George W. Bush facing the greatest challenge of any President since Abraham Lincoln.

On September 11, 2001, George W. Bush became the first president of the United States to witness an attack by a foreign enemy on American soil since President James Madison was in the White House during the War of 1812. Within hours of al Qaeda’s terrorist assault on New York City and Washington, D.C., that killed close to 3,000 people, the president vowed that America would go on the offensive against terrorists and nations that harbor them. The next day, Bush formed a new Department of Homeland Security, on October 7 he sent American forces into Afghanistan to break up the Taliban, a movement under Osama bin Laden that trained, financed and exported terrorist teams. The Taliban was disrupted, but Bin Laden was not captured and remained on the loose as Bush began his second term. Following the attacks, the president also recast the nation’s intelligence gathering and analysis services, and ordered reform of the military forces to meet the new enemy. At the same time he delivered major tax cuts which had been a campaign pledge. His most controversial act was the invasion of Iraq in 2003 on the belief that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein posed a grave threat to the United States. Saddam was captured, but the disruption of Iraq, the killing of American servicemen and friendly Iraqis by insurgents became the challenge of Bush’s government as he began his second term. President Bush pledged in his 2005 State of the Union Address that the United States would help the Iraqi people establish a fully democratic government because the victory of freedom in Iraq would strengthen a new ally in the war on terror, bring hope to a troubled region, and lift a threat from the lives of future generations.

Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut while his father, George H. W. Bush was attending Yale University after service in World War II. The family moved to Midland, Texas, where the senior Bush entered the oil exploration business. The younger Bush spent formative years there, attended Midland public schools and formed friendships that would stay with him to the White House. Bush graduated from Yale, received a business degree from Harvard, and then returned to Midland where he too got into the oil business. In Midland he met and married Laura Welch, a teacher and librarian. The couple had twins, Jenna and Barbara, now out of college and pursuing careers.

George W. Bush became the eldest son of a former president to follow the same path when he entered the Oval Office at the age of 54. (John Quincy Adams was elected the sixth president of the United States in 1824, succeeding his father, John Adams, the second president.) And while John Adams had groomed his son to be a statesman and president, George H.W. Bush insisted he was surprised when the eldest of his six children became interested in politics, became governor of Texas, and then made his way to the White House.

Bush, the Texas governor, ran in 2000 for the presidency with the goal of making the United States a “kinder and gentler” nation. He was the Republican nominee on the first ballot at the party’s convention in Philadelphia.

During the early part of the campaign, Bush enjoyed a double-digit lead in the polls over his opponent, Vice President Al Gore Jr. But the gap closed as the election approached. Though Gore finally won the popular vote by 543,895 votes, victory or loss of the presidency hinged on Florida’s electoral votes, the Republican’s home state. That struggle through recounts and lawsuits worked its way to the Supreme Court. In the end Bush won the electoral count 271 to 266. His new administration was focused on “compassionate conservatism,” which embraced excellence in education, tax relief for people and families, and volunteerism among faith-based and community organizations.

Bush was challenged in his re-election bid in 2004 by Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry. The election was as close as the previous one, but Bush’s contention that the invasion of Iraq had made the world more secure against terrorism won the national political debate. Bush was re-elected with 51 percent of the popular vote to 48 percent.

On the inaugural stand, George W. Bush set the theme for his second term: “At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use but by the history we have seen together. For half a century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, and then there came a day of fire.

“There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant – and that is the force of human freedom – tested but not weary… ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.