George W. Bush (Republican)
1999-2005
After the disastrous end of Ron Paul's presidency, his vice president would take the reins and face the task of restoring trust in the Republican Party.
The eldest son of 40th president and former Texas governor George H. W. Bush, George Walker Bush followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Navy when the Vietnam War broke out in 1964. The younger Bush started off flying the Douglas A-1 Skyraider while stationed on
USS Midway. On July 30, 1965, Bush shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-17 with his Skyraider's guns, becoming one of five Skyraider pilots to score air-to-air kills against North Vietnamese MiGs. In 1966, Bush graduated to the Grumman A-6 Intruder and was transferred to
USS Coral Sea, serving until the end of hostilities in 1969. When the war started again in 1971, Bush signed back up and was once again flying from
Midway.
On January 30, 1972, Bush suffered a ramp strike while landing his Intruder on
Midway. The crash would leave Bush paraplegic.
In 1978, Bush was elected to the Texas Senate. In 1992, he was elected to the US Senate. In 1996, Ron Paul chose Bush as his running mate, hoping that recruiting a disabled veteran would disprove the idea that he was anti-military.
While Bush publicly supported Paul's policies, he was privately expressed doubt about Paul's extreme libertarianism. When Paul was impeached in January 1999, Bush stepped up to replace him.
As president, Bush was tasked with undoing the damage Paul had done. While Paul had been unsuccessful in dismantling the welfare state, he had nonetheless been able to shrink it significantly. Bush managed to restore the provisions that Paul had eliminated, such as financial support for single mothers.
Heading into the 2000 election, Bush had his work cut out for him trying to regain the trust of the American public after the Flattop Scandal. However, something would happen that would shock America.
On September 6, 2000, the United Nations held its Millennium Summit in New York City. Bush was unable to attend due to a case of pneumonia, so Vice President Donald Rumsfeld went in his stead. As the summit was being held, a hijacked airliner slammed into the UN headquarters building, killing dozens of world leaders. Minutes later, another hijacked plane struck the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. A third plane was also hijacked, but the passengers were able to overpower the hijackers, allowing a flight instructor who was on board to land the plane safely. The attacks were ultimately linked to Al-Qaeda, an organization of radical Islamists angered by America's support for Israel and secular governments in the Arab world.
The September 6 attacks would galvanize the nation and the rest of the world. Once he had recuperated, Bush embarked on a vigorous campaign, rallying the American people against the terrorists. On November 7, Bush was reelected by a comfortable margin over Democratic challenger Pete Stark.
On December 2000, the US led a coalition of nations into Afghanistan to remove the oppressive theocratic government that ruled the country since the end of Soviet occupation in 1988 and had supported Al-Qaeda. The coalition forces would remain in Afghanistan for eight years, stamping out the remnants of Islamist militias before finally withdrawing in the autumn of 2008.
In the spring of 2001, Bush would turn his attention to Iraq. After being defeated in Operation Desert Storm, Saddam Hussein had redoubled his brutality against the Iraqi people, especially the Kurds. Reports arose of the Iraqi military using chemical weapons against Kurdish villages in response to rebellions. Also evidence emerged that Hussein had been backing Islamic terrorism against the West in the years leading up to the Setepmber 6 Attacks. On September 10, 2001, the United Nations adopted a resolution that Iraq give up its chemical weapons. Hussein refused, so in November 2001, the United States spearheaded an invasion of Iraq to remove Hussein. The occupying forces uncovered stockpiles of chemical weapons. Hussein was captured trying to fleet to Syria. He would be tried and convicted of crimes against humanity by the provisional Iraqi government and executed in 2004.
Despite pressure from some in the US government to stay and prop up the new Iraqi government, Bush would ultimately withdraw all American forces by 2004, saying that the budding Iraqi democracy should not be propped up by foreign arms.
At home, Bush fashioned himself a moderate conservative in the vein of President Ford and the elder Bush. He signed the Sexual Crimes Justice Act into law in January 2002, forbidding sex offenders from obtaining parole. On the other hand, he signed the Waters-Frank Act the following month, making contraceptives purchasable by minors without permission from parents. In response to increased hate crimes against Muslims following the September 6 Attacks, he reached out to American Muslims, emphasizing the fact that the terrorists were merely a vocal minority and that most Muslims were perfectly peaceful, law-abiding people.
Despite being eligible for reelection in 2004 and having fairly high approval ratings, Bush decided against running for reelection. The Democrats were poised to recapture the White House in his absence...