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
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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
Both of these presidents, former and current, have opinions on what America should be moving towards, to better the country. These presidents have both done their fair share for this country already, though Trump has only been in office for a year, while Obama has been in office for a full term, then was re elected for another. They both, though, like all things, have many similarities and differences, these things are likely affected by their party, and mindset, along with their personality. For instance, Obama is apart of the Democratic party, while Trump is apart of the Republican party, making their outlook on America and things like taxes and abortion, different. Differences
As a new President takes office, it is the inauguration address that marks the beginning of their term. This formal speech marks the first time the President lays out his intentions as the leader of the country. The inaugural addresses often make promises to address the nations concerns and issues. Usually the addresses that have the greatest impact, are the ones most remembered. Consider President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Barrack Obama, both of these Presidents gave strong inauguration addresses, however it was Roosevelt’s words that seemed more realistic, and ultimately had a greater impact for the American public.
George W. Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946. Just like other presidents, he had his good times and his bad times. He was the forty-third president of The United States. Because of those who had preceded him in The Oval Office, he understood the importance of being the Commander in Chief. In all of the events that happened during his presidency he never gave up on his country (Biography; Gale: Vol 21).
On June 22 2016 president Obama a new bill placing stronger regulations on everyday common chemicals like detergents, paint thinners and cleaners. This new law was passed by congress and the head of chemical safety and former us senator Frank R. Lautenberg along with a very rare and uncommon bipartisan vote. The 21st century act will be updating the former toxic substance control act which was instated during the Gerald Ford administration back in the mid 1970s, under this new law the Environmental protection Agency (EPA) Is given a much larger oversight and stronger tools to further monitor those chemicals which may cause cancer and any other possible health complications in both children and adults.
One of America’s biggest terrorist disasters such as the fall of 911 held back on September 11, 2001. Facts have shown later former President George W. Bush is pointing to the resurgence of violence in Iraq as validating his belief that American troops should have stayed in that war-torn country instead of withdrawing in 2011. It’s publically rare in a policy matter from former president Bush, who has done very few interviews since leaving office in 2009 on the impact criticism who led the U.S. invasion in Iraq in 2003 a war that cost more than 4,500 U. S. American lives, worth trillions of dollars of war and led to a rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and other terrorist groups. (Richinick)
In the Obama presidency there were many good things that occurred as well as many bad things. The two good things that occurred that was good was the passed health care reforms he enforced and creating more economic growth for the recession that happened previously in US history. The bad thing the Obama did during his presidency is fail to recognize ISIS before it grew to its size. The reason why the obama presidency was good was because of the new health care reform. Through the course of the past few presidential terms, and a decades of attempts to pass universal health insurance, Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (2010). The act enabled 32 million uninsured Americans in the year of 2014 to have health care as well as cutting health care
The involvement of America in Iraq and Afghanistan was ill-timed, and it was not the best way to respond to the 9/11 attack by Osama Bin Laden. The rationale of the Bush administration to invade Iraq was that Saddam Hussein had supported Osama Bin Laden’s attacks. However, this claim made no sense going by the fact that Osama had nothing but disdain for the peculiar regime of one Saddam Hussein. Additionally, the complaint by the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein was hiding dangerous weapons of mass destruction turned to be false since the administration had no evidence to prove it. It later came to be known that President Bush had given an order to officials of the United Nations investigating the regime of Saddam Hussein for weapons
With the United States currently experiencing another presidential election the world is in suspense, watching to see who will become the next leader of the free world. Such halt corresponds to the running of two presidential candidates: Hillary D. Clinton and Donald J. Trump. Such halt derives from candidates proposed trade policies for the United States and its ramifications. This emphasis on trade originates from this idea that we live in a globalized economy and with the United States being a predominate actor within the international community, policies, for instance, that do not support globalize trade potentially harm developing and developed countries who have ties to the U.S.. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump share similarities amongst their trade agendas; for example, Clinton’s policies surrounding trade must “work” for the U.S. while Trump 's objective is to renegotiate current and future trade agreements to better suit the U.S.. Therefore, each candidate’s trade proposal must undergo an evaluation of the potential outcomes that derive from each proposal and identify which candidate 's agenda is better suited for the United States and the global aim to liberalize trade. Candidate Hillary Clinton’s trade policies, although minimal in its size, maintains relationships with allied countries and does not harm the United States in trade; while on the other hand, candidate Donald Trump’s trade policies lead to negative ramifications that hurt the
Despite what some say, President George W. Bush had a very clear vision for the Middle East. He wanted to topple Saddam Hussein and his repressive regime, recover or destroy the Republican Guard’s weapons of mass destruction, and help the Iraqi people establish a new Democratic style government (Gilley, 2013). He felt that Iraq was the key to spreading Democracy throughout the Middle East. Furthermore, his Middle East policy, known as the “Freedom Agenda”, was President Bush’s response to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The effectiveness of the Freedom Agenda is mixed. His policies did take down tyrannical leaders and opened the door for Democracy, but it also left a void for radical groups to come in and take over.
In 2003 the United States, under the Bush administration made the decision to invade Iraq with 90,000 troops. President Bush justified the decision by stating that Saddam Hussein was a grave threat to the United States and the rest of the West, furthermore he justified the US’s decision to invade by stating that “the dictator of Iraq and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the security of free nations, he is a danger to his neighbours. He’s a sponsor of terrorism. He’s an obstacle to progress in the west Asia. For decades he has been the cruel, cruel suppressor of the Iraqi people” (Lin) Despite the immense destruction of infrastructure, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of ‘innocent’ Iraqi’s, another disastrous and detrimental
Obama took office in January of 2009, as the economy plummeted. His presidency has been characterized by the stressors of an economic recession, which many experts consider “a financial crisis the likes of which has not been seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s” (George Soros 83) and the sluggish recovery following (Barack, nytimes.com). Obama’s term milestones have included unprecedented legislation including a universal health care bill, and a $787 billion dollar stimulus bill. In 2010 the country’s frustration with unemployment and a slow-changing economy saw a drop in Obama’s approval rating and republicans gaining a “242-193 majority in the House of Representatives...14 seats in the Senate”, a significant although not atypical midterm election response to “the state of the economy, and the publicʼs assessment of the presidentʼs job performance” (Acobson).
Mr. Trump told a Republican senator that he wants to investigate the recording that had him boasting about grabbing women's genitals. He doesn’t think that it is his voice and after making that claim he continued to suggest that the tape is not actually him. The tape was recorded on the access Hollywood in 2005 when Donald Trump was with other eight guys including Billy Bush. He was making vulgar comments about women which were later revealed on his campaign when he was running for president came out. When Billy heard that Mr. Trump is running for a president he was shaking. Because of Trump attitude toward people, especially to women made Billy be completely against him. Trump once said to Billy, “ People will just believe you. You just
After one of the worst terrorists attacks on the United States President Bush had declared war on terrorism and began a military campaign against the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. President Bush then had decided to invade Iraq and the removal of Dictator Saddam Hussein the following year. He also had a five step plan to help Iraq. First he would transfer full sovereignty to a government of Iraq citizens. Secondly he would establish the stability and security that democracy requires. Next he would plan to rebuild that nation’s infrastructure. Then he would enlist additional international support. Finally he planned to free national elections no later than January of 2005. He had stated all of this in his public speech on Iraq in May of 2004. Former
On September 11, 2001, 2,752 people were killed at the World Trade Center resulting in the largest loss of life on American soil by a foreign nation. The culprit of the most devastating loss in America was the radical terrorist group Al Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden, putting George W. Bush at the forefront of the Middle East Crisis. His actions should result in the continuation of the containment policy. This policy has been in place for years, and it allows the U.S. to get involved in other countries without the expense of losing lives and escalating hotspot regions in the middle east. Additionally, it will hinder the Iraqis from gaining weapons of mass destruction. This essay will begin by examining the effect of no-fly zones on the Iraqi military and economy, then discuss the economic block the sanctions are able to create, and finally explaining the importance of oil in Iraq 's economy.
From one angle, the quest to make America safer through the elimination of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction proved a failure, as no such weapons were found. Another self-interest theory cites the protection of US oil interests in Iraq as a reason for involvement. The removal of Saddam Hussein—the only certain result of the war thus far—is doubly attractive, as it is valid for both self-interest and altruism. Though the imposition of democracy on Iraq is both ethnocentric and self-interested on the US’ part, the majority of Iraqis are happier since being liberated from Hussein’s oppressive rule, according to several major surveys (Baker). And according to President Bush, “America is safer today with Saddam Hussein in prison. He retained the knowledge, the materials, the means, and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction.”