Background…• 1946: Born in CT… Raised in TX• 1968: Yale - History degree• 1975: Harvard - MBA• 1975- 88: Oil industry• 1989: Invests in Texas Rangers• 1994: Gov. of Texas (2 X)• 2000: Elected President• 2004 Re-elected

The 2000 Election“Highly controversial”

• 537 vote difference in FL• The electoral vote on election night:

Bush: 246 Gore255 • Electoral votes in states to close to

call… 25 FL, 5 NM & 7 OR• Gore lost his home state of TE

The Election of 2000Why was it controversial?

The 2000 Election

• Additional controversy…– The Palm Beach “Butterfly ballot”…

– Hanging chads…

The 2000 Election - “Highly controversial”

• Both parties legally challenge results

• Undecided for 30 days• The U.S. Supreme Court voted…

7-2 vote ends the recount 5-4 no new recount

• Gore disagreed, but conceded

Same-sex marriage becomes a national controversy…

• Bush opposes same-sex marriage & supports civil unions

• Bush endorses the Federal Marriage Amendment …Defines marriage as a union between one man & one woman…. The amendment does not pass

No Child Left Behind Act• A federal law designed to reform public education by

establishing standards, accountability for performance & the threat of withholding federal funding.

• Criticism of NCLB…– No federal funding to support the program– The value of “high stakes testing”

Economic policies… To avoid a predicted recession & stimulate the

economy Bush pushes for a $1.35 trillion tax cut…

The economy under GWB (negative)…• National debt $5.75T to over $9T• Poverty has increased• Income for most American families has not increased

The economy under GWB (positive)…• GDP averaging 2.5% growth• Dow Jones up 30% since 2001• Unemployment 4.5%

• Amber Alert (2003) - Quickly alerts the public about child abductions

Protecting Children…

Foreign Policies • Withdrew from the 1998 Kyoto Protocol…• The KP is an international treaty that sets limits on the emission of greenhouse

gases (GHG) by industrialized countries. The overall goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to stop human-induced climate change.

• The agreement "recognizes that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, and places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities‘.”

• The US signed, but did not ratify the Protocol• When G.W. Bush was elected President, he was asked about climate change &

he said that he took the issue "very seriously.”Later Bush opposed the Kyoto treaty, because "it exempts 80% of the world, including major population centers such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the US economy".

The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks…

• The World Trade Center in NYC • The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia• A passenger airliner in Shanksville, PA

• 3,000 PEOPLE DIED ON 9/11

A turning point in our national history

In a speech before Congress Bush declares war on terrorism and the

nations supporting terrorism.

The War in AfghanistanOct. 2001

• The U.S. & NATO forces invade Afghanistan & overthrow the Taliban• Secret programs gather intelligence

by monitoring bank accounts & telephone records• The Patriot Act is passed by

Congress

G.W. Bush and

Civil Liberties

• Following 9/11 GWB orders the NSA to monitor communications

between “suspected terrorists and parties within the United States” • No FISA (Federal Intelligence

Surveillance Act) Warrant .

LEGAL????????

Military Commissions Act of 2006

• Military trials for terrorists & other unlawful enemy combatants • Detains "enemy combatants"

indefinitely in a military prison• No Habeas Corpus or lawyer• Constitutional????

Guantanamo (Gitmo) Bay Detainment Camp

• Military prison & interrogation • Holds suspected al-Qaeda & Taliban operatives• Criticism…

USA PATRIOT Act October 26, 2001

- The Uniting & Strengthening of America

by Providing Appropriate Tools

Required to Intercept & Obstruct

Terrorism Act (2001) Renewed March of 2006

Provisions of the Patriot Act• Amended immigration laws • Amended banking & money laundering laws • Defines… Domestic terrorism

International terrorismTerrorist activity Terrorist organization Broadens surveillance

• Critics warn that the Patriot Act threatens basic freedoms… Without “probable cause” the government can access… Medical, Tax, library & Internet records and conduct secret searches.

Dept. of Homeland Security

• Dramatically expands the authority of law enforcement in order to fight terrorism.

• DHS protects the US from terrorist attack & responds to natural disasters

• The 3rd largest cabinet… 185,000 employees• Reorganized/ combined 22 existing agencies

The Iraq War: "Operation Iraqi Freedom"

• Saddam Hussein was believed to have WMDs…• WMDs could “potentially fall into the hands of

terrorists” • Bush urges the UN to enforce disarmament

mandates • UN weapons inspectors search for weapons… Iraqi

is uncooperative• Bush wanted to defeat terrorism by promoting

democracy... • The "coalition of the willing"…

The Iraqi War death toll as of July, 2006…

• The US: 3,753 deaths…27,186 wounded - Afghanistan 440• Coalition Forces: 4,058• Iraqi’s: 71,000 - 78,000 civilian deaths

The 9/11 Commission• The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon

the US• Created to… – Report on the circumstances surrounding 9/11 attacks– Evaluate our readiness for and response – Provide recommendations designed to guard against future

attacks

• 9/11 Commission concluded that Iraq under Saddam Hussein was attempting to acquire WMD, but no stock piles existed

• No nuclear threat existed

The 9/11 Commission Report:Homeland Security Emergency Response Report Card

• Communication for 1st responders- F• Incident Command System- C • Allocation of HS funds- F• Protection of infrastructure- D • Private sector preparedness C • Nat. Strat. for Transport. Security- C- • Air passenger pre-screening- F • Air passenger explosive screening- C • Bag/ cargo screening- D • Terrorist travel strategy I

Results of the 2004 ElectionPop Vote % States EV

• Rep: Bush 62,040,610 50.7 31 286

• Dem: 59,028,111 48.3 19 251

• Other: Ralph Nader 463,653 .4% 0 0