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Obama Vs George W Bush Essay

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Barack Obama and George W. Bush, perhaps two of the most polarizing presidents in United States history. Their times as presidents epitomize the pendulum of political parties in our country, swinging back back between conservatives and liberals.Their legacies as presidents have helped define the political culture of the 21st centuries, and shaped the way people view the government. Bush and Obama are often considered very dichotomous in nature, so I would like to examine just how much their policies differed, and what affects their decisions had on the course of the country.
Many of the most important issues these men dealt with came in the realm of foreign policy. Specifically, the fighting in the Middle East. Perhaps, the most impactful …show more content…

Following the events of September 11th, President Bush was looked to as a leader to lead the country out of chaos. “In the weeks after the attack, Bush’s approval rating rose to 90 percent—the highest recorded job-approval rating in U.S. presidential history” ( millercenter). Nowadays however, Bush is often criticized for the actions he took during the invasions. “The Bush administration’s strategy had been to reduce the U.S. military presence as Iraq’s stability improved. Yet the goal proved unattainable, owing in part to the power vacuum left by the dismantling of the Iraqi army and the rise of sectarian violence within the two dominant strains of Islam in Iraq” (millercenter). Of course hindsight is always 20/20, but many blame the Bush Administration for the power vacuum created in the Middle East. Bush’s foreign policy typically surrounded a strong use of force and led to increase in terrorism surveillance creating a discussion that is hotly debated today Following the end of Bush’s second term, Barack Obama had won the presidency and the work in the Middle East was far from over. Obama proved to have a different ideology from Bush, wanting to remove troops from the Middle East, something he

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