Five Things You May Not Know About George W. Bush

When George W. Bush was first seen as a candidate for the United States presidency, many people including some of his opponents underestimated him and thought of him as little more than a candidate trying to make it based on the name of his father. His father George H.W. Bush had been a lifelong politician who held a number of positions including Director of the CIA, Vice-President of the United States under Republican Ronald Reagan, and eventually the President of the United States. George W. Bush was a two-term Governor of the state of Texas and would in 2000 defeat former Vice-President Al Gore to become President himself. He would then go on to defeat Democrat John Kerry in 2004 and proceed to serve his second term as President of the United States. Much is known about this polarizing figure in politics, but here are five things you may not know about George W. Bush.

1. Though often credited as a one-time owner of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, in truth George W. Bush’s ownership stake in the team was less than two percent.

2. President George W. Bush had a sister named Robin who died from leukemia in 1953 when she was just three years old.

3. When George W. Bush applied to be in the Texas Air National Guard in early 1968, he was required to take a written aptitude test like all pilots desiring to be included in the program. He was admitted into that branch of the service with the lowest possible passing grade.

4. George and Laura Bush’s twin daughters Barbara and Jenna have the middle names of Pierce and Welch respectively. George’s mother Barbara Bush’s maiden name was Pierce and Laura Bush’s maiden name was Welch.

5. George W. Bush first ran for public office in 1978. He ran as a Republican and was defeated in the race to be the US Representative from Texas’s 19th district by Democrat Kent Hance. Eight years later, Kent Hance would switch parties and run for office as a Republican.

Based on many factors including wiretapping, torture, the war on terror, the war in Iraq, and more, George W. Bush has been one of the more controversial Presidents that the United States has ever had. He has often portrayed himself as a good old boy from Texas even though he was largely brought up in and went to college in the East. George W. Bush has at different times during his presidency been extremely popular as well as extremely unpopular, and will go down in history as having one of the most fascinating and intriguing administrations of any United States President ever.

by Mark Peters