George Walker Bush President Commander in Chief
Have you noticed a difference in the salute given by our military men and women as President Bush walks by? Most folks would not notice anything, but military people see it right away. Watch: When President Bush leaves his helicopter or Air Force One, the honor guards salute and face him as he disembarks, then turn their faces towards him as he passes by. They continue to salute his back as he walks away. This kind of salute has not been seen in the previous eight years, though it is customary courtesy to the Commander-in-Chief. You see, soldiers aren't required to turn and face the President as they salute. They are not required to salute his back. They are only required to salute. They can remain face-forward the entire time. And that is what they did during Bill Clinton's entire Presidency. Our soldiers were forced to obey Clinton's orders, but they were not forced to respect him. From their salutes, we can surmise that they did not. Why is such respect afforded to President Bush? He doesn't even know how to bite his lower lip and not get teary-eyed whenever he speaks! |
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The following incident from Major General Van Antwerp may give us an insight. Gen. Antwerp is president of the Officers' Christian Fellowship. He lost nearly all his staff when the Pentagon was attacked Sept. 11. His executive officer LTC Brian Birdwell was badly burned and in the hospital when President Bush visited him. Our President spent time and prayed with Brian. As he was getting ready to leave, he went to the foot of Brian's bed and saluted. He held his salute until Brian was able to raise his burned and bandaged arm, ever so slowly, in return. The Commander-in-Chief never initiates a salute, except in the case of a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. The injured soldier did not have to return the salute. But he did, out of respect to his President - a Soldiers' President. |
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George Walker Bush is George and Barbara Bush's first child. George W., shown here in 1947, was born on July 6, 1946, as his father was finishing his studies at Yale University. George Bush grew up in Midland Texas. |
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During the 1950s, fathers had relatively little to do with raising their children. Barbara Bush (right) became the authority figure in the Bush household, taking care of everything from emergency hospital trips to entertaining kids during neighborhood parties at the house. |
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In 1961, George W. left the freewheeling Texas lifestyle for puritanical New England, where he followed in his father's footsteps by attending Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. George W. told during one interview that his father had a "huge influence on my life." That influence continued as the younger Bush followed the pre-determined path set by his father and attended Yale University. |
Former enlisted Air Guardsman George W. Bush (left) has his second lieutenant bars pinned on by his father, George H.W. Bush during a September 1968 commissioning ceremony. |
George W. Bush applied to join the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968, less than two weeks before he graduated from Yale University. The country was at war in Vietnam, and at that time, just months after the bloody Tet Offensive, an estimated 100,000 Americans were on waiting lists to join the Guard units across the country. Bush was sworn in on the day he applied. He served as an F-102 pilot for the Texas Air National Guard 1st Lt. George W. Bush flew F-102 Delta Dagger fighter jets from 1970 to 1973 with the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Ellington Air Force Base, Texas. Anyone who flies in a high performance fighter is putting his A** on the line for country. |
Bush fulfilled two years of active duty and completed pilot training in June 1970. During that time and in the two years that followed, Bush flew the F-102, an interceptor jet equipped with heat-seeking missiles that could shoot down enemy planes. His commanding officers and peers regarded Bush as a competent pilot and enthusiastic Guard member. In March 1970, the Texas Air National Guard issued a press release trumpeting his performance: "Lt. Bush recently became the first Houston pilot to be trained by the 147th [Fighter Group] and to solo in the F-102... Lt. Bush said his father was just as excited and enthusiastic about his solo flight as he was." |
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In Bush's evaluation for the period May 1, 1971 through April 30, 1972, then-Colonel Bobby Hodges, his commanding officer, stated, "I have personally observed his participation, and without exception, his performance has been noteworthy." He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Three months after meeting on a date arranged by friends, George W. and Laura Welch (fourth and fifth from left ) married on Nov. 5, 1977. Laura Bush: "In a lot of ways I guess I felt like I'd known him all my life without really having known him that well." |
His worked in the oil and gas business in Midland in 1975, and worked in theenergy industry until 1986. In 1977, George W. Bush startled the political scene when he won the congressional primary against established candidate Jim Reese. After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, he assembled the group of partners that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989. |
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In 1981, George W. and Laura Bush added to the extended Bush clan when they had twin girls. They were named Barbara and Jenna, after their grandmothers. Over the years, the family retreat on the coast in Kennebunkport, Maine, became a place for the elder Bush to escape from the political landscape of Washington and a place of support for his son, George W., and his family. |
Cowboy George down on the Texas Ranch
Our cowboy and his girl , beautiful Laura
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In January 1995, George W. celebrated his inauguration as governor of Texas with Laura in a parade down Congress Avenue in Austin. In an historic re-election victory, he became the first Texas Governor to be elected to consecutive four-year terms on November 3, 1998, winning 68.6 percent of the vote. |
In 2001 George W. Bush became President of the United States of America. And Commander in Chief of our wonderful armed forces.
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Its a family thing, and we are glad. |
A chew toy away from the Presidency
. Spot , Barney their cat India President Bushs Favorites: Color Blue Ice cream Pralines and Cream Pastimes Reading, jogging, fishing, watching baseball games.
September 11,2001 Terrorists strike our homeland MURDERING Americans as well as people from many other countries. A man NOT a draft dodger, a MAN not a wimp strikes back in no uncertain terms. A MAN to be respected by the entire world. Our Commander In Chief, President Bush. President George W. Bush gives an emotional speech at the Pentagon October 11, 2001 |
"Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. " "Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network" "Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. " "This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom. " |
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"The civilized world is rallying to America's side. They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror, unanswered, can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments. And you know what -- we're not going to allow it." All quotes by President George W. Bush |
His quiet confidence let our enemies know that they made a grave miscalculation. Now, this same man who practiced his faith through a tough election, who steeled his convictions even more in a drawn-out Florida battle, and who never once gave in to the temptation to get in the gutter with his foes, this same man now lifted the weight of the world and the responsibility of a generation and put it on his modest shoulders as though it were another unpleasant duty.
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