Chapter Forty-Two - The Decider in Chief Who Faced the Fire

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

The Decider in Chief Who Faced the Fire

SO.
GEORGE WALKER Bush.
Born in 1946, Connecticut-raised, Texas-forged.
Son of George H. W. Bush.
Went to Yale. Then Harvard Business School.
Struggled for years—partied hard, failed in oil, found faith, quit drinking at 40.

People underestimated him.
Thought he was too simple, too relaxed, too much cowboy and not enough calculator.

But then he became Governor of Texas, won over voters with charm and plain speech—
and in 2000, ran for president as the “compassionate conservative.”

The 2000 Election was wild.
He ran against Al Gore.
Lost the popular vote.
Florida was razor-thin. Legal battles. Supreme Court.

Bush won by 537 votes in one state.
Just like that—President #43.

At first?
It was calm. Quiet.
He cut taxes. Talked about education reform. Played a lot of golf.

And then—
September 11, 2001.

Everything changed.

9/11.
Four planes hijacked.
Twin Towers fall.
Pentagon hit.
Thousands dead.
The whole world watching.

Bush stood on the rubble with a bullhorn and said:

“I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”

America rallied behind him.
Approval ratings through the roof.

The War on Terror began.

• Invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban and chase Osama bin Laden
• Created Department of Homeland Security
• Passed the Patriot Act (expanded surveillance—very controversial)
• Then… Iraq

2003:
Bush said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
The U.S. invaded.
Toppled Saddam.
But no WMDs were found.

The war dragged on.
Thousands of lives lost.
Public trust crumbled.

Meanwhile, back home:

• Hurricane Katrina (2005): botched federal response, heavy criticism
• 2008 financial crisis: banks collapsed, housing market crashed, economy went into freefall

Bush signed TARP, the bank bailout.
Controversial—but may have prevented total collapse.

By the end of his second term?
His approval rating was near rock bottom.

But Bush?
Never complained.
Never snapped back.
He just quietly left office in 2009, and disappeared from politics with grace.

His second act?
Painting.
Yes—painting.
Portraits of veterans. Dogs. World leaders.
And honestly? Not bad.

He stayed out of the political spotlight.
Became that guy who makes you say,

“You know… he wasn’t that bad.”

(Time does funny things to legacy.)

So here’s to George W. Bush.
The decider.
The cowboy in a storm.
The man who led through fire, fell hard—
and still walked away standing.

Rest in reflection, W.
You were tested more than most—
and never left the field.