George W. Bush: Difference between revisions

The 43rd President of the United States, in office from 2001-09. He succeeded [[Bill Clinton]], and was succeeded by [[Barack Obama]].

 

 

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 John McCain or [[Barack Obama]]), as Bush by this point was a highly unpopular lame duck.</ref> for the big banks. Some editors would probably have some triumphant line of argument to add here in support or opposition of any of those, but [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|they should know better]].

 

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.

 

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