George W. Bush has seen his share of problems both within and outside of America since being sworn in as the nation’s 43rd president in Jan. 2001.

Bush’s first year in office was marred by the horrific terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center buildings on Sept. 11, 2001. Over 3,000 U.S. citizens were killed in the attacks.

In the uncertain times following Sept. 11, Bush declared war on terrorism and targeted and Osama Bin Laden and his al-Queda group. Bin Laden’s group has been blamed for the attacks on New York City and Washington D.C.

“He’s doing a good job,” said business major Zane Cook. “Going into Afghanistan and fighting terrorism was the right thing.”

Bush turned his attention toward Iraq and President Saddam Hussein soon after, calling the country “a growing threat, which must be confronted.” Last year, Bush announced that the war was over in Baghdad following the capture of Hussein.

His decisions, however, have caused much debate in the upcoming election. Despite the declaration, U.S. troops remained in battle in Iraq. Bush says he wants to remain “on the offensive” against the threat of terrorism.

“I’m not voting for him. I don’t like the guy,” said Alicia Barner, a pre-allied health major.

Other issues have also been at the forefront of his term. In Jan. 2001, he introduced a plan to cut the federal income tax. Taxpayers saw an overall reduction of $1.35 trillion after the policy was enacted.

“I like him. I’ll probably vote for him,” commented Jess Zimmerman, a fine arts major at Bucks.

The president has been involved in political races since 1978. It was then that he took his first stab at politics, where he lost an election while running for Congress in Texas.

Bush ran for governor of the state in 1993 and where he defeated opponent Ann Richards. He later won re-election in 1998 by receiving almost 70 percent of the votes.

Bush’s big victory helped him earn the Republican Party’s nomination for the 2000 presidential election.

The election proved to one of confusion and controversy surrounding a re-count of votes in Florida. Though opponent Al Gore had won the popular vote, Bush had won more electoral votes. Electoral votes vary based on the population of individual states and are awarded to the winning candidate of each.

This earned Bush the election

Bush has been in office for four years since taking over the presidency after former President Bill Clinton in 2001. He is a former member of the Texas Air National Guard, which he served in for six years beginning in 1968.

His main area of training consisted of flying fighter jets before he was made the pilot for the F-102 fighter jet in the Vietnam War. He had received much praise for his flying abilities before leaving the guard service.

Bush left school to serve in the Air National Guard as the war was going on. He had originally attended Yale University after graduating from the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

Though he did not like the all-male academy, Bush became a head cheerleader by the time he graduated. He made many friends but only did fairly well in his studies.

The same held true for Bush in college, as he was better known for his partying and binge drinking rather than his academic achievements. A history major, Bush was also the president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

But once a year, Yale selected a few male students who were expected to have great accomplishments in their future. These men are then inducted into the school’s Skull and Bones Club.

Bush was selected to the club, where he joined his father, former President George H. Bush. His current opponent in the upcoming presidential election, John Kerry, is also a member of Skull and Bones.

Bush attended Harvard’s Business School following his service in the Air National Guard. He went on to receive his MBA in 1975, and set up his own oil and gas company two years later.

Bush married his girlfriend Laura Bush. The couple gave birth to their twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, in 1981.

Bush himself is originally from New Haven, Connecticut. He was born there on July 6, 1946 to his parents, George and Barbara.

His family moved to Texas when he was two when his father was relocated to Odessa, Texas, for his job in the oil industry.

• Will spend $250 million a year towards reading and math skills in high school students.
• Will spend $500 million for education of all workers in many types of schools.
• Plans to create simpler tax code.

• In regards to health care, plans to have a community health center in all poor counties throughout the United States.
• Plans to give more money to schools for drug testing and drug resistance programs.
• Hopes to give the workers the choice to take paid time off as opposed to overtime pay.

• Working to make 7 million new homes at affordable prices within the next 10 years.
• Planning to strengthen and increase Social Security, giving younger people the opportunity to save more for the future.
• Wants to give small businesses affordable health care plans for their employees.

• Wants to fight terrorists on their homeland.
• Wants a new Intelligence Director for increased homeland security.
• Wants to merge current U.S. forces together.

• Plans to fight for welfare reform.
• Supports faith-based charities.

• Opposes abortion, except in very narrow cases of rape, incest or threat to the woman’s life is endangered.
• Opposes funding international organizations involved in abortion.
• Supports legislation to extend 14th Amendment protections to unborn children.