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George W. Bush
Full name: George Walker Bush
Party: Republican
Birthdate: July 6, 1946
Age on Inauguration Day 2001: 54
Birthplace: New Haven, Conn.
Hometown: Midland, Texas
Family: Wife Laura; twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara
Current job: Texas governor
Career: Founder of an oil and gas exploration company in Midland, 1975-86. Senior adviser for President George Bush"s presidential campaign, 1988. Assembled group that bought the Texas Rangers in 1989 and served as managing general partner until elected governor. Served on boards of various charitable, business and civic organizations
Saturday, January 20, 2001
 George W. Bush inaugurated president
Text of Bush's inaugural speech
Bush speech emphasizes citizenship
President and Vice President oaths
Bush blocks Clinton's orders
Senate confirms 7 cabinet officers
Bush puts name back in White House
It's moving day at the White House
To look at an archive of previous campaign news, go to the archive calendar.
Abortion: Should be permitted in cases of rape, incest or if a woman"s life is jeopardized by the pregnancy, but has not made it a priority to pass a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortions.
Agriculture: Supports additional emergency assistance to help farmers move toward market-driven production and reform of the crop insurance program. Supports tax incentives to encourage farmers to establish tax-deferred accounts to help manage fluctuations in farm income.
Budget surplus: Future budget surpluses could be used to reduce taxes.
Campaign finance reform: Supports full disclosure of political giving and a ban on ŒŒsoft-money"" contributions from corporations and labor unions. Unlimited soft-money contributions now go to political parties to help candidates.
Defense: Supports $20 billion increase in spending on weapons research and development over five years. Called for spending an extra $1 billion a year to raise military salaries above current proposed raises. Vowed to deploy missile-defense systems, which would require abrogating the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Opposed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Education: Wants to provide $1,500-a-year scholarships to children in schools that receive federal funds for disadvantaged students but don"t show improvement on test scores after three years. Parents would have several options for using the scholarships, including paying private school tuition. Public schools receiving federal education dollars would have to test students, but a state could select the tests to be used.
Environment: Created a mostly voluntary program to reduce air pollution from about 800 Texas plants and signed a law that requires electric utilities to clean up their plants or close. Opposes the unratified treaty to cut greenhouse gases.
Gun control: Opposed to universal gun registration. Existing laws should be enforced. Supports instant background checks at gun shows and raising age for handgun purchases to 21.
Health care: Has called for expanding medical savings accounts and indicated that he would consider charging wealthier Medicaid recipients more for coverage. Supports strengthening tax incentives to small businesses that provide health care coverage for employees.
Presidential behavior: Will uphold the dignity and honor of the office of president. He refuses to answer questions about whether he"s ever used drugs and won"t discuss mistakes he made when he was younger because he doesn't want his daughters or other children to imitate bad behavior.
Social Security: Would allow workers to invest part of their Social Security payroll tax in private investment accounts.
Taxes: Has proposed a $483 million, five-year plan for cutting taxes. As part of the plan, he proposes to cut the number of federal income tax brackets from five to four, reduce the marriage penalty, increase the tax credit per child from $500 to $1,000 and eliminate estate taxes.
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| Should George W. Bush be worried about his race against Al Gore?
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Grade George W. Bush on the issues
Military: F-102 fighter pilot for Texas Air National Guard, 1968-73, but wasn't sent to Vietnam
Education: Yale University, B.A. in history, 1969; Harvard, M.B.A., 1975
Religion: Methodist
Web site: www.GeorgeWBush.com
E-mail address: To contact campaign, click here
Campaign office: Bush for President Inc., P.O. Box 1902, Austin, TX 78767. (512) 637-2000
Something few people know about me: "I don"t think people know I fish for largemouth bass."
Best political memory: The day he was first elected governor on Nov. 7, 1994
Hero: His father, former President Bush, who is a man of character, a wonderful father and loving husband
Favorite sports team: Texas Rangers
Favorite food: Mexican
Favorite drink: Diet soda
Car: Lincoln Town Car, provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety
Favorite movie: "Field of Dreams"
Favorite books: "The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston," by Marquis James; "The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement," by Robert J. Samuelson; "The Dream and the Nightmare: The Sixties' Legacy to the Underclass," by Myron Magnet
Favorite TV shows: "Biography" on the A&E channel; baseball
How would your wife describe you?: "She"d say that I"m a man who likes my own bed, likes my routine and that I bring her coffee every morning."
Quotable: "I"m running because I want to accomplish something. I want to change the bickering and rancor that exists in Washington, D.C."
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Take a break from serious political issues and find out what Al Gore would look like with
John McCain's nose and Bill Bradley's eyes!
