George W. Bush : Impact and Legacy . 
George W Bush
After his reelection in 2004 , Bush sought major changes to Social Security , arguing a partial privatization plan could insure its solvency . 
The legacy of George W. Bush remains , much like his 2000 election , a subject of profound controversy , and any truly objective evaluation will likely be years in the future . 
The election of 2000 and the Supreme Court case of Bush v. Gore remain two of the most controversial political developments in the last half-century . 
Some thought that President Bush should begin his term by trying to find common ground and avoid controversy to take some of the edge off the nation 's polarized politics coming out of the 2000 election . 
Instead , as one of his first actions , President Bush issued an executive order creating the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives , which further alienated some who thought government money should not go to organizations affiliated with churches . 
The Bush presidency transformed American politics , its economy , and its place in the world , but not in ways that could have been predicted when the governor of Texas declared his candidacy for America 's highest office . 
Within nine months of taking office , President Bush was afforded the chance to unite the nation after the terrorist attacks of September 11 , 2001 . 
By most accounts , Bush did a masterful job of speaking for and to the American people . 
As President , Bush became a lightning rod for controversy . 
Following an authorization from Congress to eliminate those who perpetrated the attacks of 911 , Bush ordered an invasion of Afghanistan . 
Those early successes , however , turned into the longest war in American history , and the President never was able to achieve the greatest symbolic goal of the effort , the killing or capturing of the mastermind of the attacks , Osama bin Laden ; U.S. special forces achieved that goal in 2011 under Bush 's successor , President Barack Obama . 
Following the 911 attacks , President Bush also presided over a restructuring of the American national security apparatus and the passage of the Patriot Act , which gave the government vast new powers in the effort to combat future acts of terror . 
Both efforts , especially the Patriot Act , sparked strong divisions within the American people throughout the Bush presidency . 
In 2002 and into 2003 , Bush used the fear of further terrorist attacks to argue for a preemptive war on Saddam Hussein 's Iraq under the rationale that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction . 
The last few months of the Bush presidency were marked by a major crash of the stock market , a controversial bail out of financial institutions and car companies , and a recession that would wipe out millions of jobs and impact the U.S. economy for many years . 
President Bush 's place in U.S. history will be debated and reconsidered for many years to come . 
On the domestic front , the Bush presidency scored early successes in gaining passage of large tax reductions and a major reform of the American educational system with the No Child Left Behind Act .
After his reelection in 2004 , [TGT] sought major changes to Social Security , arguing a partial privatization plan could insure its solvency . 
The legacy of [TGT] remains , much like [TGT] 2000 election , a subject of profound controversy , and any truly objective evaluation will likely be years in the future . 
The election of 2000 and the Supreme Court case of [TGT] v. Gore remain two of the most controversial political developments in the last half-century . 
Some thought that [TGT] should begin [TGT] term by trying to find common ground and avoid controversy to take some of the edge off the nation 's polarized politics coming out of the 2000 election . 
Instead , as one of [TGT] first actions , [TGT] issued an executive order creating the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives , which further alienated some who thought government money should not go to organizations affiliated with churches . 
The [TGT] presidency transformed American politics , its economy , and its place in the world , but not in ways that could have been predicted when the governor of Texas declared his candidacy for America 's highest office . 
Within nine months of taking office , [TGT] was afforded the chance to unite the nation after the terrorist attacks of September 11 , 2001 . 
By most accounts , [TGT] did a masterful job of speaking for and to the American people . 
As [TGT] , [TGT] became a lightning rod for controversy . 
Following an authorization from Congress to eliminate those who perpetrated the attacks of 911 , [TGT] ordered an invasion of Afghanistan . 
Those early successes , however , turned into the longest war in American history , and [TGT] never was able to achieve the greatest symbolic goal of the effort , the killing or capturing of the mastermind of the attacks , Osama bin Laden ; U.S. special forces achieved that goal in 2011 under [TGT] 's successor , President Barack Obama . 
Following the 911 attacks , [TGT] also presided over a restructuring of the American national security apparatus and the passage of the Patriot Act , which gave the government vast new powers in the effort to combat future acts of terror . 
Both efforts , especially the Patriot Act , sparked strong divisions within the American people throughout the [TGT] presidency . 
In 2002 and into 2003 , [TGT] used the fear of further terrorist attacks to argue for a preemptive war on Saddam Hussein 's Iraq under the rationale that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction . 
The last few months of the [TGT] presidency were marked by a major crash of the stock market , a controversial bail out of financial institutions and car companies , and a recession that would wipe out millions of jobs and impact the U.S. economy for many years . 
[TGT] 's place in U.S. history will be debated and reconsidered for many years to come . 
On the domestic front , the [TGT] presidency scored early successes in gaining passage of large tax reductions and a major reform of the American educational system with the No Child Left Behind Act .