The Son

George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States

July 6, 1946 Born in New Haven CT to a wealthy and influential family.

1964-1968 Enters Yale despite lackluster grades with the help of his father's influence. Receives a B.A. in History. Is initiated into Skull and Bones.

1972-1973 Serves in the Texas Air National Guard but is rarely seen.

1975 Receives MBA from Harvard.

Sept 4, 1976 Arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine for driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent. He pays the $150 fine and has his license suspended for two years.

Nov 5, 1977 Marries librarian Laura Welch in Midland TX.

1978 Runs for Congress but loses the election to Democrat Kent Hance.

1979 Begins active operations of Arbusto Energy, an oil and gas exploration company. One of his investors, through old friend James Bath, is Salem BinLaden, Osama's older brother.

1984-1986 Arbusto is devastated by the oil crisis of the late seventies. He sells it to Spectrum 7, but it too is brought to the brink of bankruptcy. Bush is saved once again, however, by a buyout from Harken Energy. Investing in the deal are Sheikh Bakhsh, a Saudi real estate tycoon. Also involved is Sheik Mahfouz, a Saudi banker who is later discovered to have funded Al-Qaeda through a Saudi charity.

July 6, 1986 Gives up alcohol on his 40th birthday. As he explains it later to friends, Laura had given him an ultimatum: "It's me or the bottle." He also becomes a born-again Christian, converting from Episcopalian to his wife's denomination, Methodism.

1989 Assembles a group of partners from his father's close friends and purchases the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball franchise. There are alleged improprieties in the venture, which earn $170 million, including the tactics used in acquiring the team, the stadium and the land on which it played, as well as its later sale to a family friend who would donate money to the Bush campaign in 2000. When the team is sold in 1998, Bush makes $15 million.

June 22, 1990 Sells two-thirds of his Harken stock for $848,560, a 200 percent profit. Less than two months later, Harken announces a $23.2 million loss in quarterly earnings and Harken stock drops sharply, losing 60 percent of its value over the next six months.

1992 Bush is accused of using insider knowledge when selling his Harken stock. An SEC investigation finds that Bush "did not engage in illegal insider trading". However it also noted that this "must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result." Critics allege that the investigation was influenced by the fact that Bush's father was President of the United States. As President himself, Bush has refused to authorize the SEC to release its full report on the investigation.

1994 He is elected Governor of Texas over incumbent Democrat Ann Richards. In 1998 he becomes the first Texas governor to be elected for two consecutive four-year terms. While in office, he signs the death warrants of 152 criminals, the most in any state in the union. He pushes through many legislative reforms favoring business interests over consumers. Texas is left with some of the worst air pollution in the country.

1999-2000 Bush runs for President. He raises over $100 million dollars for his campaign. A great many of his donors receive high-level government jobs after the election victory. Enron is one of his biggest corporate sponsors.

Jan 20, 2001 Despite losing the popular vote, Bush wins one of the closest general elections in U.S. history. The validity of the Florida vote is heavily disputed. The U.S. Supreme Court, a majority of which have been appointed by Republicans, declares Bush the victor. It is alleged the Bush's brother Jeb, Governor of Florida, illegally interfered with the election.

2001-2004 As President, Bush relentlessly pushes the following agendas through Congress: tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy; environmental protection cutbacks consistently favoring corporate interests; rollbacks on civil rights including the Patriot Act; erosion of reproductive rights; a ban on Gay marriage, and preemptive, unilateral invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

April 13, 2004 During his third press conference in three years, Bush flounders when asked whether he has made any mistakes in office. "I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I can plan for it. Uh... [...] I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet. I, uh... [...] I just haven't - you just put me under the spot here, and - maybe I'm not quick, as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one."