When Was President Bush Elected?

The United States was graced with the presence of two Bush men as president. The father and son both served terms as president of the United States of America.The father, George H.W., served as president starting in 1989 and the son, George W., served starting in 2001.

The father, George H.W. Bush, was the 41st president of the United States and served as president from 1989 to 1993. He also served as Vice President for Ronald Reagan from 1981-1989.

George H. W. became involved in politics at a very young age. He served in the Navy during World War II. After the war he attended Yale University and then moved to Texas where he entered the oil business and became a self made millionaire.

After starting his oil business, George H. W. entered into politics where he served in the House of Representatives. He ran for president in 1980; but instead, he ended up being the vice president to Ronald Reagan.

The presidency of George H.W. Bush was very popular for a number of different reasons. The economy was a big issue as George H.W. was left with a huge deficit that was created under the Reagan administration.

In order to manage the deficit Bush promised during his election campaign that he would not raise taxes by saying "Read my lips: no new taxes." Unfortunately, this was a promise that he could not keep and Bush ultimately ended up raising taxes. Many people believe that his inability to keep this promise cost him the 1992 election to Bill Clinton. Other important factors in his loss of the second term are believed to be:

• The initiation of the Gulf War
• The war on drugs
• An increase in legal immigration

President George W. Bush

George W. Bush is the second Bush to serve as president of the United States of America. He is the son of George H. W. Bush. George W. Bush was the 43rd president of the United States.

He served for two consecutive terms from 2001 to 2009. The election between Bush and Al Gore in the 2000 election was highly charged and controversial. Bush eventually won the election by electoral votes. He had 271 votes to Gore’s 266 votes even though Bush had 543,895 less popular votes than Gore overall.

Another issue with the 2000 election was it was contested because of a very close count. It should be noted that George W. Bush’s brother Jeb was the current governor in the state of Florida when during the 2000 election, prompting many to believe that the recount was skewed to ensure that George Bush would win the election.

The presidency of this Bush was influenced by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a War on Terrorism, attempted overhauls on immigration, Hurricane Katrina and the decline of the American economy into what some would label the worst economic downturn since the major depression.  

Similarities in Presidencies

Some would argue that it doesn’t matter when was President Bush elected since both Bushes seemed to have a very similar presidential terms. Many people believe that the presidencies of the Bush men mirrored each and some people even say the presidential terms are a perfect example of “like father like son.”

In both presidencies there was a war - the Gulf War and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some people believe that George W. Bush, the son, was actually on a mission to start a war in order to finish work his father started in relation to Saddam Hussein. In fact, under the presidency of George W. Bush, Saddam Hussein was captured and executed.

Another similarity between the two presidencies is the economy. In both circumstances the economy was at its worst when both of these presidents were at the end of their terms. Under both the father's and the son's presidencies there were significant rises in the American debt.