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About George W. Bush
 For other persons of the same name, see George Bush.
George Walker Bush (/ˈdʒɔɹdʒ ˈwɑkɚ ˈbʊʃ/ ; born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States. He served as the forty-sixth Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being inaugurated as President on January 20, 2001. His current term is scheduled to end at noon (ET) on January 20, 2009.[4] Bush is the eldest son of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush. After graduating from Yale University, Bush worked in his family's oil businesses. Shortly after marrying his wife, Laura, he made an unsuccessful run for the United States House of Representatives in 1978. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards to become Governor of Texas in 1994. In a close and controversial election, Bush was elected to the Presidency in 2000 as the Republican candidate, receiving a majority of the electoral vote but narrowly losing the popular vote. As President, Bush's main policies have largely focused on foreign policy and the economy. He has enacted large tax cuts, the No Child Left Behind Act,[5] and his tenure has seen a national debate on immigration.[6] After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bush announced a global War on Terrorism, ordered an invasion of Afghanistan that same year, and an invasion of Iraq in 2003. Bush ran for re-election against the Democratic Party's nominee, Senator John Kerry in 2004. Though Kerry debated Bush's handling of the Iraq War and domestic issues,[7] Bush was re-elected on November 2, garnering 50.7% of the popular vote to his opponent's 48.3%.[8] After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism.[9][10][11] During his two terms he has had both the highest and the lowest domestic Gallup poll approval ratings of American Presidents, ranging from around 90% immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks, to 28% in June 2008.[12][13] Childhood to mid-lifeBorn in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946, Bush was the first child of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush (born Pierce). He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with his four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953.[14] Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and his father served as U.S. President from 1989 to 1993. During his 2000 presidential campaign, Vanity Fair magazine and The New York Times reported that Bush, as a child, was not accepted for admission by St. John's School in Houston, Texas, a prestigious private school.[15] In the two years following, Bush attended The Kinkaid School, the private school from which St. John's had broken away.[15] Ironically, Bush, then the Governor of Texas, served as the commencement speaker at St. John's Academy in 1995.[16] Bush attended the all-boys school Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he played baseball and during his senior year was the head cheerleader.[17][18] Following in his father's footsteps, Bush attended Yale University, where he received a Bachelor's degree in history in 1968.[19] As a college senior, Bush became a member of the secretive Skull and Bones society. By his own characterization, he was an average student.[20] Texas Air National Guard
In May 1968, Bush was accepted into the Texas Air National Guard, after scoring the lowest acceptable passing grade on the pilot's written aptitude test.[21][22][23] After training, he was assigned to duty in Houston, flying Convair F-102s out of Ellington Air Force Base.[24] Critics allege Bush was favorably treated because of his father's political standing, citing his lack of combat service and his irregular attendance.[25] The United States Department of Defense released all the records of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service, which remain in its official archives.[22] Although not accepted to the University of Texas School of Law in 1970,[26] he accepted a transfer to the Alabama Air National Guard in 1972 to work on a Republican senate campaign, and in October 1973 he was discharged from the Texas Air National Guard. Bush then attended Harvard University, where he earned his MBA,[27] and completed his six-year service obligation in the inactive reserve.[28] During this time Bush had multiple accounts of alcohol abuse.[29] In one instance, Bush was arrested near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine for driving under the influence of alcohol at the age of thirty on September 4, 1976. He pleaded guilty, was fined US$150, and had his Maine driver's license suspended until 1978.[30] Soon after, Bush entered the oil industry in Texas. Marriage and family
In 1977, he was introduced by friends at a backyard barbecue to Laura Welch, a schoolteacher and librarian. Bush proposed to her after a three-month courtship and they were married on November 5 of that year.[31] The couple settled in Midland, Texas. Bush left his family's Episcopal Church to join his wife's United Methodist Church.[2] In 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara;[31] they graduated from high school in 2000 and from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, respectively, in 2004. Bush gave up alcohol in 1986 and credits his decision to stop drinking to his wife.[32] She is also credited with possessing a stabilizing effect on his private life.[31] While Governor of Texas, Bush said of his wife, "I saw an elegant beautiful woman who turned out not only to be elegant and beautiful, but very smart and willing to put up with my rough edges, and I must confess has smoothed them off over time."[31] Early careerIn 1978, Bush ran for the House of Representatives from Texas's 19th congressional district. His opponent, Kent Hance, portrayed him as being out of touch with rural Texans; Bush lost the election by 6,000 votes.[33] He returned to the oil industry, and began a series of small, independent oil exploration companies.[34] He created Arbusto Energy,[35] and later changed the name to Bush Exploration. In 1984, his company merged with the larger Spectrum 7, and Bush became chairman.[34] The company was hurt by a decline in oil prices, and as a result, it folded into Harken Energy.[34][36] Bush served on the board of directors for Harken.[34] Questions of possible insider trading involving Harken have arisen, though the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) investigation of Bush concluded that he did not have enough insider information before his stock sale to warrant a case.[34][37] Bush moved his family to Washington, D.C. in 1988 to work on his father's campaign for the U.S. presidency.[38][39] He worked as a campaign adviser and served as liaison to the media;[34] he assisted his father by campaigning across the country.[34] Returning to Texas after the successful campaign, he purchased a share in the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in April 1989, where he served as managing general partner for five years.[40] He actively led the team's projects and regularly attended its games, often choosing to sit in the open stands with fans.[41] The sale of Bush's shares in the Rangers in 1998 brought him over US$15 million from his initial US$800,000 investment.[42] Governor of Texas
As Bush's brother, Jeb, sought the governorship of Florida, Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced popular Democrat incumbent Governor Ann Richards. His campaign focused on four themes: welfare reform, tort reform, crime reduction, and education improvement.[34] Bush's campaign advisers were Karen Hughes, Joe Allbaugh, and Karl Rove. Richards vetoed a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. Bush pledged to sign it (he did so after he became governor).[43] Following his debates with Richards, his popularity grew; he won the general election with 52 percent against Richards' 47 percent.[44] Bush used a budget surplus to push through Texas's largest tax-cut of two billion dollars.[44] He extended government funding for organizations providing education, alcohol and drug use and abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence, so long as those organizations are religious. He proclaimed June 10, 2000 to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day on which he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need."[45] In 1998, Bush won re-election with a record[34] 69 percent of the vote.[46] He became the first governor in Texas history to be elected to two consecutive four-year terms.[34] In his second term, Bush promoted faith-based organizations and enjoyed high approval ratings.[34] Critics contended that during his tenure, Texas ranked near the bottom in environmental evaluations, but supporters pointed to his efforts to raise the salaries of teachers and improved educational test scores.[34] Throughout Bush's first term, national attention focused on him as a potential future presidential candidate. Following his re-election, speculation soared.[34] Within a year, he had decided to seek the Republican nomination for the presidency. Presidential campaigns2000 Presidential candidacyPrimaryIn June 1999, while Governor of Texas, Bush announced his candidacy for President of the United States. With no incumbent running, Bush entered a large field of candidates for the Republican Party presidential nomination including Elizabeth Dole, John McCain, Steve Forbes, Dan Quayle, Pat Buchanan, Lamar Alexander, and others. Bush portrayed himself as a compassionate conservative. He campaigned on a platform that included increasing the size of the United States Armed Forces, cut taxes, improve education, and aid minorities.[34] By early 2000, the race had centered on Bush and McCain.[34] Bush won the Iowa caucuses, and although he was heavily favored to win the New Hampshire primary, he trailed John McCain by 19% and lost that primary.[47] However, the Bush campaign regained momentum and, according to political observers, effectively became the front runner after the South Carolina primary.[48] The South Carolina campaign was controversial for the use of telephone poll questions phrased negatively toward McCain.[47] General electionOn July 25, 2000, Bush surprised some observers by asking the Halliburton corporation's chief executive officer Dick Cheney, a former White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Representative, and Secretary of Defense, to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Cheney was then serving as head of Bush's Vice-Presidential search committee. Soon after, he was officially nominated by the Republican Party at the 2000 Republican National Convention. He continued to campaign across the country, and touted his record as Governor of Texas.[34] Bush's campaign criticized his Democratic opponent, incumbent Vice President Al Gore, over gun control and taxation.[49] As the election returns came in on November 7, Bush won twenty-nine states; one of the states was Florida. The closeness of the outcome led to a recount in Florida.[34] Two initial counts went to Bush, but the outcome was tied up in courts for a month until reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. On December 9, in the Bush v. Gore case, the Court reversed a Florida Supreme Court ruling ordering a third count, and stopped an ordered statewide hand recount based on the argument that the use of different standards among Florida's counties violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.[34] The machine recount stated that Bush had won the Florida vote by a margin of 537 votes out of six million cast.[50] Bush received 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266.[51] However, he lost the popular vote by more than half a million votes,[50] making him one of a handful of presidents elected without at least a plurality of the popular vote. 2004 Presidential candidacy
Bush commanded broad support in the Republican Party and did not encounter a primary challenge. He appointed Kenneth Mehlman as campaign manager, with a political strategy devised by Karl Rove.[52] Bush outlined an agenda that included a strong commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act, making earlier tax cuts permanent, cutting the budget deficit in half, promoting education, as well as reform in tort law, reforming Social Security, and creation of an ownership society. The Bush campaign advertised across the U.S. against Democratic candidates, including Bush's emerging opponent, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Kerry and other Democrats attacked Bush on the war in Iraq, perceived excesses of the USA PATRIOT Act and for allegedly failing to stimulate the economy and job growth. The Bush campaign portrayed Kerry as a staunch liberal who would raise taxes and increase the size of government. The Bush campaign continuously criticized Kerry's seemingly contradictory statements on the war in Iraq,[34] and claimed Kerry lacked the decisiveness and vision necessary for success in the war on terrorism. Bush carried thirty-one of fifty states for a total of 286 Electoral College votes. He won an absolute majority of the popular vote (50.7% to his opponent's 48.3%).[53] The last president to win an absolute majority of the popular vote had been Bush's father in the 1988 election. In addition, it was the first time since Herbert Hoover's election in 1928 that a Republican president was elected alongside re-elected Republican congressional majorities in both houses. Bush's 2.5% margin of victory was the narrowest for a victorious incumbent President up for re-election since Woodrow Wilson's 3.1% margin of victory against Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 contest. PresidencyDomestic policyEconomic policyFacing opposition in the Congress, Bush held town hall-style public meetings across the U.S. in 2001 to increase public support for his plan for a US$1.35 trillion tax cut program"one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history.[34] Bush argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers, saying "the surplus is not the government"s money. The surplus is the people"s money."[34] With reports of the threat of recession from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Bush argued that such a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs.[54] Others, including the Treasury Secretary at the time Paul O'Neill, were opposed to some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine Social Security.[55] By 2003, the economy showed significant signs of improvement.[34] Under the Bush Administration, real GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent,[56] considerably below the average for business cycles from 1949 to 2000.[57][58] The Dow Jones Industrial Average has grown by about 30 percent since January 2001[59] and stock market indexes have risen.[34] Unemployment originally rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, but subsequently dropped to 4.5 percent as of July 2007.[60] Inflation-adjusted median household income has been flat while the nation's poverty rate has increased.[61] By August 2007, due to increases in domestic and foreign spending,[62] the national debt had risen to US$8.98 trillion dollars, an increase of over 70% from the start of the year 2000 when the debt was US$5.6 trillion.[63][64] The perception of President Bush's effect on the economy is significantly affected by partisanship with 67% of Republicans and 1% of Democrats approving of his performance.[65] The United States entered 2008 during shaky economic times, consisting of a housing market correction, a subprime mortgage crisis and a declining dollar value.[66] In February, 63,000 jobs were lost, a 5-year record.[67] Many observers believed that a U.S. recession had begun.[68] To aid with the situation, Bush signed a US$170 billion economic stimulus package which aimed to improve the economic situation by sending tax rebate checks to many Americans and providing tax breaks for struggling businesses.[34] Education and healthSince entering office, President Bush has undertaken a number of educational priorities. He increased funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health in his first years of office, and created education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students. Funding for the NIH was cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years, due to rising inflation.[69] 
One of the administration's early major initiatives was the "No Child Left Behind Act", which aimed to measure and close the gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income schools. This landmark education initiative was signed into law by President Bush in early 2002.[70] Many contend that the initiative has been successful, as cited by the fact that students in the U.S. have performed significantly better on state reading and math tests since Bush signed "No Child Left Behind" into law.[71] Critics argue that it is underfunded[72] and that NCLBA's focus on "high stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive.[73] After being re-elected, Bush signed into law a Medicare drug benefit program that, according to Jan Crawford Greenburg, resulted in "the greatest expansion in America's welfare state in forty years;" the bill's costs approached $7 trillion.[74] In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation, which was added by the Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress. The SCHIP legislation would have significantly expanded federally-funded health care benefits and plans to children of some low-income families from about 6 million to 10 million children. It was to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax.[75] Bush viewed the legislation as a move toward the liberal platform of socialized health care, and claimed that the program could benefit families making as much as US$83,000 per year who would not have otherwise needed the help.[76] Social services and Social SecurityBush promoted increased deregulation and investment options in social services, leading Republican efforts to pass the Medicare Act of 2003, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare and created Health Savings Accounts, which would permit people to set aside a portion of their Medicare tax to build a "nest egg". The retired persons lobby group AARP worked with the Bush Administration on the program and gave their endorsement. Bush said the law, estimated to cost US$400 billion over the first 10 years, would give the elderly "better choices and more control over their health care".[77] 
Bush began his second term by outlining a major initiative to reform Social Security, which was facing record deficit projections beginning in 2005. Bush made it the centerpiece of his agenda despite contrary beliefs in the media and in the U.S. Congress, which saw the program as the "third rail of politics". In his 2005 State of the Union Address, Bush discussed the potential impending bankruptcy of the program and attacked political inertia against reform. He proposed options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax (FICA) into secured investments, creating a "nest egg" that he said would enjoy steady growth. Despite emphasizing safeguards and remaining open to other plans, Bush's proposal was criticized for its high cost, and Democrats attacked it as an effort to partially privatize the system. Bush embarked on a 60-day national tour, campaigning vigorously for his initiative in media events, known as the "Conversations on Social Security", in an attempt to gain support from the general public.[78] Despite the energetic campaign, public support for the proposal declined[79] and the House Republican leadership decided not to put Social Security reform on the priority list for the remainder of their 2005 legislative agenda.[80] The proposal's legislative prospects were further diminished by the political fallout from the Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005.[81]After the Democrats gained control of both houses of the Congress as a result of the 2006 mid-term elections, the prospects of any further congressional action on the Bush proposal appeared to be dead for the remainder of his term in office. Environmental and energy policiesUpon arriving in office in 2001, Bush stated his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change which seeks to impose mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, citing that the treaty exempted 80 percent of the world's population[82] and would have cost tens of billions of dollars per year.[83] He also cited that the Senate had voted 950 in 1997 on a resolution expressing its disapproval of the protocol. In 2002, Bush announced the Clear Skies Initiative,[84] aimed at amending the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution through the use of emissions trading programs. It was argued, however, that this legislation would have weakened the original legislation by allowing higher levels of pollutants than were permitted at that time.[85] The initiative was introduced to Congress, but failed to make it out of committee. 
President Bush believes that global warming is real[86] and has said that he has consistently noted that global warming is a serious problem, but he asserted there is a "debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused".[87] The Bush Administration's stance on global warming has remained controversial in the scientific and environmental communities. Many accusations have been made against the administration[88] for allegedly misinforming the public and not having done enough to reduce carbon emissions and deter global warming.[89] During his 2008 State of the Union Address, however, Bush announced that the U.S. would commit US$2 billion over the next three years towards a new international fund to promote clean energy technologies and fight climate change, saying, "along with contributions from other countries, this fund will increase and accelerate the deployment of all forms of cleaner, more efficient technologies in developing nations like India and China, and help leverage substantial private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially attractive." He has also announced plans to reaffirm the United States' commitment to work with major economies, and, through the United Nations, to complete an international agreement that will slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases; he stated, "this agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride."[90] Previously, in his 2007 State of the Union Address, Bush renewed his pledge to work toward diminished reliance on foreign oil by reducing fossil fuel consumption and increasing alternative fuel production.[91] Admist high gas prices in 2008, Bush lifted a ban on offshore drilling.[92] The move was largely symbolic, however, as there is still a federal law banning offshore drilling. Bush said, "This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil reserves is action from the U.S. Congress."[92] Bush had said in June 2008, "In the long run, the solution is to reduce demand for oil by promoting alternative energy technologies. My administration has worked with Congress to invest in gas-saving technologies like advanced batteries and hydrogen fuel cells... In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil. And that means we need to increase supply, especially here at home. So my administration has repeatedly called on Congress to expand domestic oil production."[93] In 2006 Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument, creating the largest marine reserve to date. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument comprises 84 million acres (340,000 km²) and is home to 7,000 species of fish, birds and other marine animals, many of which are specific to only those islands.[94] The move was hailed by conservationists for "its foresight and leadership in protecting this incredible area."[95] Stem cell research and first use of veto powerFederal funding for medical research involving the creation or destruction of human embryos through the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health has been forbidden by law since the Republican Revolution of 1995.[96] Bush has said that he supports stem cell research, but only to the extent that human embryos are not destroyed in order to harvest additional cells.[97] On August 9, 2001, Bush signed an executive order lifting the ban on federal funding for the 71 existing "lines" of stem cells,[98] but the ability of these existing lines to provide an adequate medium for testing has been questioned. Testing can only be done on twelve of the original lines, and all of the approved lines have been cultured in contact with mouse cells, which makes it unlikely the FDA would approve them for administration to humans.[99] On July 19, 2006, Bush used his veto power for the first time in his presidency to veto the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. The bill would have repealed the Dickey Amendment, thereby permitting federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of an embryo.[100] Immigration
In 2006, going beyond calls from conservatives to secure the border, Bush demanded that Congress allow more than twelve million illegal immigrants to work in the United States with the creation of a "temporary guest-worker program." The president does not support amnesty for illegal immigrants,[101] but argues that the lack of legal status denies the protections of U.S. laws to millions of people who face dangers of poverty and exploitation, and penalizes employers despite a demand for immigrant labor. The president urged Congress to provide additional funds for border security, and committed to deploying 6,000 National Guard troops to the United States-Mexico border.[102] In May-June 2007 Bush strongly supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 which was written by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators with the active participation of the Bush administration.[103] The bill envisioned a legalization program for undocumented immigrants, with an eventual path to citizenship; establishing a guest worker program; a series of border and work site enforcement measures; a reform of the green card application process and the introduction of a point-based "merit" system for green cards; elimination of "chain migration" and of the diversity Green Card Lottery; and other measures. Bush contended that the proposed bill did not amount to amnesty.[104] A heated public debate followed, which resulted in a substantial rift within the Republican Party; the majority of the conservative base opposed it because of its legalization or amnesty provisions.[105] The bill was eventually defeated in the Senate on June 28, 2007, when a cloture motion failed on a 46-53 vote.[106] President Bush expressed disappointment upon the defeat of one of his signature domestic initiatives.[107] The Bush administration later proposed a series of immigration enforcement measures that do not require a change in law.[108] Civil liberties and terrorist detaineesFollowing the events of September 11, Bush issued an executive order authorizing the NSA to monitor communications between suspected terrorists outside the U.S. and parties within the U.S. without obtaining a warrant pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,[109] maintaining that the warrant requirements of FISA were implicitly superseded by the subsequent passage of the Authorization for Use of Military Force.[110] The program proved to be controversial, as critics of the administration, as well as organizations such as the American Bar Association, claimed it was illegal.[111] In August 2006, a U.S. district court judge ruled that the Terrorist Surveillance Program was unconstitutional,[112] but the decision was later reversed.[113] On January 17, 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales informed U.S. Senate leaders that the program would not be reauthorized by the president, but would be subjected to judicial oversight.[114] On October 17, 2006 Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006,[115] a bill passed in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld,[116] which allows the U.S. government the ability to prosecute unlawful enemy combatants by military commission rather than the standard trial. The bill also denies them access to habeas corpus and, while barring torture of detainees, allows the president to determine what constitutes torture.[115] On March 8, 2008, Bush vetoed H.R. 2082, a bill that would have expanded Congressional oversight over the intelligence community and banned the use of waterboarding as well as other forms of enhanced interrogation techniques, saying that "[t]he bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror."[117] President Bush has consistently stated that the United States does not torture. Bush can authorize the CIA to use the simulated-drowning method under extraordinary circumstances.[118] The CIA once considered certain enhanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, legally permissible.[119] The CIA has exercised the technique on certain key terrorist suspects and were given permission to do so from a memo from the Attorney General. While the Army Field Manual argues "that harsh interrogation tactics elicit unreliable information",[119] the Bush administration states that these enhanced interrogations have "provided critical information" to preserve American lives.[120][121] Hurricane KatrinaOne of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina, struck early in Bush"s second term. Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States, particularly New Orleans.[122] 
Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana on August 27,[123] and in Mississippi and Alabama the following day;[124] he authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to manage the disaster, but his announcement failed to spur these agencies to action.[125] The eye of the hurricane made landfall on August 29, and New Orleans began to flood due to levee breaches; later that day, Bush declared that a major disaster existed in Louisiana,[126] officially authorizing FEMA to start using federal funds to assist in the recovery effort. On August 30, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff declared it "an incident of national significance,"[127] triggering the first use of the newly created National Response Plan. Three days later, on September 2, National Guard troops first entered the city of New Orleans.[128] The same day, Bush toured parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and declared that the success of the recovery effort up to that point was "not enough."[129] As the disaster in New Orleans intensified, critics claimed that the president was misrepresenting his administration's role in what they saw as a flawed response. Leaders attacked the president for having appointed perceived incompetent leaders to positions of power at FEMA, notably Michael D. Brown;[130] it was also argued that the federal response was limited as a result of the Iraq War[131] and President Bush himself did not act upon warnings of floods.[132][133][134] Bush responded to mounting criticism by accepting full responsibility for the federal government's failures in its handling of the emergency.[128] Midterm dismissal of U.S. attorneysDuring Bush's second term, a controversy arose over the Justice Department's midterm dismissal of seven United States Attorneys.[135] The White House maintains the U.S. attorneys were fired for poor performance.[136] Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would later resign over the issue, along with other senior members of the Justice Department.[137][138] The House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas for advisors Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten to testify regarding this matter, but Bush directed Miers and Bolten to not comply with those subpoenas, invoking his right of executive privilege. Bush has maintained that all of his advisers are protected under a broad executive privilege protection to receive candid advice. The Justice Department has determined that the President's order was legal.[139] In November 2007, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (VT-D), stated that the Executive Privilege claim was strange considering "the President had no involvement in these firings." Although Congressional investigations have focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White House were using the U.S. Attorney positions for political advantage, no official findings have been released. On March 10, 2008, the Congress filed a federal lawsuit to enforce their issued subpoenas.[140] On July 31, 2008, a United States district court judge ruled that President Bush's top advisers are not immune from congressional subpoenas.[141] Public views and perception | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
