George W Bush

George Walker Bush, born July 6, 1946 was the 43rd president of the United States (2001 ?€“ 2009), the 46th governor of Texas and the eldest son of Barbara and George H.W. Bush. Born in New Haven, Connecticut George exemplifies the traits of one born in the year of the Rat and under the sign of Cancer.

George graduated from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975. He married Laura Welch in 1977 and has two daughters.

Bush's career in the oil industry included Arbusto Energy, a small independent oil exploration business. In 1985 he merged his company with Spectrum 7 and became chairman of the board. Spectrum 7 folded into HKN, Inc. and Bush served on the board of directors for HKN.

In 1988 Bush worked on his father's presidential campaign as campaign adviser and media liaison. After Bush senior won the presidency, George W. returned to Texas and purchased a share in the Texas Rangers. He was the managing general partner for five years before selling his share for a gain of $15 million.

As governor of Texas Bush initiated Texas's tax cut of $2 billion, extended government funding for drug and alcohol education and reduced domestic violence. He was prominent in raising teacher's salaries and improving Texas student test scores.

President Bush announced the War on Terror (Afghanistan and Iraq) due to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Bush developed policies based on the US economy, health care, education, social security reform and lead the fight to amend the Constitution to disallow same sex marriages. Laws under Bush include the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind Act and the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. He instigated Medicare prescription drug benefits.

Bush has been criticized for his handling of Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War. He left office in 2009 with low public ratings which are now being reevaluated.