Transcript Slide 1

42. George Walker Bush
2001- 2009 (R)
Birth/Death:
1946Elected from:
Texas
Vice President:
Dick Cheney
The 2000 Election/
Supreme Court Intervention
•
•
•
•
FL’s 25 electoral votes were in question.
Bush led the popular vote in FL by < 2,000.
FL law required a recount.
Supreme Court
– December 12, 2000
– Bush v. Gore awarded
FL to Bush.
– 1st president in over 100
years to win electoral
vote, but not the popular.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nominee: George W. Bush
Party:
Republican
Home state: Texas
Running mate: Cheney
Electoral vote: 271
States carried: 30
Popular vote: 50,460,110
Percentage:
47.9%
Albert A. Gore
Democratic
Tennessee
Lieberman
266
20+DC
51,003,926
48.4%
Election of 2000 Timeline
Sept. 11, 2001
• 8 months into Bush’s 1st term
• 19 terrorists (under bin Laden’s orders)
• 2 airline passenger jets into the Twin
Towers (NYC)
• 1 into the Pentagon (DC), and one on way
to DC that was taken over by passengers
and crashed in PA.
• 3,000 Americans die within an hour and a
half. Rudy Giuliani becomes “America’s
Mayor.”
September
th
11
Cinquain
No Child Left Behind
• Education plan to increase efforts to
fully educate every child.
• Schools are held more accountable
(state testing)
• Federal and state governments have
increased education spending.
Invasion of Afghanistan:
• Start of W Bush’s “War on Terrorism”
• Purpose: to capture Osama bin Laden,
destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the
Taliban regime which had provided
support and safe harbor to al-Qaeda.
• Oct. 7, 2001: US and Great Britain begin
strategic air strikes.
President Bush
Addresses the Nation
• The U.S.-led Coalition is
credited with removing
the Taliban from power
and seriously crippling
al-Qaeda and
associated militants in
both Afghanistan and
neighboring Pakistan.
• U.S. has maintained its
presence in Afghanistan
ever since, fighting
continued opposition by
Muslim extremists.
USA Patriot Act (2001)
• " Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001"
• The Act expanded the authority of US law
enforcement agencies for the stated purpose of
fighting terrorism in the United States and
abroad.
• Very Controversial- supposedly
“suppresses civil liberties”
Department of Homeland Security
• Cabinet level Department to coordinate
domestic security matters among a
number of federal, state, and local
agencies.
• Americans were asked to give up
freedoms for safety
Liberty vs Sercurity
Enron/ World Com/
Big Business Bankruptcy (2002)
• Enron- Energy Co. out of Houston, TX
– Employs/ Investors lost millions because of
accounting fraud
– Inflated profits and assets
• World Com- Telecommunication Co. out of
Clinton, MS
– CEOs took money (loan) and inflated assets
– Bernie Ebbers: CEO now serving a 25 year jail
sentence!
Space Shuttle
Columbia Disaster
• Feb. 1, 2003
• Caused by damage sustained during
launch when a piece of foam insulation
from the external fuel tank peeled off
during the launch 16 days earlier,
puncturing the edge of the wing.
• Upon re-entry, hot gases entered the wing,
destroying the support structure. The
shuttle disintegrated over Texas.
Invasion of Iraq/ Operation Iraqi Freedom
Capture of Saddam Hussein (2003)
• March 20, 2003- US and GB forces invade Iraq
to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
• The UN refused to join invasion.
• The Iraqi military was defeated, and Baghdad fell
on April 9.
• On May 1, U.S. declared the end of major combat
operations, terminating the Ba’ath’s party rule and
removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from
office.
• Coalition forces ultimately captured Saddam
Hussein on Dec. 13, 2003.
Presidential Election of 2004
• [R] GW Bush (TX)/ Cheney286 electoral votes
• [D] John Kerry (MA)/ John Edwards251 electoral votes
• Issue- WAR ON TERROR
US hands over power to
Iraqi Interim Gov’t (2004)
• US and Coalition Allies created this gov’t as
a “caretaker” gov’t to govern Iraq
• Iraq has continued to see several different
gov’ts over the past 10 years.
Dec. 26, 2004- Tsunami
• Undersea earthquake in
Indian Ocean
• Killed 225,000 people in 11 countries
• Former presidents
Clinton and GHW
Bush led relief
efforts
Social Security Problems (2005)
• Social Security was in fear of
bankruptcy (people are living longer)
• W. suggested allowing citizens to take
Soc Sec taxes and place them in
secured investments.
• Plan did not catch on
• Democrats gain control of Congress in
2006- social security is still in jeopardy.
• In 1950, there were 16 workers to support every one
beneficiary of Social Security.
• Today, there are only 3.3 workers supporting every
Social Security beneficiary.
• In 2008 – just three short years from now – baby
boomers will begin to retire. And over the next few
decades, people will be living longer and benefits
are scheduled to increase dramatically. By the time
today’s youngest workers turn 65, there will only be
2 workers supporting each beneficiary.
Under the current system, today’s 30-year-old
worker will face a 27% benefit cut when he or she
reaches normal retirement age.
Hurricane Katrina (2005)
• August 23, 2005- Category 5
• Costliest and one of deadliest
in history Gulf Coast
• Over 1800 people killed
• Haley and Ray
Did somebody
say something
about buses?
There’s gonna
be a lot of
wurter!
Drawing Conclusions:
Fema and Hurricane Katrina
Saddam Hussein is convicted & hung (2006)
• Dec. 13, ’03: Captured by U.S. forces
• Brought to trial under the Iraqi interim
government set up by U.S.-led forces.
• Nov. 5,’06: Convicted of executing 148 Iraqi
Shi'ites  sentenced to death by hanging.
• Dec. 30, ’06: Executed
“RUH- ROH!”
“I’m the King of
the World!”
“Where the
%$#&* is my
stunt
double?!!”
Widespread Roman Catholic
Sex Abuse Scandal (2002)
• Allegations made against a variety of
religious groups including but not
exclusively Roman Catholic priests,
monks, and nuns.
• An estimated 0.2% of Roman Catholic
priests have been proven to be
abusers.
Bush Vetoes
stem-cell research - ‘06
• "This bill would support the
taking of innocent human life
in the hope of finding medical benefits for
others," …"It crosses a moral boundary that our
decent society needs to respect. So I vetoed it."
• The Stem Cell Bill would have loosened the
restrictions on federal funding for stem-cell
research.
• House Republican leaders tried to override the
veto, but that vote fell short of the necessary
two-thirds majority.
(above) President Bush holds a child
who was adopted while an embryo.
Barak Obama (D)
2009-Present
• Birth/Death:
1961-?
• Elected from: IL
• Vice President:
Joe Biden
Election of
2008
• [D] Obama / Biden
• [R] John McCain / Sarah
Palin
• Popular vote: 53% Obama,
46% McCain
• Electoral College: Obama
365, McCain 173
Stimulus Package
February, 2009: Obama signed the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a
$787 billion economic stimulus package
includes increased federal spending for health
care, infrastructure, education, tax breaks,
and direct aid to individuals, which is being
distributed over the course of several years.
2009 Nobel Peace Prize
• Announced in October
• Decision was motivated by Obama's initiatives
to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with
the Muslim world, and stress diplomacy and
cooperation rather than unilateralism.
• The choice shocked much of the world, given
the nomination deadline of Feb.1, less than two
weeks after the Obama presidency began.
• Prize is to go to someone who “...shall
have done the most or the best work
for fraternity between nations, for the
abolition or reduction of standing
armies and for the holding and
promotion of peace congresses.”
• 3rd sitting president to win:
1) - 1906 TR
2) - 1919 Wilson
Health Care Reform
“Obamacare”
March 23, 2010: Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act signed into law
• Provisions:
– Kids remain covered until age 26
– Pre-existing conditions covered
– Sets up insurance exchanges
– Mandatory health insurance
• Downsides/Controversies to “Obamacare”:
on medical industry
– Major taxes on medical industry
– Concern about quality of healthcare
– Cost is approaching $1 trillion
– Taxes start almost immediately; benefits
don’t start until 2014 when coverage is
mandated (problems with gov’t estimate of
program cost)
– Major Medicare cuts
Removal of troops from Iraq
• Ending Iraq War was a major 2008 campaign
promise
• Feb 2009: he announced a plan to bring Iraq
troop levels from 160,000 to 50,000 by Aug
2010, including the removal of all combat
forces. The remaining troops, he added, would
be withdrawn by the end of 2011.
• 2009: Obama approved a 30,000 troop
increase in Afghanistan but said forces would
begin returning home by July 2011
Tea Party Emerges
• A conservative “grass-roots” movement
began in 2009 in opposition to increased
government spending, increased taxes, and a
national debt that is way out of control!
• Not a political party though most members
do associate themselves with the Republican
party
• Name refers to Boston Tea Party of 1773
Action in Libya
• An uprising by Libyan civilians against the rule
of dictator (in power 41 years!) Muammar
Gaddafi began in Feb, 2011 – it was met with
violence by Gaddafi- controlled military.
• Feb, 2011: Obama announced U.S. sanctions
against Gaddafi’s assets in U.S.
• March, 2011: a no-fly zone was established
over Libya to hamper the military’s attacks
President Obama
approved U. S. the
air strikes on Libya
without sending in
ground troops.
• Responsibility of the air strikes soon to
be transferred to NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
Supreme Court
Appointments
• Sonia Sotomayor – 2009:
first Hispanic justice, and its
third female justice.
• Elena Kagan – 2010
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Repeal Act of 2010
• The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal
Act of 2010 is a landmark federal
statute that establishes a legal
process for ending the Don't ask,
don't tell (DADT) policy, which
since 1993 prevented openly gay
and lesbian people from serving in
the United States Armed Forces.
Death of Bin
Laden
After being placed on the
FBI's Most Wanted list, bin
Laden remained in hiding
during three U.S. presidential administrations. On
May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed inside
a private residential compound in Abbottabad,
Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs and CIA operatives in a
covert operation ordered by United States
President Barack Obama. Shortly after his death, bin
Laden's body was buried at sea. Al-Qaeda
acknowledged his death on May 6, 2011, vowing to
retaliate.