Bush, George W. (1946–)

REPUBLICAN GEORGE W. Bush, son of George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States, and brother of Jeb Bush, governor of Florida, has built his political career on a strategic linkage between the Bush family's eastern establishment political networks and nationwide business connections, and a Texas-style populism reminiscent of the log cabin myth. As much as he liked to appear this way, the 43rd president of the United States, controversially elected in 2000, is clearly not your next-door neighbor, but belongs to one of the preeminent American political families.

George W. Bush pursued a career remarkably similar to his father, albeit initially with much less success, and often surrounded by controversy. He grew up in Texas, where his father had established himself as an oil ...