of George W. Bush. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Hamilton, W. "Bush Began to Plan War Three Months After 9/11." Washington Post, April 17, 2004, p. A01.
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