George W. Bush Presidency How does Bush deal with issues of the 2000s?

2000 Election Vice-president Al Gore (D) vs. Gov. George W. Bush (R) 270 electoral votes needed to win, many feel winner of Florida (25 elec votes) will win Presidency However, confusion over the ballot in Palm Beach, Florida

Bush Wins Presidency People upset their vote didn’t count, also mass confusion on election night over who won Florida VQ: Who do networks say won Florida at first and what happens later that night? Bush up by 1700 votes, triggers automatic machine recount VQ: What do many Gore voters feel happened? Machine recount gives Bush state by 327 votes, Gore challenges the vote wants a hand recount Recount starts, Bush sues to stop it VQ: What is argued about chads? Bush v. Gore: US Supreme Court halts recount- Bush wins

Bush Domestic Policy Bush takes Clinton surplus and gives it back to American people ($300 per tax payer) Bush gets tax cuts passed, (up to 35% based on income) Gets Congress to pass “No Child Left Behind” 1.All students must be proficient by Federal dollars can be cut if schools don’t meet AYP 3.States must develop way to measure test scores (API) 4.No new federal dollars for the program

World Trade Center19 Hijackers entered the US (despite incl. apps) Radical Islamic group called Al-Qaeda hijack two planes Crash planes into the World Trade Center Results of 9/112001: US will invade Afghanistan to remove Taliban who supported Osama Bin Laden 2001: Patriot Act will allow US Gov new powers such as no-warrant wire taps September 11 th, 2001 Pentagon & Pennsylvania Two more planes are hijacked One hits the Pentagon in Washington. The other crashed it into a field in Shanksville, PA as passengers took over the plane

The Case Against Iraq After 9/11 President Bush stated that Iraq has Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) & are part of an “axis of evil” On NBC’s Meet the Press, Vice-President Cheney states Iraq also had a connection to Al-Qaeda (9/11) and an attack on the US was imminent US states Saddam must disarm or be attacked, US asks UN for authorization to attack Iraq, UN skeptical, no evidence of WMDs In March 2003, President Bush decides to invade Iraq

Saddam goes into hiding, US gets rid of all of his government officials and army members (Baath Party) Many of these men join a guerilla insurgency against US Saddam is eventually captured & executed 2006: Civil war breaks out in Iraq between rival Iraqi groups 2007: Bush announced he would increase the amount of troops in Iraq (the surge) Congress wants a timetable of when America will get out of Iraq, Bush vetoes 4,200+ US troops; 93,000 Iraqi civilians killed

2008 Financial Crisis Bush wins close re-election in 2004 but Democrats regain Congress in 06, Nancy Pelosi 1 st woman elected Spkr of House 2008: Growing debt from wars & tax cuts slows economy Housing Bubble Bursts 1.Home prices overvalued 2.People getting “sub-prime” mortgages w/ flexible interest (start low get higher) 3.People defaulting on mortgages, banks losing money Banking Crisis Major banks & other businesses failing due to risky loans Bush & Congress pass TARP – up to $700 billion in tax money to helped troubled institutions Next President will be left w/ huge debt, two wars, possible depression