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Person

George W. Bush

Official photograph portrait of former U.S. President George W. Bush. (link)
Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Republican Politician

Former President (2000-2004) (2005-2008)

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George Walker Bush is a Republican politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States and 46th Governor of Texas. He served two terms as president, winning the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. During his time in office, he oversaw the American response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent beginning of the War on Terror, including the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. 1

Bush promoted No Child Left Behind, a set of public education reforms that increased the importance of standardized testing, and signed a major expansion of the Medicare healthcare coverage program into law. He also oversaw the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and received a significant amount of criticism for his management of the crisis. 2

Bush spent the end of his second term responding to the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, implementing a series of bailouts intended to preserve failing financial institutions. He ended his second term with the third-lowest public approval ratings of any American president since World War II. 3 Bush remained distant from national politics during President Barack Obama’s term, making a point of not criticizing his successor. 4 Bush later emerged as a tacit critic of the First Trump administration. 5

Early Life

George W. Bush was born into a family of politicians and other influential figures. His grandfather, Prescott Sheldon Bush, served as a U.S. Senator from Connecticut as a Republican from 1952 to 1963. His father, George Herbert Walker Bush, served as Vice President to President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989 and as President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. His brother, John Ellis “Jeb” Bush, served as Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Other members of the Bush family include government officials, businessmen, and spouses of prominent individuals. 6

Bush received a deferment from the draft to attend Yale University from 1964 to 1968, where he received his bachelor’s degree in history. He was an average student, but he actively participated in intramural sports. Bush also became president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity chapter at Yale and joined the Skull and Bones secret society. 7 Bush applied to the University of Texas School of Law but was rejected, ultimately attending Harvard Business School to receive his MBA. 1

Professional Life

George W. Bush applied to the Texas Air National Guard as a pilot trainee in 1968, shortly before graduating from Yale. He completed fighter pilot training in 1970 but was allowed to miss at least eight months of duty from May 1972 to May 1973, when he secured an early discharge in order to attend Harvard Business School. After receiving his MBA, Bush returned to Texas to work at a family friend’s oil and gas law office. He later started his own oil and gas firm, securing investors with help from his uncle. 1

Bush had little success with his company throughout the early 1980s but was able to sell it to a larger energy corporation in 1986. As part of the deal, Bush got a consulting job with the company and a seat on its board of directors. In late 1988, Bush moved to Dallas, where he and one of his former business partners bought the Texas Rangers baseball team. The publicity he earned as managing partner of the team bolstered his reputation as a businessman. In 1998, he received $15 million from selling the team. 1

Governor of Texas

In 1994, George W. Bush challenged then-incumbent Texas Governor Ann Richards (D) and won the election with 53% of the vote. As Governor, Bush increased education spending and implemented policies tying teacher salaries and promotions to their students’ scores on standardized tests. He also loosened the requirements for juvenile criminals to be tried and sentenced as adults and signed legislation to expedite death penalty appeals. Bush won reelection in 1998 with almost 70 percent of the popular vote. 8 1

In June 1999, Bush successfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination. During the 2000 general election, his initial polling lead over Democratic candidate Al Gore gradually decreased. By election day, the race was closer than any election in the previous four decades. After voting concluded, the results in Florida were too close to call, and the Gore campaign asked for recounts in several counties. The Bush campaign filed lawsuits to stop the recounts, and the legal challenges made their way through state and federal courts. In December 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Florida Supreme Court’s recount order in Bush v. Gore, effectively declaring Bush the winner of the election. 1

Many legal scholars have criticized the Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore, both on constitutional grounds and for alleged political partisanship involved in the decision. The Georgetown University Law Center reported that the case inspired 78 scholarly articles between 2001 and 2004. Of those, 35 criticized the ruling and 11 defended it. 9

First Presidential Term

During his first few months in office, President Bush signed into law a bill which cut taxes by $1.35 billion. The Bush administration also announced that it would not follow the Kyoto Protocol, a set of international greenhouse gas emission restrictions, on the grounds that the protocol did not impose limits on developing countries and would harm the American economy. 1

9/11 response

Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by Islamist extremists affiliated with Al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, President Bush announced a “global war on terrorism” and took several major actions intended to improve national security. The Bush administration and Congress established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) into law, grating federal law enforcement agencies increased surveillance powers. While this initial expansion was temporary, the passage of a 2006 bill made most of its provisions permanent. 1

John Yoo, a lawyer who served at the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Bush, defended the Patriot Act and said that national security concerns justified the fact that it “marginally reduces peacetime liberties.” 10 However, other legal experts found certain provisions of the act unacceptable. In 2006, Georgetown University law professor David Cole argued that the act violated Americans’ civil liberties. He cited one provision that allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to issue gag orders without judicial approval, another that allowed the government to conduct home searches without notifying the owner until afterwards, and a third that expanded the government’s ability to conduct wiretaps without probable cause. 11

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has opposed many of the Patriot Act’s measures, including one intended to target individuals who assist terrorist organizations. EFF has argued that the measure could target humanitarian workers or peace negotiators whose work puts them in contact with groups accused of terrorism. 12

Invasion of Afghanistan

The Bush administration placed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks on the Islamist terrorist organization Al-Qaeda and accused the Islamist extremist Taliban government of Afghanistan of permitting Al-Qaeda to operate in the country. The U.S. military initiated a military campaign against the Taliban in October 2001, and American and allied forces entered Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power. During the early stages of the war, President Bush enjoyed extremely high public approval ratings of up to 90%. 1

Some observers have criticized the Bush administration for targeting Afghanistan – and later, Iraq – while ignoring the purported involvement of Saudi Arabian officials. Investigative journalist Paul Sperry has claimed that “Saudi Arabia is the country we should have gone to war with.” In a New York Post article and on his blog, The Burning Platform, Sperry pointed out 15 of the 19 aircraft hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals. He also referenced a leaked Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) memo which allegedly found “incontrovertible evidence” of high-level Saudi support for the attack. 13 In 2003, the far-left forum Democratic Underground circulated a parody article bringing attention to the nationalities of the 9/11 hijackers and the Saudi origins of then-Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. 14

Education Policy

In January 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, which passed Congress with bipartisan support. The policy required states to implement annual standardized tests and assess teachers and schools bases on students’ test performance. 1

A December 2006 Department of Education (DOE) assessment cited improved test scores and diminishing racial achievement gaps nationwide to demonstrate the program’s success. 15 However, the left-of-center publication The Nation reported in May 2007 that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers were starting to oppose various aspects of the program. 16

African Aid

Starting in 2003, the Bush administration supplied extensive medical aid to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. The highly successful program earned President Bush praise from numerous leaders and medical professionals in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and elsewhere. 17

Invasion of Iraq

In September 2002, President Bush declared that the United States would preemptively use military force against hostile states or groups possessing nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, collectively referred to as weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). In November 2002, the Bush administration accused then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein of stockpiling WMDs and failing to comply with United Nations inspections. In January 2003, President Bush claimed that Iraq was trying to obtain nuclear material. In March 2003, President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq after receiving bipartisan support from Congress for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF); both future President Joe Biden and future Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton voted to pass the AUMF in the U.S. Senate. 1

In 2005, a CIA investigation located a small amount of partially destroyed Gulf War-era chemical weapons in Iraq. The 18-month effort, which involved more than 1,000 military and civilian personnel, found no evidence of the extensive WMD programs that the Bush administration had claimed during the campaign to justify for the invasion. 18 In 2006, the former American chief weapons inspector in Iraq said that more recently discovered chemical weapons were also old, deteriorated, and not evidence of a WMD program. 19

In 2007, President Bush ordered a troop surge to stabilize the deteriorating situation in Iraq. Experts at the Council on Foreign Relations have assessed the surge as an overall success. 20 Nonetheless, left-of-center sources such as The Nation have criticized the strategy behind the surge and alleged that its gains were only temporary. 21

Medicare Expansion

In December 2003, Congress passed President Bush’s proposed Medicare Modernization Act, which allowed Medicare users to get prescription drugs covered by Medicare using private insurance providers, known as Medicare Part D. 1 In January 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Bush administration had underestimated the cost of the legislation and used the low number to convince fiscally conservative Republicans to vote for it. After the bill passed, administration officials increased their estimate for program costs from $400 billion to well over $500 billion. 22 However, the Congressional Budget Office later reported that actual spending on Medicare Part D came out to just $353 billion. 23

2004 Election

In 2004, the Democratic Party nominated then-U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) against President Bush, with Kerry arguing that Bush had mishandled the Iraq War and failed to address domestic issues. Opinion polls showed nearly equal support for each candidate, but President Bush won with slim popular and electoral vote majorities. 1

During the election, Dan Rather of CBS News reported that Bush had used family and political connections to secure a commission in the Air National Guard and avoid being drafted. An investigation by CBS later determined that the documents that Rather, along with producer Mary Mapes, had used as evidence could not be authenticated and may have been forged. CBS News apologized; Rather and Mapes left the company. 24

Second Presidential Term

After winning reelection, President Bush proposed several new policies, which included creating private accounts for Social Security benefits and creating a path to citizenship for the approximately 12 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States at the time. Neither of these gained significant support in Congress, but Bush was able to appoint two justices to the Supreme Court in his second term: Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. 1

Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, a large hurricane hit the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas, causing approximately 1,500 deaths and more than $100 billion in property damage. 25 President Bush advised New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) to issue evacuation orders several days before the storm hit. Nagin delayed the order, in part to protect the city’s hotel industry, and ended up calling for evacuation just one day before the hurricane made landfall. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) also rejected Bush’s offer to put federal authorities in charge of evacuating the city due to her concerns about the possibility of “martial law.” 26

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Bush administration received widespread criticism for their delayed and disorganized response to the disaster. In April 2006, the DHS Inspector General found most of the criticism valid, citing the fact that it took FEMA a full three days to intervene in the crisis and noting the agency’s poor allocation of emergency housing, supplies, and search-and-rescue teams. 2 The Bush administration’s perceived ineptitude in dealing with Hurricane Katrina contributed to the Republican Party’s loss of both houses of Congress during the 2006 midterm elections. 1

Financial Crisis

As the U.S. and world economies entered the Great Recession of 2008, President Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act into law, granting $700 billion to purchase financial firms’ “toxic assets” and stabilize the industry. 1 In January 2009, a congressional oversight panel found one fund in particular, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, lacked accountability and transparency, and ultimately failed to support the housing market and prevent foreclosures. 27

The financial crisis, mounting casualties and unclear objectives in Afghanistan and Iraq, and other issues led to President Bush concluding his second term with an approval rating of only 28%. 3

Post-Presidency

After concluding his second term in office, former President Bush limited his public involvement in politics. In 2014, he said he had all the fame he wanted and did not long for publicity. He avoided criticizing both Democratic President Barack Obama and the Republican Party and said he would not undermine his former office by attacking his successor. 4

Bush became somewhat more vocal following the 2016 election of former President Donald Trump. At a conference in 2017, he denounced nationalism, protectionism, and non-interventionism in a speech which the left-leaning New York Times described as an implicit criticism Donald Trump. 5 In June 2020, the New York Times reported that Bush did not support Trump’s re-election campaign, though Bush denied revealing how he would vote. 28

In 2024, former President Bush did not announce for whom he intended to vote in the presidential election. 29 Following the second election of President Donald Trump, former President Bush issued a statement of congratulations. 30

Bush took up painting when he retired, focusing first on portraits of world leaders, then of veterans. He also organizes veterans’ charity initiatives through the George Bush Institute. 31 The George W. Bush Foundation maintains the George W. Bush Presidential Center (Bush Center), which houses the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University. 32 33

Political Views

George W. Bush has referred to his ideology as “compassionate conservatism,” with the stated goal of caring for the underprivileged in the United States and abroad while insisting on accountability in poverty reduction and foreign aid programs. 34 Bush criticized what he called society’s “soft bigotry of low expectations,” which he believed prevented ethnic minority students from succeeding. 35

Political commentator and Reform Party presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan identified Bush with neoconservatism because of his willingness to implement regime change and impose American values using military force. 36 Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen argued that Bush had neoliberal tendencies, citing his racially diverse cabinet appointees, expansion of the Department of Education, and support for increased immigration. 37

Controversies

Alcohol Use

In a 2017 interview, former President Bush admitted that he “drank a lot of whiskey” in his early twenties, 38 and during the 2000 presidential election campaign he admitted to having pleaded guilty to a driving under the influence offense in Maine in 1976. 39 In 2008, CNN reported that then-President Bush had struggled with alcohol in the past, and Bush said he quit drinking at age 40. 40

“Mission Accomplished”

In May 2003, then-President Bush gave a speech on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. He declared that “the United States and our allies had prevailed” in Iraq. While he spoke, an American flag-themed banner with the words “Mission Accomplished” hung from the aircraft carrier’s bridge. In 2013, U.S. News & World Report described how the banner had turned into a symbol of the Bush administration’s missteps, and Bush himself admitted that the message had been a mistake. 41

Speaking Fees

In July 2015, the New York Daily News reported that former President Bush had charged the Helping a Hero veterans’ organization a $100,000 speaking fee. Marine veteran Eddie Wright, who had served on the charity’s board, criticized Bush for taking money from an organization which helped veterans who were injured in a conflict that he himself initiated, calling it a “slap in the face.” Helping a Hero did not address the speaking fee, but instead issued a statement praising Bush’s fundraising assistance. 42

References

  1. Brian Duignan, “George W. Bush,” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-W-Bush
  2. Mike Ahlers, “Report: Criticism of FEMA’s Katrina response deserved,’” CNN, April 14, 2006. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/14/fema.ig/index.html
  3.  Frank Newport, “Bush Job Approval at 28%, Lowest of His Administration,” Gallup, April 11, 2008. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://news.gallup.com/poll/106426/Bush-Job-Approval-28-Lowest-Administration.aspx
  4. Colin Campbell, “George W. Bush: This Is Why I Refuse To Criticize Obama,” Business Insider, November 14, 2014. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/george-w-bush-why-i-refuse-to-criticize-obama-2014-11?op=1
  5. Peter Baker, “Without Saying ‘Trump,’ Bush and Obama Deliver Implicit Rebukes,” The New York Times, October 19, 2017. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/us/politics/george-bush-trump.html
  6. Gary L. Clegg II, “George W. Bush: Family Life,” Miller Center. Accessed January 27, 2021.
  7. Lois Romano and George Lardner Jr., “Bush: So-So Student but a Campus Mover,” The Washington Post, July 27, 1999. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072799.htm
  8. Maria L. La Ganga, “Bush Defends Streamlined Texas Death Penalty System,” Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2000. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-14-mn-40858-story.html
  9. David Cole, “The Liberal Legacy of Bush v. Gore,” Georgetown Law Faculty Publications, July 2006. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1417&context=facpub
  10. John Yoo, “The Patriot Act Is Constitutional,” MSN, May 6, 2006. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20060506231717/http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_701713501/Is_the_Patriot_Act_Unconstitutional.html
  11.  David Cole, “The Patriot Act Violates Our Civil Liberties,” MSN, May 6, 2006. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20060506231717/http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_701713501/Is_the_Patriot_Act_Unconstitutional.html
  12. “Let the Sun Set on PATRIOT – Section 201,” Electronic Frontier Foundation, October 9, 2007. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20071009191205/http://www.eff.org/patriot/sunset/201.php
  13. Paul Sperry, “Why Didn’t We Invade Saudi Arabia?,” The Burning Platform, December 15, 2013. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.theburningplatform.com/2013/12/16/why-didnt-we-invade-saudi-arabia/
  14.  Will Parkinson, “Why we invaded Iraq…,” Democratic Underground, July 9, 2003. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104×13267
  15. “No Child Left Behind Act Is Working,” U.S. Department of Education, December 2006. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/importance/nclbworking.html
  16. Linda Darling-Hammond, “Evaluating ‘No Child Left Behind,’” The Nation, May 2, 2007. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/evaluating-no-child-left-behind/
  17. Chris McGreal, “George Bush: a good man in Africa,” The Guardian, February 14, 2008. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/15/georgebush.usa
  18. “CIA’s final report: No WMD found in Iraq,” NBC News, April 25, 2005. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7634313
  19.  “Expert: Iraq WMD Find Did Not Point to Ongoing Program,” NPR, June 22, 2006. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5504298
  20. “Iraq Reconsidered: Ten Years After the Surge,” Council on Foreign Relations, February 1, 2017. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.cfr.org/event/iraq-reconsidered-ten-years-after-surge
  21.  Danny Sjursen, “I Was Part of the Iraq War Surge. It Was a Disaster,” The Nation, March 9, 2017. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/i-was-part-of-the-iraq-war-surge-it-was-an-utter-disaster/
  22. Vicki Kemper, “Medicare Drug Benefit Plan to Far Exceed Cost Estimate,” Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2004. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-30-na-medicare30-story.html
  23. “Competition and the Cost of Medicare’s Prescription Drug Program,” Congressional Budget Office, July 2014. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/113th-congress-2013-2014/reports/45552-PartD.pdf
  24. Bill Carter, “Analysis: Post-Mortem of CBS’s Flawed Broadcast,” The New York Times, January 11, 2005. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/business/media/analysis-postmortemof-cbss-flawed-broadcast.html
  25. Eric Blake and Ethan Gibney, “The Deadliest, Costliest, And Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 To 2010 (And Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts),” National Hurricane Center, August 2011. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/nws-nhc-6.pdf
  26. Rory Cooper, “Bush’s Katrina Wasn’t Bush’s ‘Katrina,’” The Heritage Foundation, June 8, 2010. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.heritage.org/environment/commentary/bushs-katrina-wasnt-bushs-katrina
  27. Elizabeth Warren et al., “Accountability for the Troubled Asset Relief Program,” Congressional Oversight Panel, January 9, 2009. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20110106141711/http://cop.senate.gov/documents/cop-010909-report.pdf
  28. Jonathan Martin, “Vote for Trump? These Republican Leaders Aren’t on the Bandwagon,” The New York Times, June 6, 2021. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/us/politics/trump-biden-republicans-voters.html?smid=tw-share
  29. “Ex-Aide to George W Bush Calls on Former President to Endorse Kamala Harris.” The Guardian, November 2, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/02/former-george-w-bush-aide-nicolle-wallace.
  30.  Johnson, Rich. “Trump Victory Sparks Congratulations from Opponents, Supporters.” NewsNation, November 6, 2024. https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/trump-victory-sparks-congratulations-from-opponents-supporters/.
  31. JJ Charlesworth, “George W. Bush’s veteran portraits yearn for a return to innocence,” CNN, October 7, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/george-w-bush-paintings/index.html
  32. “About Us.” George W. Bush Presidential Center. Accessed July 3, 2023. https://www.bushcenter.org/about-us.
  33. “The Bush Center and SMU.” George W. Bush Presidential Center. Accessed July 3, 2023. https://www.bushcenter.org/about-us/the-bush-center-and-smu.
  34. “Fact Sheet: Compassionate Conservatism,” The White House, April 30, 2002. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020430.html
  35. “Text: George W. Bush’s Speech to the NAACP,” The Washington Post, July 10, 2000. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/elections/bushtext071000.htm
  36. Patrick Buchanan, “Is Bush A Neoconservative?,” The American Conservative, May 5, 2003. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/is-bush-a-neoconservative/
  37. Richard Cohen, “Bush the Neoliberal,” RealClearPolitics, May 29, 2007. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/05/george_w_bush_neoliberal.html
  38. Melinda Delkic, “George W. Bush ‘Chased a Lot of Pussy and Drank a Lot of Whiskey’ in His Youth, He Says in a New Book,” Newsweek, November 10, 2017. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.newsweek.com/george-w-bush-chased-pussy-drank-whiskey-708653
  39. “Bush Acknowledges 1976 DUI Charge.” CNN. Cable News Network, November 2, 2000. https://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/11/02/bush.dui/.
  40. Kathleen Koch, “Bush opens up on struggle with alcohol abuse,” CNN, December 11, 2008. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/11/bush.alcohol/
  41. Seth Cline, “The Other Symbol of George W. Bush’s Legacy,” U.S. News & World Report, May 1, 2013. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/press-past/2013/05/01/the-other-symbol-of-george-w-bushs-legacy
  42. Celeste Katz, “George W. Bush was paid $100K for appearance at charity event for wounded veterans: report,” New York Daily News, July 8, 2015. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/george-w-bush-paid-100k-speaking-vets-event-article-1.2285858
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