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George W. Bush

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George W. Bush
George W. Bush
Order: 43rd President
Term of Office: January 20, 2001–present
Predecessor: Bill Clinton
Date of Birth: Saturday, July 6, 1946
Place of Birth: New Haven, Connecticut
First Lady: Laura Bush
Profession: Businessman
Political Party: Republican
Vice President: Dick Cheney

George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. His four-year term as President began on January 20, 2001. He is currently seeking a second term (see George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004).

Before assuming the presidency, Bush was a businessman and served as Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. He is the son of former President George Herbert Walker Bush and the brother of Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Personal life, service, and education

George W. Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut to parents George and Barbara Bush, and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He has four younger siblings: Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. A younger sister, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of three.

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George W. Bush and Laura Bush with their daughters Jenna and Barbara, 1990
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George W. Bush in his national guardsman uniform.
The Bush family watches tee ball on the White House lawn.

Like his father, Bush was educated at Phillips Academy (Andover) (September 1961–June 1964) and Yale University (September 1964–May 1968). While at Yale he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon (where he was president from October 1965 until graduation), and the Skull and Bones society. He played baseball during his freshman year and rugby during his freshman and senior years. He received a bachelor's degree in history in 1968.

After graduating from Yale, Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968 during the Vietnam War, with a commitment to serve until May 26, 1974. He served as an F-102 pilot until 1972 and was twice promoted during his service, first to second lieutenant and then to first lieutenant. In November 1970, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, the commander of the Texas Air National Guard, recommended that Bush be promoted to first lieutenant.

In September 1973 he received permission to end his six-year commitment six months early in order to attend Harvard University. He transferred to inactive reserve status shortly before being honorably discharged on October 1, 1973.

However, when Bush began his political career, his opponents and journalists began to raise questions about his service record in 2000, particularly as to whether he fulfilled his obligations. See George W. Bush military service controversy for details.

Bush entered Harvard Business School in 1973. He was awarded a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1975, making him the first U.S. president to hold an MBA degree.

Bush married Laura Welch in 1977. In 1986, at age 40, he became a born-again Christian, converting from Episcopalian Christianity to his wife's denomination, Methodism. They have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna Bush, born in 1981.

On Labor Day weekend, September 4, 1976, Bush was pulled over by police near his family's Kennebunkport summer home in Maine. He was arrested and fined $150 and temporary suspension of driving privileges in the state for driving under the influence of alcohol. News of the arrest was released five days before the 2000 presidential election by the Kennebunkport police department.

Bush has described his days before his religious conversion as his "nomadic" period and "irresponsible youth". Bush admitted to drinking "too much" in those years. He gave up drinking for good shortly after his 40th birthday celebration. A number of reasons were cited for the change including a 1985 meeting with Rev. Billy Graham. CNN reported during the 2000 campaign that Bush said "I quit drinking in 1986 and haven't had a drop since then." [1] [2] [3]

Bush has addressed the issue of his alleged cocaine abuse on several occasions. The 2000 campaign initially refused to answer on principle, but later Bush told the press that, as a condition of Federal employment, he had signed a form averring he had not taken drugs in the previous seven years. When asked if he could have signed it when his father was president, he paused to think, and then answered that he could have. But Bush refused to answer if he had ever taken cocaine.

Bush is sometimes referred to as Dubya (which is an old Texan variation of "Double U"), a play on his middle initial "W". His Secret Service codename is Trailblazer.

Business and political career

In 1978, Bush ran for the U.S. House of Representatives but lost to State Sen. Kent Hance, a Democrat.

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George W. Bush's portrait as Governor of Texas (1995-2000).
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Bush listens as Democratic opponent Al Gore states a point during a debate.
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Al Gore greets President-Elect Bush at the White House in late December of 2000.

Bush began his career in the oil industry in 1979 when he established Arbusto Energy, an oil and gas exploration company he formed in 1977 with leftover funds from his education trust fund and money from other investors. (Actually, Arbusto is Spanish for "shrub", not "bush".) The 1979 energy crisis hurt Arbusto and, after a name change to Bush Exploration Co., Bush sold the company in 1984 to Spectrum 7, another Texas oil and gas exploration firm. Under the terms of the sale, Bush became CEO of Spectrum 7. History was repeated as the oil crisis of 1985-1986 bankrupted Spectrum 7. Spectrum 7 was subsequently saved by a buyout from Harken Energy Corp. in 1986 with Bush becoming a director of Harken.

Bush was accused of using insider knowledge when selling stock while serving on the board of directors of Harken Energy Corp. in 1990. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ended a 1992 investigation with a memo stating "it appears that Bush did not engage in illegal insider trading", but noted that the memo "must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result."[4] Critics allege that the investigation was influenced by the fact that Bush's father was President at the time, although no action was taken during Bill Clinton's presidency either. As President, Bush has refused to authorize the SEC to release its full report on the investigation.

After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, he assembled a group of partners from his father's close friends and in 1989 purchased the Texas Rangers, an Arlington-based Major League Baseball franchise. (Bush later appointed one of these partners, Tom Schieffer to the post of Ambassador to Australia.) Critics expressed concern about the propriety of the purchase, charging use of political influence and favoritism involving a family friend. [5] Bush personally earned US$14.9 million in the 1998 sale of the team (in total, the sale earned US$170 million). [6]

He served as managing general partner of the Rangers until he was elected Governor of Texas on November 8, 1994 over incumbent Democrat Ann Richards. He went on to become, in 1998, the first Texas governor to be elected for two consecutive four-year terms. His tenure in office featured a positive reputation for bipartisan leadership. Among issues attracting national and international attention during his terms was Texas' use of the death penalty. He signed the death warrants of 152 criminals, including that of Karla Faye Tucker.

In Bush's 2000 presidential election campaign, he campaigned on, among other issues, allowing religious charities to compete on an equal basis for participation in federally funded programs, reducing taxes, promoting the use of education vouchers, supporting oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and restructuring of the armed forces. In foreign policy, he stated he was against using the U.S. armed forces in "nation building" attempts abroad.

Bush became President on January 20, 2001 as the winner of one of the closest general elections in U.S. history, defeating Democratic Vice President Al Gore in 30 of 50 states for a narrow victory by five electoral votes. Gore won a plurality of the nationwide popular vote by approximately 540,000 votes out of 105 million, a margin of barely one-half of one percent. It was the first presidential election since the 1888 election in which a candidate lost the popular vote while winning the electoral college vote. The electoral college outcome could have been altered by a difference of only a few hundred (537/2) popular votes in Florida.

The Florida vote, which favored Bush by a tiny margin in the initial count, was heavily contested after concerns were raised about flaws and irregularities in the voting process, and became the subject of a series of contentious court cases. After a Supreme Court decision in mid-December favoring Bush, Gore conceded the election. The election results are still disputed by many, though no longer contested in any legal venue. See U.S. presidential election, 2000.

Presidency

Foreign policy and security

Main article: [[:Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration]]
George W. Bush flanked by wife Laura Bush, Marta Sahagún Fox, and Mexican President Vicente Fox

During his campaign, Bush's foreign policy platform included support of a stronger economic and political relationship with Latin America, especially Mexico, and a reduction in involvement in "nation-building" and other small-scale military engagements. However, after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, the administration focused much more on foreign policy in the Middle East.

Shortly after the attacks, a war was launched against Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, accused of harboring Osama bin Laden. This action had fairly strong international support, and the Taliban government folded quickly after the invasion. However, subsequent nation-building efforts in concert with the United Nations under Hamid Karzai have proved troublesome, and bin Laden was never apprehended nor believed to have been killed. A large contingent of troops and advisors remains through 2004. See U.S. invasion of Afghanistan for details. Democratic elections were held on October 9, 2004, although marred by flawed registration and validation and threatened withdrawal of 15 of 18 presidential candidates. International observers called the elections "fairly democratic" at the "overall majority" of polling centers.

Beginning in 2002 and escalating in spring 2003, Bush pressed the UN to act on its disarmament mandates to Iraq, precipitating a diplomatic crisis. He began by pushing for UN weapons inspections in Iraq, which he received with passage of the UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which allowed inspectors lead by Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to investigate Bush's allegations. Increasing pressure from the United States in the spring of 2003 forced the UN weapons inspectors to leave the country, unable to verify the existence of WMD (weapons of mass destruction). The Bush administration examined the possibility of a new resolution from the Security Council, but when it became clear that the majority of the members (including most of the permanent members with vetoing power) would vote against such a resolution the matter was never taken to a vote. The United States managed to gather a group of countries to support a war, a total of about forty. They have been called "coalition of the willing" and while most of them are small there were some notable exceptions such as the United Kingdom, Japan and Spain. Spain has since pulled out of the war.

The United States invaded Iraq in March, citing the old resolution and the lack of Iraq cooperation. The original stated goal of the war was to stop Iraq from deploying and developing WMD and to topple the dictator Saddam Hussein. The war proved extremely divisive, without any clear resolution and some of the U.S.'s long-term allies such as France and Germany strongly opposed to it. In many countries there have also been civilian opposition and antiwar protests, on a scale not seen since the Vietnam War.

While the Iraq armed forces fell apart within a few days the problems in Iraq have since escalated. The difficulties in the occupation and implementation of a democracy, the failure to find Saddam's alleged weapons, and claims about information having been allegedly spun or distorted to support the war have all been used to challenge the Bush administration both domestically and from abroad. These claims have been corroborated by investigations and reports by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Nevertheless, Bush states that he still believes it was the right decision, because a demonstrably brutal tyrant has been overthrown and can no longer threaten the world. See 2003 invasion of Iraq for full coverage.

On December 14, 2001, Bush scrapped the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which had been a bedrock of U.S.-Soviet nuclear stability during the Cold War, arguing it was no longer relevant. Instead, Bush focused resources on a ballistic missile defense system. The proposed system has been the subject of much scientific criticism. Field tests have been mixed, with both some successes and failures. It is scheduled to start deployment in 2005. Bush has also increased spending on military reasearch and development, and the modernization of weapons systems. He has also cancelled programs such as the Crusader self-propelled artillery system, due to it not being considered sufficiently mobile nor precise enough for modern requirements, although some military analysts dispute this. The administration also began initial research into bunker-busting nuclear missiles.

During his first presidential visit to Europe in June 2001, Bush came under harsh criticism from European leaders for his rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, which is aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions that may contribute to global warming. The treaty, however, had already been rejected by the United States Senate on the grounds that it would exempt polluting nations classified as "developing", such as China. Currently, the treaty has not been ratified by the required minimum of nations to put it into force. However, as of 2004, Russia is ratifying it. This leaves USA, with the largest emissions in the world, in a politically uncomfortable position when the treaty comes into effect.

Bush imposition of a tariff on imported steel and on Canadian soft lumber was controversial in light of his pursuit of other free market policies, and attracted criticism both from his fellow conservatives and from nations affected. The steel tariff was later rescinded under pressure from the WTO.

In July of 2002, Bush cut off all funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Bush claimed that the UNFPA supported forced abortions and sterilizations in China.

Bush's foreign policy is influenced by the neo-conservative think tank Project for the New American Century, many of whose members have prominent positions in the Bush administration. Many argue that the administration is far more inspired by the Heritage Foundation, and to a lesser degree the Cato Institute, although these organizations lack representation in the administration.

Domestic policy

Main article: [[:Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration]]
George W. Bush speaks to firefighters on November 4, 2003, as California Governor-Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gov. Gray Davis listen.

President Bush has endorsed an amendment to the United States Constitution that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, which would ban same-sex marriage, but leaves open the possibility of civil unions. Bush has tended to be opposed to forms of affirmative action, but expressed appreciation for the Supreme Court's ruling upholding selecting college applicants for purposes of diversity. Although President Bush did meet with the National Urban League, he is the first sitting President not to meet with the NAACP since Herbert Hoover.

President Bush has implemented three tax cuts during his term in office that eliminated the "marriage penalty" and the "death tax" and reduced marginal tax rates. These cuts were enacted by Congress with large bipartisan majorities, but were later criticized as regressive give-aways. Bush advocates the partial privatization of Social Security wherein an individual would be free to invest a portion of his Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts.

Bush signed the Medicare Act of 2003, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare, subsidized companies that sell these drugs, and prohibited the Federal government from negotiating discounts with drug companies.

Of the US$2.4 trillion budgeted for 2005, about US$401 billion [[7]] are planned to be spent on defense. This level is generally comparable to the defense spending during the cold war.[[8]]

In January of 2003, Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, which targets supporting early learning, measures student performance, gives options over failing schools, and ensures more resources for schools. Critics say schools were not given the resources to help meet new standards. In recent presidential debates, Senator Kerry has largely criticized Bush on this resource shortcoming. Some state governments are refusing to implement provisions of the act as long as they are not adequately funded. [9]

Scientists have repeatedly criticized the Bush administration for reducing funding for scientific research, setting restrictions on stem cell research, ignoring scientific consensus on critical issues such as global warming, and hampering cooperation with foreign scientists by employing deterring immigration and visa practices. In February 2004, over 5,000 scientists (including 48 Nobel Prize winners) signed a statment "opposing the Bush administration's use of scientific advice". They felt that "the Bush administration has ignored unbiased scientific advice in the policy-making that is so important for our collective welfare". [10] [11][12]

On January 14, 2004, Bush announced a "space vision", calling for a return to the Moon by 2020, the completion of the International Space Station by 2010 and eventually sending astronauts to Mars. However, the plan faces funding problems, and Bush has not mentioned the initiative since his speech. [13].

Bush's environmental record has been largely criticized by environmentalists, who charge that his policies cater to industry demands to weaken environmental protections. He did sign the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 authorizing the Federal government to begin cleaning up pollution and contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes. He signed the Brownfields Legislation in 2002, accelerating the cleanup of abandoned industrial sites, or brownfields, to better protect public health, create jobs, and revitalize communities. In December 2003, President Bush signed legislation implementing key provisions of his Healthy Forests Initiative.

Cabinet

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Bush meets with his Cabinet. (2001)

Bush's cabinet possesses the largest number of minorities of any US federal cabinet to date, including the first two Asian-American federal cabinet secretaries. It is also, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the wealthiest cabinet ever.

Only one non-Republican is present in Bush's cabinet. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, the first Asian-American cabinet secretary, had previously served as Secretary of Commerce under Bill Clinton; he is the sole Democrat in the Bush cabinet.

His cabinet includes figures prominent in past Republican administrations, notably Colin Powell, who had served as and United States National Security Advisor under Ronald Reagan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H. W. Bush, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who had served in the same position under Gerald Ford.

OFFICE NAME TERM
President George W. Bush 2001–
Vice President Dick Cheney 2001–
State Colin Powell 2001–
Defense Donald Rumsfeld 2001–
Treasury Paul O'Neill 2001–2003
John W. Snow 2003–
Justice John Ashcroft 2001–
Interior Gale Norton 2001–
Commerce Donald Evans 2001–
Labor Elaine Chao 2001–
Agriculture Ann Veneman 2001–
HHS Tommy Thompson 2001–
Education Rod Paige 2001–
HUD Mel Martinez 2001–2003
Alphonso Jackson 2004–
Transportation Norman Mineta 2001–
Energy Spencer Abraham 2001–
Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi 2001–
Homeland Security Tom Ridge 2003–


Other advisors and officials

Among the more criticized appointments have been John Negroponte, Elliott Abrams, Otto Reich, and John Poindexter for their roles in the Iran-Contra Affair and for allegedly covering up human rights abuses in Central and South America. Additionally, some appointments have been accused of being nepotism, including: Michael Powell (son of Secretary of State Colin Powell) as FCC Chairman, 28-year-old J. Strom Thurmond Jr (Sen. Strom Thurmond's son) as South Carolina's U.S. Attorney, Eugene Scalia (Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's son) as Solicitor for the Labor Department, Janet Rehnquist (Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist's daughter) as Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (later fired for firearms charges and inappropriate job terminations), and Elizabeth Cheney (Vice Pres. Dick Cheney's daughter) to the newly-created position Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near-East Affairs.

Legislation

Partial list:

Public perception and assessments

In the time of national crisis following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush briefly enjoyed approval ratings of greater than 85 percent. Bush maintained these extraordinary ratings (the highest approval ratings of any president since such regular polls began in 1938) for some months following the attack, though they gradually dropped to lower levels.

During the 2002 midterm congressional elections, Bush had the highest approval rating of any president during a mid-term election since Dwight Eisenhower, and subsequently the Republican Party retook control of the Senate and added to their majority in the House of Representatives. These results marked an unusual deviation from the historic trend of the President's party losing congressional seats in the midterm elections, and was just the third time since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm election (others were 1902 and 1934). One explanation for this historic event is that Bush's wartime popularity carried over to other Republicans in races for legislative office. Another is that the singularly close election of Bush in 2000 complicates expectations based on general historic trends.

In 2003, Bush's approval ratings continued their slow descent from the 2001 highs, with 13 major polls agreeing on a remarkably stable and consistent 1.7% per month decline for his entire presidency with the exceptions of only three significant increases: immediately after 9/11, during the Iraq War, and the capture of Saddam Hussein. By late 2003, his approval numbers were in the low to middle 50s. Nevertheless, his numbers were still solid for the third year of a Presidency, when the President's opponents typically begin their campaigns in earnest. Most polls tied the decline to growing concern over the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and the economy's slow recovery from the 2001 recession. Late during the Democratic primary, most major polls showed Bush losing to the various Democratic challengers by a narrow margin. Polls of May 2004 showed anywhere from a 53 percent approval rating [15] to a 46 percent approval rating. [16] Composite time-series graphs of Bush's approval ratings from January 2001 to May 2004 are available at [17] [18], an analysis of G. W. Bush's popularity over time is available at [19].

George W. Bush has been the subject of both high praise and stringent criticism, and has been called by some the "love him or hate him" president. The former has focused on matters such as the economy, homeland security, and especially his leadership after the September 11 attacks; the latter on matters such as the economy, the controversial 2000 election, and the occupation of Iraq.

Outside the United States

President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac during the G-8 sessions, July 21, 2001.

People outside the United States tend to have a low opinion of Bush. In many parts of the world he is very unpopular, with many reporting a dislike of his personality, allegedly low IQ and antagonistic foreign policy. The 2003 Invasion of Iraq particularly provoked charges of unilateralism. Recent polls indicate erosion of support among Europeans for Bush, for example a drop from 36% to 16% favorability over the last year in Germany.[20] A broader Associated Press/Ipsos survey of industrialized nations found that a majority of people in France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Spain—in addition to Canada and the UK, where Anglo-American cooperation traditionally reigns—have an unfavorable view of Bush and his policy on foreign affairs, although significant minorities continue to report favorable views. [21] In Muslim countries Bush's unfavorability ratings are particularly high, often over 90%. [22] Among the non-U.S. nations polled in a worldwide study, Bush's popularity was highest in Israel, where 62% reported favorable views. [23]

A July and August 2004 survey by the University of Maryland and GlobeScan, Inc. of 34,330 people in 35 nations found that, in 30 out of 35 countries polled, a majority or plurality would prefer to see Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry win in the 2004 election. Kerry was strongly preferred by traditional European allies like Norway (74% for Kerry to 7% for Bush), Germany (74% to 10%), France (64% to 5%), the Netherlands (63% to 6%), Italy (58% to 14%), Spain (45% to 7%), and the United Kingdom (47% to 16%). Also other allies such as Japan (43% to 23%), Mexico (38% to 18%), Turkey (40% to 25%) and South Africa (43% to 29%). The only countries where President Bush was preferred by a majority were the Philippines, Nigeria, and Poland. India and Thailand were divided. [24] An October [25]poll by a range of major international newspapers show that in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, Spain and South Korea a majority of voters share a rejection of the Iraq invasion, contempt for the Bush administration and a growing hostility to the US; however they all make a clear distinction between this kind of anti-Americanism and expressing a dislike of American people.

Further reading

  • George W. Bush, A Charge to Keep, (1999) ISBN 0688174418
  • George W. Bush, We Will Prevail, (2003) ISBN 0826415520
  • Ronald Kessler, A Matter Of Character: Inside The White House Of George W. Bush, Penguin, USA, August, 2004, hardcover, 320 pages, ISBN 1595230009
  • David Frum, The Right Man, (2003) ISBN 0375509038 ISBN 0812966953
  • Robert Bryce, Cronies: Oil, The Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate, PublicAffairs, ISBN 1586481886
  • Bob Woodward, Bush At War, (2002) ISBN 0743244613
  • Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, (2004) ISBN 074325547X
  • K. Auletta (January 19, 2004). Fortress Bush: How the White House Keeps the Press Under Control, The New Yorker, LXXIX, 53.
  • Bill Sammon, Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism from Inside the Bush White House, (2002) ISBN 0895261499
  • B. Minutaglio, First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty (1999) ISBN 0609808672
  • Stephen Mansfield, The Faith of George W. Bush, (2003) ISBN 1585423092
  • M. Ivins and L. Dubose, Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (2000) ISBN 0375503994
  • Ian Williams, Deserter: George Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans, and His Past ISBN 1560256273
  • E. Mitchell, W: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty (2000) ISBN 0786866306
  • H. Gillman, The Votes That Counted: How the Court Decided the 2000 Presidential Election (2001) ISBN 0226294080
  • J. H. Hatfield, Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President (1999) ISBN 1887128840
  • Ben Fritz, Bryan Keefer & Brendan Nyhan, All the Presidents Spin: George W. Bush, the Media, and the Truth (2004) ISBN 0743262514
  • Craig Unger, House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties ISBN 074325337X
  • Bill Sammon, Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Kerry, and the Bush Haters (2004) ISBN 0060723831

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Preceded by
Bill Clinton 		President of the United States
2001– 		Succeeded by
Current Incumbent
Preceded by
Ann Richards 		Governor of Texas
1995–2000 		Succeeded by
Rick Perry
Preceded by:
Bob Dole 		Republican Party Presidential candidate
2000 (won) – 2004
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