George W. Bush: Difference between revisions
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{{presidents|[[Bill Clinton]]|[[Barack Obama]]}}
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The 43rd President of the United States, in office from 2001-09. He succeeded [[Bill Clinton]], and was succeeded by [[Barack Obama]].
'''George W. "Dubya" Bush''' is a Republican and the son of former President [[George H. W. Bush|George Herbert Walker Bush]]. He was an owner of the [[Baseball|Texas Rangers baseball team]] and the Governor of Texas prior to reaching the White House. [[Fountain of Memes|Famous]] for his frequent [[Malaproper|malapropisms]] (known as Bushisms), such as "I know how hard it is to put food on your family". Ushered in a veritable ''golden age'' of political satire in America. Also "starred" in not one, but ''two'' [[Sitcom|sitcoms]] (''[[That's My Bush!]]'' and ''[[Lil' Bush]]'', both on Comedy Central), which pushed satirical boundaries in doing so.
Got elected by a very narrow margin (leaving him as only the fourth person to be elected president despite not securing the highest number of votes), complete with controversy and demands for recounts; won his second election more traditionally with far less controversy (although there were several disputes over voter fraud/voter disenfranchisement). A brief policy overview: President during the September 11 terrorist attacks, ordered the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan and achieved highest recorded approval ratings in the aftermath; decided to invade and occupy Iraq on grounds that proved dubious at best, the length and cost of the occupation resulted in historic low approval ratings as his second term drew to a close; invested in AIDS awareness programs in Africa, and the fledgling science of nanotechnology; signed the US out of the Kyoto accords; promoted the [[American Educational System|No Child Left Behind Act]]; signed the PATRIOT Act into law; oversaw tax cuts for the rich and bailouts<ref>And yes, "bailout" is the technical term. It's occasionally confused with "stimulus"; however, that term refers to the Keynesian policy of "priming the pump": increasing government spending or loosening the money supply to get money flowing and jumpstart a failing economy. While monetary stimulus--loosening the money supply--was applied during the Bush Administration, that is at the discretion of the Federal Reserve, not the President or Congress; fiscal stimulus--increasing government spending--was discussed under Bush, but it was deemed to be politically necessary to leave that to his successor (whether that was
Helped popularize the phrase, "I'm {{
▲Helped popularize the phrase, "I'm {{smallcaps|[[Hello, Insert Name Here|<Your Name here>]]}}, and I approve this message.", which is now standard operating procedure for political ads on TV, usually as an alternative to the "Paid for by..." voiceover.
Had a memoir released in November 2010.
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Please exercise the [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgement]] when editing this page.
{{creatortropes}}
* [[Arch Enemy]]: Osama Bin Laden. One could argue that [[Michael Moore]] also fits this trope.
* [[The Atoner]]: How Colin Powell claims he saw his resignation from the administration.
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* [[Defector From Decadence]]: Colin Powell sees himself as this.
** [[The Starscream]]: What others, such as Cheney in particular, see him as.
* [[The Determinator]]: George Bush, facing a very low approval rating eventually, but still continuing with what he saw as the [[War On Terror]].
** Ironically, by the end of his second term, ''Bush himself'' issued a timeline for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
* [[Disease Bleach]]: The stress placed on him during his presidency made him look ''much'' older by the time his presidency ended than when he was first sworn in.
* [[Enhanced Interrogation Techniques]]: [[Trope Namer]], either from Bush himself or Cheney.
* [[Enigmatic Minion]]: Sometimes Condoleezza Rice gets portrayed as this trope, depending on how she gets interpreted.
* [[Everything Is Big in Texas]]: Is very proud of being a Texan. Although if it matters, he was technically born in Connecticut.
* [[Fan Nickname]]: "W" and the famous "Dubya" can and have been used both affectionately and disparagingly.
* [[Five-Man Band]]:
** Himself-[[The Hero]]
** Dick Cheney/Donald Rumsfeld-[[The Lancer]]
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** Karl Rove/Condoleezza Rice-[[The Smart Guy]]
** Alberto Gonzales/Andrew Card/Harriet Miers-[[The Chick]]
** Colin Powell/Scott Mcclellan-[[Sixth Ranger Traitor]]
* [[Genius Ditz]]: He did graduate Yale, but certain famous misspeakings of his got him frequently lampooned as an idiot.
** It was once observed that his GPA at Yale was roughly equal to Al Gore's at Harvard. Later it was observed he actually got BETTER grades than John Kerry, who was more commonly depicted as [[The Smart Guy]] in his attempt to beat Bush.
** He's also the only President to have an MBA from Harvard Business school.
* [[Generation Xerox]]: He is the son of 41st President [[George H. W. Bush]].
* [[Happily Married]]: To his wife, Laura.
* [[Hate Dumb]]: Not necessarily applied to his low approval ratings, but to a few particular criticisms of him.
** Many blame him for the 2008 economic crash, despite the fact that his predecessors [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Bill Clinton]] did most of the deregulation of the financial sector that allowed the crash to happen; Bush's involvement in it barely extended beyond the fact that the crash occurred during his presidency. On top of that, two of the biggest causes of the crash were large amounts of private citizens taking on risky loans and leases to purchase extravagant houses and vehicles that they normally wouldn't be able to afford and flippers artificially driving up the prices of houses, something Bush had no control over.
** Later in his second term, Bush was regularly blamed for a huge spike in gasoline prices (reaching over $4 a gallon at its peak) during his presidency, with some tinfoil hat wearers even alleging that he was personally profiting from it due to his connections to the oil industry. However, the real causes of the gas price spike were the global demand for oil increasing dramatically during the 2000s due to the explosive growth in automobile sales in developing countries like China, India and Russia, and the price of oil being artificially inflated by speculators; the latter became obvious when the price of gas dropped dramatically after the 2008 economic crash. The fact that gas prices went back up to nearly $4 a gallon under his successor [[Barack Obama]] and how [[History Repeats Itself|many are now blaming Obama for the high cost of gas]] show that when it comes to the cost of gas, the president doesn't have much of a role beyond being a convenient scapegoat.
* [[Heroic BSOD]]: When an aide whispered into his ear what was happening on 9/11 while he was reading a book to schoolchildren, he understandably froze up for a few moments.
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* [[History Repeats]]: [[George H. W. Bush|George Bush is elected to replace a popular President who has reached his term limit. Almost immediately into his Presidency, major events in foreign policy happen in quick succession, which he handles skillfully to success and high approval ratings. However, people start questioning his handling of the war in Iraq and Saddam Hussein, and when the events in foreign policy calm down and attention turns back to domestic issues, which Bush fumbles and handles lacklusterly, his popularity declines sharply. He leaves office with low approval ratings and is replaced by a young Democrat who won over the people with a skilled campaign.]]
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: it's ''[[Enhanced Interrogation Techniques]]''.
* [[Internet Backdraft]]: Say anything about him online, if you want to start one of these.
* [[Is This Thing Still On?]]: Had a few moments of this; the more famous instances are calling a reporter a "world-class asshole", and telling [[Tony Blair]] to "get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit".
* [[It Makes Sense in Context]]: Donald Rumsfeld's "known knowns" speech. When gathering military intel, there are things you know, he calls known knowns, things you don't know but you're aware you don't, he calls known unknowns, and things that take you by surprise, he calls unknown unknowns.
* [[It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY"]]: While he didn't evince much of a regional dialect most of the time, his Texas upbringing would occasionally shine through with things like his pronunciation of "nuclear" as "nukular".
* [[Kill It with Water]]: Waterboarding. Although it doesn't actually kill the target.
** Usually. Asphyxiation is a very real danger with waterboarding. It also carries a risk of lung, heart, and brain damage. There's a reason it's controversial.
* [[Lighter and Softer]]: Got into office running as a "compassionate conservative". In retrospect, nobody likes this term. Depending on who you ask, it's either a [[Informed Attribute|smokescreen]] to get votes or a license to, [[What the Hell, Hero?|well]], [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|go soft]] on beliefs to get votes they won't get anyway. His dad said similar things when he ran, promising a "kinder, gentler nation".
* [[Malaproper]]: Multiple statements by him, contributing to his image as [[The Ditz]].
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* [[Never Live It Down]]: Some statements Bush made that were turned into [[Malaproper]] and Cheney's hunting accident while quail hunting.
* [[Nice Guy]]: During the 2000 elections he was seen as very warm and personable, described as the candidate most Americans would like to sit down and have a beer with (ironically, he's a recovering alcoholic).
** He absolutely refuses to say anything negative about his successor [[Barack Obama]] because he feels it's unbecoming for an ex-President to speak ill of the sitting President.
*** Dick Cheney is much less reserved, though.
* [[The Nicknamer]]: Bush was known for the many nicknames he gave people.
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Given some of the stuff Bush pulled over the years, it's quite hard to believe that he's half as stupid as he lets on.
* [[Only in Florida]]: The chaos surrounding his runoff with Al Gore was arguably the largest example, and provides the page image.
* [[Pet the Dog]]: Appearing at the Haiti fundraiser after the 2010 earthquake to help out in the relief fund. Happened about a year after his presidency ended.
* [[The Power of Love]]: As mentioned above, Laura got him to sober up by forcing him to choose between her and the booze. He picked his wife.
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* [[The Stoic]]: Dick Cheney
* [[Sugar and Ice Personality]]: Condoleezza Rice
* [[Super Reflexes]]: When he dodged that shoe.
* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Cheeseburgers, to the point where some of his diplomatic meals were referred to as “Cheeseburger Diplomacy”. Is said to have enjoyed a homemade Cheeseburger Pizza as a favorite dish.
* [[Undying Loyalty]]: Katherine Harris, Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney (Which isn't to say Bush didn't make decisions he didn't like; he still says mostly positive things about him), and probably Condoleezza Rice.
* [[The Unfavorite]]: The Oliver Stone movie interprets that he was this while his brother Jeb was the one his parents had high expectations for.
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: According to the movie by [[Oliver Stone]], it is often perceived his brother Jeb was the one his father expected to get higher office.
** In one of Jr.'s nightmares: Dream!Poppy: "A hundred years it took to build up the Bush name and you single-handedly destroyed it!"
* [[Would Be Rude to Say Genocide]]: Didn't acknowledge the
* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: Bush was known for his loyalty to his [[True Companions]], but this did happen in one case, with Katherine Harris. She played a controversial and important role in counting the ballots that were needed for Bush to win the 2000 election as Florida's Secretary of State. When she finally ran for Senate, the White House did not repay this favor, not giving her any support in her Senate race, and she lost it in a [[Curb Stomp Battle]] to Bill Nelson.
* ''[[That's My Bush!]]''
* ''[[Lil' Bush]]'' (featuring [[The Wild Thornberrys|Flea]] as [[The Unintelligible|Lil' Dick Cheney!]])
* ''W.'' (Dubya), a critical (yet surprisingly sympathetic) biopic by Oliver Stone starring Josh Brolin (''[[American Gangster]], [[No Country for Old Men]]'', ''[[The Goonies]]'') as Dubya and James Cromwell (''[[Babe]], [[The Green Mile]]'') as [[George H. W. Bush]] (AKA [["Well Done, Son" Guy|"Poppy"]]).
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* In ''[[Postal]]'', he holds hands with [[Osama Bin Laden]], skipping towards a nuclear holocaust together. Needless to say, it's a [[Uwe Boll]] film.
* ''[[Dead Ringers (TV series)|Dead Ringers]]'', ''2DTV'' and ''The Impressionable Jon Culshaw'', here grouped together because the portrayals were done by the same people and were very similar, portraying Bush as a malapropism-prone ("My Fellow Armadillos...") warmongering idiot who loved ''[[Sesame Street]]'' and was surrounded by hapless advisors having to explain things to him with sock puppets. The satire was, however, rather undermined by the fact that they kept reusing the same 'President Idiot' jokes from ''[[Spitting Image]]'' (then aimed at [[Ronald Reagan]] and Dan Quayle) which if anything only evoked nostalgia in a lot of the British audience.
* ''[[Harold
* ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]] (2007)'' Although his face wasn't seen, he was portrayed lying down in his bed on Air Force One asking a stewardess for Ding Dongs. A character at one point notes that the whole incident could decide his presidency. Which means in movieland, George W. Bush <s>brought us the Autobots</s> ate snack cakes while the Decepticons attacked.
* In ''[[The Legend of Koizumi]]'', he's an incompetent fool for the first part of the story, looked down on by his father. In a sentence you probably didn't expect to see in your lifetime, George W Bush [[Took a Level
** Also gets points for using Bush's real life [[Dead Little Sister]], Robin, in a completely tasteful and heartwarming manner.
* Seen and heard all over the place in ''[http://www.hbo.com/movies#/movies/recount/synopsis.html Recount]'', a dramatization of the infamous Florida Recount of 2000, along with Al Gore. The two are portrayed (with great restraint) by voice-actors and body doubles until the very end, when their victory/concession speeches are played.
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** Ironically, the closest thing to a neutral portrayal was his first, where Peter works for a tobacco company and wines and dines Bush and Gore to loosen restrictions on cigarette sales. In the DVD commentary, the writers remark that they only included him out of fairness and thought he had "no fucking way" of actually winning.
* Appears in the ''[[American Dad]]'' episode "Bush Comes to Dinner", where Stan wins a contest to have dinner with him. Hayley tries to destroy Bush's reputation by getting him [[Off the Wagon]], but when he comes to her defense after Stan calls her a lost cause she changes her mind, remarking "At least he's better than Cheney." The portrayal is surprisingly sympathetic, having him be depressed over the fact that so many people hate him and wondering if he should just quit, before Stan's contest-winning speech gives him the heart to stay the course.
** He also appears (after a fashion) in "Stan of Arabia" pulling a [[Big Damn Heroes]] and saving the Smiths from being stoned, but it turned out to be [[All Just a Dream]], as well as the pilot where God calls him and tells him to quit mentioning his name in his speeches (followed by answering a call from Cheney with "Yes, sir?").
* Bush goes up against [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs|an Allosaurus]] in the [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=402&theme=6&dir=next5 2004 Presidential election] in ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]''. (The Allosaurus wins.)
* British pop duo [[Pet Shop Boys]] did a satirical love song portraying [[Tony Blair]] and George W. Bush as lovers, entitled "I'm with stupid."
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