Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Bush was the first child of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush. Bush was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with his four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and his father served as U.S. President from 1989 to 1993.
Bush is sometimes referred to informally as George Bush Jr. in order to distinguish him from his father. However, because the son's full name is not exactly the same as his father's (the younger is George Walker Bush as opposed to the elder George Herbert Walker Bush), the "Jr." is incorrect.
Bush attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts where he "mostly made his mark as a cheerleader for the teams".[9] Following in his father's footsteps, Bush attended Yale University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1968. By his own characterization, Bush was an average student.[10]
There are a number of accounts of substance abuse and otherwise disorderly conduct by Bush from this time. Bush has admitted to drinking "too much."[13] On September 4, 1976, at the age of 30, Bush was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol near his family's summer home. He pleaded guilty, was fined $150, and had his driver's license suspended until 1978 in Maine.[14][15]
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Bush declared a global War on Terrorism and ordered an invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban, destroy Al-Qaeda and to capture Osama bin Laden in October 2001. In March 2003, Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, asserting that Iraq was in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and that the war was necessary for the protection of the United States.[1][2]
Running as a self-described "war president" in the midst of the Iraq War,[3] Bush won re-election in 2004[4], despite controversy over Bush's prosecution of the Iraq War and his handling of the economy.[5][6] After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism, even from former allies. His domestic popularity has decreased since the 2004 election.[7]
Bush has been widely criticized in the international community; he was targeted by the global anti-war and anti-globalization campaigns, and criticized for his foreign policy in general. Bush's policies were also the subject of heated criticism in the 2002 elections in Germany and the 2006 elections in Canada.[149][150] Bush was openly condemned by current and former international leaders such as Gerhard Schröder, Jean Chrétien, Mohammad Khatami, José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero, Romano Prodi, Paul Martin, and notably Hugo Chávez. Later in Bush's presidency, tensions arose between himself and Vladimir Putin, which has led to a cooling of their relationship.[151]
Bush has been described as having especially close personal relationships with Tony Blair and Vicente Fox, although formal relations are sometimes strained.[152][153][154]
In 2006 a majority of respondents in 18 of 21 countries surveyed around the world were found to hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush. Respondents indicated that they judged his administration as "negative" for world security.[155][156] A poll conducted in Britain named Bush the second biggest "threat to world peace" after Bin Laden, topping North Korean president Kim Jong-Il.[157] According to a poll taken in November 2006, Finns also believed that Bush was the biggest "threat to world peace" after Bin Laden. Kim Jong-Il came in third in the poll and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah came joint fourth.[158]
A recent survey of Arab opinion conducted by Zogby International and the University of Maryland found that George W. Bush is the most disliked leader in the Arab world. More than three times as many respondents registered their dislike for Bush as for the second most unpopular leader, Ariel Sharon.[159] According to a 2006 poll conducted by the Iraq Center for Research and Strategic studies, a majority of Iraqi's believe that the U.S. has lost its global credibility as a result of Bush's foreign policies. [160]
Politics: The Banner
