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Candidate Bio
George W. Bush
Political affiliation:
Republican Party
Born:
July 6, 1946
New Haven, CT
Personal:
Married Laura Welsh, a librarian, in 1977. Twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. Methodist.
Occupation:
President of the United States
Education:
Attended Phillips Academy, Andover (Mass.), and received degrees from Yale (B.A., 1968) and Harvard (M.B.A., 1975) universities.
Experience:
Won election as governor of Texas, 1994.Worked in the oil and gas business in the '70s anbd '80s. Failed Republican nominee for Congress in 1978. Former owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club.
On the Issues
Debates
Audio Final presidential debate (10/13/04)
George W. Bush and John Kerry debated in Tempe, Arizona.
Audio Second presidential debate (10/8/04)
George W. Bush and John Kerry held their second debate in St. Louis, Mo.
Audio Vice presidential debate, Cleveland, Ohio (10/5/04)
John Edwards and Dick Cheney meet in their only debate.
Audio First presidential debate, Miami, Florida (9/30/04)
George W. Bush and John Kerry's first of three debates.
Audio Johnston, Iowa (1/4/04)
Seven Democratic candidates debated, two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
Audio New Hampshire (12/9/03)
Eight of the Democratic candidates ganged up on front-runner Howard Dean
Audio NY Debate (9/25/03)
Ten Democratic candidates for president debate in New York, sponsored by MSNBC.
Audio Highlights
Audio President Bush's post-election news conference (11/4/04)
Audio President George W. Bush accepts his victory (11/3/04)
Audio Bush speaks at Rochester airport (10/19/04)
Audio Rally in Chanhassen (10/09/04)
Audio Rally in St. Cloud (9/16/04)
Audio Ask the President in Hudson, Wis. (8/18/04)
Audio Bush in Mankato (8/4/04)
Audio Bush in LeSueur (8/4/04)
Audio Cheney in Minneapolis(2/23/04)
Delivers pep talk to GOP.
Audio State of the Union(1/20/04)
"America's economy is strong but there are still troubled times in some parts of the country."
Audio Bush in Minnesota (8/26/03)
The president spoke at St. Paul's RiverCentre during a campaign fundraising stop.
Links and Resources
Web site:
Document georgewbush.com
Campaign blog:
Document Blogs for Bush
Campaign contributors:
Document Political Money Line
Candidate Pages

George W. Bush

SNAPSHOT
President Bush had the power of incumbency on his side as he sought re-election to office. He has traveled extensively around the country, amassing a campaign war chest that allowed him to avoid the need for public financing, and the campaign spending limits that accompany it. It was a recipe that worked well in his first campaign, in which he raised so much money, that many of his dispirited Republican challengers dropped out of the race before the first primary was held. Bush's popularity soared following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Although his favorable poll numbers often dipped below 50 percent, Bush was able to stay on his message during his entire campaign: the fight against terrorism. In the end, according to exit polling on Election Day, the election was as much about the war in Iraq and the fight against terrorism, as an affirmation of Bush's policies.

He won the election on November 2, 2004 with the largest popular vote in the nation's history, thanks in large measure to a huge turnout.


Bush's agenda for second term: Iraq, economy
President Bush heads into his second term with the stabilization of Iraq under a democratic government as his top policy goal. But he also has unfinished domestic business, including making his sweeping tax cuts permanent, reforming Social Security, and promoting energy production. Here is a summary of his plans.
Bush "humbled" by victory, and eager to get to work
President Bush won four more years in the White House on Wednesday and pledged to "fight this war on terror with every resource of our national power." John Kerry conceded defeat rather than back an election challenge in make-or-break Ohio. The president spoke before thousands of cheering supporters less than an hour after his vanquished rival conceded defeat.
Kerry concedes; calls for national healing
President Bush won four more years in the White House on Wednesday, pocketing a public concession from Democrat John Kerry that closed out a loud and long campaign fought over the war on terror and the economy. "We cannot win this election," the Massachusetts senator said in an emotional campaign farewell after deciding not to contest Bush's lead in make-or-break Ohio.
Kerry captures Minnesota
John Kerry captured Minnesota Tuesday, keeping alive a 32-year Democratic winning streak despite a major Republican push to deliver the state to President Bush.
KNOW Exit Poll: Presidential vote in Minnesota was referendum on Iraq
Exit poll data suggests John Kerry's victory in Minnesota was more a rejection of President Bush than an affirmation of the Democratic challenger. Read the full exit poll results and listen to voters explain why they voted the way they did.
Decision day: Voters choose between Bush and Kerry with record turnout predicted
President Bush and challenger John Kerry fought to the wire in their long, bitter race for the White House on Tuesday as Americans turned out in droves to choose between their embattled wartime president and a Democrat who vigorously questioned the invasion of Iraq. "I've given it my all," Bush said after voting at a Crawford, Texas, firehouse. Kerry got teary-eyed as he thanked his staff for a campaign's worth of work. "We made the case for change," he said.
Ad spending in presidential race triples that of 2000
The most expensive presidential advertising campaign in history closes Tuesday after eight months with President Bush, Sen. John Kerry, their political parties and allied groups having spent more than $600 million. That's triple the amount spent on TV and radio commercials in 2000. Still, for all the money, the race remains a statistical tie.
Campaign roundup: One last frenzied day in battleground states
President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry raced through a frenzied last day of campaigning Monday, pressing hard for support in Ohio, Wisconsin and other narrowly divided states in a presidential election still too close to call. Hoping to shore up support in Minnesota, Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards began his day with a rally at Hamline University in St. Paul. The state's top two Republicans launched a GOP get-out-the-vote bus tour.
MPR Poll: Minnesota's a tossup
A new Minnesota Public Radio-St. Paul Pioneer Press poll shows the presidential race too close to call in Minnesota, just two days before the election. The poll found 48 percent of respondents say they'll vote for Republican President George W. Bush, while 47 percent say they'll vote for Democrat John Kerry. A different poll, also out Sunday, shows Kerry with an 8-point lead, and a pollster says anything could move the race one way or the other in the last days.
Bush rallies followers at Target Center
President Bush used his latest appearance in Minnesota to urge Republicans to get supporters to the poll on Tuesday and he also appealed to Democrats for support. The Bush-Cheney campaign says 23,000 ticket holder turned out to see President Bush at the Target Center Saturday afternoon.
With presidential candidates elsewhere, surrogates take up Minnesota campaign
It was a rare day with no candidates from the presidential tickets in the state on Friday. Still, surrogates for President Bush and John Kerry showed up to rally supporters. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned in Minnesota for Bush, while former NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark stumped for Kerry. The two focused on national security at competing partisan rallies. Meanwhile, Bush and Kerry began wrapping up their campaigns on the last weekend of the campaign season.
Decided voters make their cases
In the presidential election, a great deal has been made of the undecided voters--the relatively tiny portion of the electorate that still hasn't made up its mind about which candidate to support. But what about all those voters who already have made their choice? We invite a group of of Bush and Kerry supporters to make their best cases for the candidate they are backing.
The presidential candidates on the issues
Still not sure exactly where presidential candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry stand on foreign policy, the economy, health care, education and social issues? Minnesota Public Radio has produced a series of special reports that go beyond the stump speeches and look at the actual policies Bush and Kerry are proposing.
Weighing the value of candidate visits
President Bush is due back in Minnesota Saturday. Both the president and Sen. John Kerry have been frequent visitors to Minnesota throughout the presidential campaign. Political scientists say with the election just days away visits by the candidate can boost standings in the polls. They also say the campaign rallies go a long way toward bolstering voter turnout.
KSTP video sheds light on when Iraqi explosives went missing
A news crew with Twin Cities TV station KSTP shot video of U.S. troops in Iraq in April of 2003 that may help determine when tons of powerful explosives were removed from the Al-QaQaa munitions base. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that almost 380 tons of explosives from the site were not secured immediately after the invasion of Iraq. Reporter Dean Staley, who now works in Seattle, and photo journalist Joe Caffrey were embedded with the 101st Airborne Division at the time. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Caffrey, who says he shot the video nine days after the fall of Baghdad.

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