Ariana+H.

media type="custom" key="12095483" Ariana Heim Mr. Sherman Civics B110 20 December 2011 The Presidencies of the 21st Century From the year 2000 to now, the United States of America have had two impactful presidents: Barack Hussein Obama and George W. Bush. Both leaders have seen tough times in their presidencies. George W. Bush oversaw the War on Terrorism and Barack Obama still oversees a towering debt crisis. Also, both leaders have major criticism surrounding them constantly; comments on George W. Bush never seemed to have ceased, even after his presidency did. Obama and Bush, while not complete polar opposites, have very separate presidencies, which can be seen in their foreign, domestic, and campaign affairs. First, the presidents are different in their foreign affairs. When Bush was president, he dealt with what became the start of the War on Terrorism. At first, after 9/11, he pledged troops to Afghanistan for the infiltration of Al Qaeda camps. He believed the solution to the problem of terrorism was to go directly in and attack the source. He also sent troops into Iraq. Obama, on the other hand, wanted to try talking through issues more than fighting, that’s why he opted to withdraw troops. Next, Obama got the New START treaty through. Bush’s tactics were different where he wanted change: he was able to push through talks with Kim Jong-Il. Last, Obama was president during Osama Bin Laden capture and execution. This is different from the Bush administration in that they did not capture and question Bin Laden like they did Saddam Hussein, they just shot him. Both administrations effectively handled foreign affairs in different ways. Next, the presidents differ in domestic affairs. Bush’s administration focused more on the mental state of the country, where Obama looked at the economic state. During Bush’s presidency, 9/11 occurred. Following the decision to go into war, Bush’s administration approval rating sank, possibly due to the horrible event even occurring. In the Obama administration, the Healthcare reform was passed, which also angered quite a few people. Next, Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which severely impacts how and to the extent children are taught in America (the mental state). Obama, conversely, passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was focused at rebuilding the country’s economic status (the financial state). Last, both presidents acted in a controversial manner; Bush passed the Patriot Act, which violated the Constitution, and Obama appointed a new Supreme Court Justice, who was the first Latina ever to serve in this position. The presidents worked towards different goals to better their country. Finally, there are differences to be seen in how each president campaigned. Obama, first of all, is known as a more radical liberal, while Bush campaigned as a “compassionate conservative”. Bush won by a narrow margin in his second election. Obama, though, won by a large 12 % difference. During their campaigns, both had their pasts come back to haunt them. Obama’s church pastor arose as a sort of conspiracy theorist, saying America caused 9/11 and the created AIDS as a racial attack. Bush’s drunk driving arrest was muckraked from some time ago, and his opponent, Al Gore, would blatantly label Bush as unintelligent. Both of these presidents wrote books. Obama was even the highest African American in the legislative branch’s Senate for the time he was there (before he became president, of course). These presidents had very separate platforms to go on, but both campaigned and won. Both Obama and Bush were President of the United States, one of the most difficult jobs in the world. They handled their position different in many ways, like how they dealt with the debt crisis. Also, they were the same in some ways, still wanting to eliminate terroristic leaders like Hussein and Bin Laden. Their presidencies have been fraught with many different issues, and, as they are different people, they have dealt with these issues in manners different from one another. They differ in foreign, domestic, and campaign affairs, but both turned out to do some good for America.