50 Fun Facts About George W. Bush

George W. Bush was which number president of the United States?

His father was the 41st, with one two-term Democrat between them.

Before the presidency, Bush served as governor of which state?

He was the first Texas governor elected to two consecutive four-year terms.

Bush was born in 1946 in which city?

His father was studying at Yale at the time; the family soon moved to Texas.

Bush's paternal grandfather Prescott Bush held which office?

Three generations of the family held federal office, making the Bushes a genuine political dynasty.

Bush's sister Robin died at the age of three in 1953 of what?

His four surviving siblings are Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy.

At Phillips Academy in Andover, Bush held which role in his senior year?

He was also a cheerleader at Yale, alongside playing rugby for the university's first XV.

Bush graduated from Yale in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in which subject?

He called himself an average student, with a grade average of 77 over his first three years.

Bush was president of which fraternity in his senior year at Yale?

He was also tapped for the Skull and Bones secret society, like his father before him.

Bush is the only U.S. president to hold which degree?

He earned it at Harvard Business School in 1975.

Which aircraft did Bush fly with the Texas Air National Guard?

He flew with the 147th Reconnaissance Wing out of Ellington Field in Houston.

Bush was suspended from flying in 1972 for failing to do what?

He had moved to Alabama to work on Winton Blount's unsuccessful Senate campaign.

What was the name of the small oil exploration company Bush founded in 1977?

Arbusto is Spanish for bush; it later became Bush Exploration and merged into Spectrum 7.

Bush was managing general partner of which Major League Baseball team?

He turned an $800,000 stake into more than $15 million when he sold in 1998, and briefly considered running for baseball commissioner.

How much did the investor group Bush assembled pay for a controlling interest in the Rangers in 1989?

Bush himself put in $500,000 to start and often sat in the open stands with fans.

Bush lost his first political race, a 1978 congressional bid, to which Democrat?

Hance painted him as out of touch with rural Texans and won 53.2 percent of the vote.

Bush defeated which incumbent Democratic governor to win Texas in 1994?

He won 53.5 percent to her 45.9 percent, the same year brother Jeb narrowly lost in Florida.

Which three advisers ran Bush's 1994 gubernatorial campaign?

Rove would go on to design the strategy for both presidential wins.

Bush won re-election as governor in 1998 with a record share of the vote of what?

His approval ratings as governor ranged between 62 and 81 percent.

As governor, Bush signed a 1999 law that helped Texas become the leading U.S. producer of what?

The renewable portfolio standard required electric retailers to buy a share of their power from renewables.

Bush presided over how many executions as governor, more than any previous modern governor?

Critics such as Sister Helen Prejean argued he gave clemency requests little serious consideration.

Bush ran for president in 2000 branding himself as what kind of conservative?

The label was meant to signal he was more centrist than other Republicans.

Bush lost the 2000 New Hampshire primary by 19 points to which senator?

He regained the lead in South Carolina after a primary that critics called a smear campaign.

What was Dick Cheney's job when chosen as running mate in 2000?

The man running the search picked himself, to the surprise of some observers.

By how many votes did the machine recount show Bush had won Florida in 2000?

Out of about six million ballots cast; the Supreme Court halted a statewide hand recount in Bush v. Gore.

How many electoral votes did Bush receive in the 2000 election?

Gore had 266 after one District of Columbia elector abstained.

Bush was the first candidate to win the presidency while losing the popular vote since whom?

Harrison did it in 1888; Bush trailed Gore by 543,895 votes nationwide.

Bush's landmark 2002 education law was called what?

It passed with broad bipartisan support, including Senator Ted Kennedy's.

Three days after 9/11, Bush addressed rescue workers at Ground Zero through what?

"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."

In his January 2002 State of the Union, Bush labelled which three countries an "axis of evil"?

The phrase became the basis for the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war.

Bin Laden escaped U.S. forces in December 2001 after a battle in which mountainous region?

The administration later admitted it had not committed enough ground troops; bin Laden was killed in 2011.

On what date did the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq begin?

Baghdad fell on April 9, and Bush declared major combat over on May 1 beneath a "Mission Accomplished" banner.

How many additional troops did Bush send to Iraq in the January 2007 "surge"?

He used only his second-ever veto that May to reject a bill setting a withdrawal deadline.

PEPFAR, announced by Bush in 2003, was a $15 billion plan to fight what?

By 2023 it was estimated to have saved more than 25 million lives, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

The 2003 Modernization Act Bush signed created which prescription drug benefit?

One commentator called it the greatest expansion of the American welfare state in forty years.

Bush defeated which Massachusetts senator to win re-election in 2004?

He carried 31 states and won an outright majority of the popular vote, 50.7 percent.

Which hurricane in August 2005 became a political tipping point for Bush's second term?

He was attacked for the FEMA response under Michael Brown and later said he accepted full responsibility.

Whom did Bush nominate to the Supreme Court in October 2005, only for her to withdraw?

Samuel Alito got the seat instead; Bush had already made John Roberts chief justice.

Bush originally nominated John Roberts to replace whom, before switching him to chief justice?

Rehnquist's death in September 2005 prompted the switch; Roberts was confirmed that month.

Who threw both shoes at Bush during a Baghdad press conference in December 2008?

Bush ducked both; Muntadhar al-Zaidi served nine months of a reduced one-year sentence.

Bush's approval rating peaked at what level after the September 11 attacks?

It stayed between 80 and 90 percent for four months and later sank as low as 19 percent.

Bush and Laura Welch married in November 1977 after a courtship of how long?

Friends introduced them at a backyard barbecue; she was a schoolteacher and librarian.

On marrying, Bush left his family's Episcopalianism for his wife's denomination, which was what?

He later described being challenged by Billy Graham to consider faith in Christ, and read the Bible daily as president.

Bush's twin daughters, born in 1981, are named what?

They are fraternal twins, named after their two grandmothers.

Bush was arrested for drunk driving in 1976 near the family's summer home in which town?

He was fined $150; he credits his wife with his decision to quit drinking in 1986.

In what year did Bush give up alcohol?

He attributes the decision to Laura's influence and to his faith.

Bush's 2010 memoir is titled what?

He named Social Security reform's failure as his greatest regret and keeping the country safe as his top accomplishment.

Bush took up painting after reading an essay by which statesman?

"Painting as a Pastime" led to portraits of Putin, Blair and dozens of veterans.

Bush's 2017 book of paintings of veterans is titled what?

Out of Many, One is his later collection of 43 immigrant portraits; proceeds go to his presidential center.

After leaving office, the Bushes bought a home in which Dallas neighbourhood?

They also kept the Prairie Chapel ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Bush and which fellow ex-president founded a relief fund after the 2010 Haiti earthquake?

President Obama asked the two to set up the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.