George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009.
In its early years, the Bush administration withdrew from several international treaties in process, notably the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. A series of terrorist attacks occurred in Bush's first term as President on September 11, 2001. In response, Bush announced a War on Terrorism, which included an invasion of Afghanistan in that same year and an invasion of Iraq in 2003. In addition to national security issues, Bush promoted policies to improve the economy, health coverage, education, and social security reform. He signed the Tax Court Act, the Patriot Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, the Partial Birth Abortion Prohibition Act, and the Medicare Prescription Benefits for Older Adults. His tenure of office saw national debates about immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and "waterboarding" and other "enhanced interrogation techniques."
Bush ran successfully for re-election against Democratic Senator John Kerry in 2004, in another relatively close election. After his reelection, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the political spectrum. In 2005, the Bush Administration dealt with widespread criticism about its handling of Hurricane Katrina. After this and other controversies, as well as the dissatisfaction with the direction of the Iraq War, the Democrats gained control of Congress in the 2006 elections. While the United States entered its longest period of recession after World War II in December 2007, the Bush Administration enacted multiple economic programs with the intention of preserving the country's financial system. Although Bush was popular in the U.S. for much of its first period, its popularity declined abruptly during the second. He was a widely controversial figure in the international arena, with public protests occurring even during visits to his closest allies, such as in the United Kingdom.
