Texas Governor George W. Bush was the Republican candidate for president in 2000. He selected Dick Cheney as his running mate and became president based upon an election ultimately decide by a Supreme Court decision. Bush entered his first term as president claiming to be a compassionate conservative. His domestic agenda included his “No Child Left Behind” legislation, but started with $1.3 trillion tax cut. On September 11, 2001, his domestic programs took a backseat to what became the Global War on Terror. In October of 2001, Bush invaded Afghanistan. By 2003, he started the War in Iraq. Military operations in the Middle East dominated the administration’s time and budget. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Bush was criticized for an inept response to the disaster. In his second term, Bush appointed two judges to the Supreme Court, John Roberts (Chief Justice) and Samuel Alito. Economic policies and banking deregulations led to the financial crisis of 2008 and the global meltdown in financial markets. While the president’s popularity was at an all time high of 90% after 9/11, it dropped to an all-time low of 19% with the economic slump.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, join his running mate Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, on stage at the Republican National Convention on August 3, 2000 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. (Credit: Amy Sancetta/AP/file)

Surrounded by a large crowd of supporters, just three days before the November 2000 election, Texas Gov. George W. Bush pauses to kiss a baby at the Pittsburgh International Airport. (Credit: Steve Mellon/Post Gazette)

After his September 14, 2001 visit to ground zero, President George W. Bush flies by the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center in Marine One, on his way back to Washington, D.C. (Credit: Eric Draper/White House)

On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush flew out to the USS Abraham Lincoln, just off the coast of San Diego, to declare a premature end to hostilities for the war in Iraq. (Credit: Scott Applewhite/AP/file)

President George W. Bush being briefed by FEMA Director Michael Brown on September 2, 2005, during relief operations after Hurricane Katrina. Bush famously said, “You’re doing a heck of a job, Brownie!” Brown was replaced a week later. (Credit: Erik Draper)

President George W. Bush called September 19, 2008 “a pivotal moment for America’s economy” as he announced a $700 billion plan to help bail out the banking industry. He was flanked by Treasury Sec. Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and SEC Chairman Chris Cox. (Credit: Joyce N. Boghosian/White House)

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