Liberty's Century: The Story of George W. Bush and the New Millennium

[Torqumada]

Well Cheney and Rumsfield are gone so there's a chance that Bush does stay out of Iraq. I think Cheney and Rumsfield were very influential in Bush's choice to go into Iraq.

Considering that they helped publish a paper that stated the US should intervene in Iraq in September of 2000 and that the official record have Rumsfeld saying on 9/11 that they needed to find a way to blame it on Saddam, I would say they were more than biased towards invading Iraq.

Torqumada

 

[OnlyAlb]

Considering that they helped publish a paper that stated the US should intervene in Iraq in September of 2000 and that the official record have Rumsfeld saying on 9/11 that they needed to find a way to blame it on Saddam, I would say they were more than biased towards invading Iraq.

Torqumada

Of course Cheney and Rumsfield were war hawks. Anything to get that oil. I mean Cheny was chairman of Halliburton. There's no doubt in my mind that the Iraq war was about resources.

 

[NickCT]

Liberty's Century
Part I: The First Term of George W. Bush

"You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can
agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions." - George W. Bush

---------------------------------------------------------------------​

Liberty's Century
Chapter 1: Welcome to Washington​

"The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings."
-George W. Bush​

The constant stream of rain could be heard on the roof of the Presidential Motorcade as it made its way from the White House to the U.S. Capitol building for the Inauguration of George Walker Bush as the 43rd President of the United States. The windshield wipers were going back and forth as President Clinton and the President-elect sat side by side, mentally preparing themselves for the event about to occur. There was an element of awkwardness to the car ride. Bush's father and Clinton had had a similar drive to the capitol eight years before. Now, Clinton was eight years older, had been President, had been impeached, and had witnessed a transformation of the world as it prepared for the new millennium. A lot had changed in eight years, and greater changes lied ahead for the next eight. As the two men sat there, starting some small talk and letting it die down before continuing on, the motorcade grew closer to the Capitol and Clinton's time in office wound to an end. Before they both exited the limousine, Clinton turned to Bush, "I left a note for you on the desk. I hope you find it helpful." Bush smiled and thanked the President. Their vehicle came to a stop, a member of the Secret Service opened their door, and soon they went opposite directions, only to meet again on the reviewing stand there the Presidency, and the powers entrusted with it, would be transferred from Clinton to Bush.

They did meet on the reviewing stand. The master of ceremonies, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, introduced Chief Justice William Rehnquist to administer the Oath of Office. The President-Elect walked to just behind the podium where he raised his right hand. The rain had cleared though much droplets of water coated the teleprompter and the soon-to-be President's coat. Laura Bush and the Bush twins, Jenna and Barbara, stood front-and-center. Laura held the Bush family bible -- the bible that George H.W. Bush had used and the one that his son was now going to use to take the Oath of Office. The Bushes were the second father-son duo to occupy the White House. As the historical nature of the event began to settle in with those surrounding the next President, Chief Justice William Rehnquist brought the crowd to a somber silence, "Mr. President-Elect, please repeat after me. I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear..."

Bush, wearing a coat over his blue-striped tie and white shirt, took a deep breath. His graying hair was neatly brushed, his eyes glistened against the gray of the sky, and his father stood just steps behind. Now was his moment. He repeated, "I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear..."

"...that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States..."

"...that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States..."

"...and will to the best of my ability..."

"...and will to the best of my ability..."

"...preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States."

"...preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States."

"So help me God."

"So help me God," Bush said. It was over. He was officially George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States of America. History had been made, the torch had been passed, and a hopeful nation looked on. It was time for Bush to deliver his inaugural address, his first opportunity to talk to the world from behind the seal of the President of the United States. He had yet to set foot in the Oval Office as Commander-in-Chief, but he was now the most powerful man in the nation, and in the world, and so he began: "Chief Justice Rehnquist," he said, the words echoing across the National Mall.

He proceeded to acknowledge the former Heads of Government, including his father, who joined him on the reviewing stand. He continued, "The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. With a simple oath we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings. As I begin, I thank President Clinton for his service to our nation." The opening of the address was ceremonial and very much that of the traditional inaugural address. The biggest words were yet to come, as the Inaugural Address of this new leader would mark the beginning of a doctrine that would not only change world history, but redefine America's responsibilities, priorities, and core beliefs. It was the beginning of a new era of American history, it was the beginning of liberty's century.

So much was at stake for the nation as it moved into the new millennium. President Bush was hopeful for the chance to move the country forward, and he already had big ideas about how to do it. He started by proposing a $1.35 trillion tax break, it was a major legislative gamble, but Bush remained convince that the time had come for a big tax cut for the American people. This, he believed, would mean a boost to the economy. Fiscal conservatives believed that a tax cut would give more money to people and that those people would spend their new money, which would help businesses.

In his address to the Congress on February 27, 2001, the President called for major changes to how the government did its business. He demanded less government spending, urging Senators and Congressmen to tighten their belts, and he went as far as to say, "I hope you will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt during the next 10 years." Little did he know then that disaster would intervene. The President was committed to finding a more fiscally-sound approach to government, and his speech on February the 27th proved that. He called for entitlement reforms and insisted on simplifying the tax code. The tax plan that he submitted that night consisted of numerous, wide-sweeping changes. If passed, the legislation would double the child care tax credit to $1,000. Additionally, it reduced the number of tax rates from five to four, and reduced what percentage of income was taxed. Bush called the approach "fair" and "equal" and insisted that it did a lot without going too far. His plan saved the typical family with two children $1,600 a year. The President maintained that this was real money and provided examples to the Congress about what people could do with an extra $1,600 a year.

By April, the debate about the Bush Tax Cuts was well underway as Democrats tried to accuse the president of gutting money from Medicare. The Democratic Proposal consisted of reducing President Bush's $1.6 trillion dollar tax cut by $158 billion. Republicans were opposed to this. They insisted that the proposal set forth by President Bush and his team would be strong enough to "pay for itself" and that Medicare was not being gutted by the Bush Tax Cuts. The Democrats fought back, saying that the Republicans had no respect for the elderly and uninsured. A war of words ensued. Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Senate Majority Leader, blasted Democrats for holding-up the tax cuts. "They're playing games when the people's money is at stake. The Republicans have introduced a very strong plan that would give the typical American family an extra $1,600 a year, but the Democrats just want to drag their feet," Lott explained. The Democrats fought back. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat from South Dakota, disagreed with Lott's assessment of the situation and called it a "vast generalization" that "left out many of the facts." On the floor of the Senate, debate continued about which side was right on the Medicare debate, but ultimately it didn't much matter. On a vote of 55-45, the Republicans got their way and the originality of the tax cut was preserved. Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island voted with the Democrats while Democratic Senator Zell Miller of Georgia voted with the Republicans on the issue. With the Medicare debate set aside, there was a lot going on in the other chamber of Congress that grabbed the attention of those watching.

In mid-April, the Republicans in the House were able to pass a repeal of the estate tax, sometimes called the "death tax," on a largely party-line vote. The amendment was added to the final language of the Bush Tax Cuts and was eventually passed in the senate version as well. The Republicans, through repealing the estate tax, had achieved a major legislative victory for themselves. The estate tax was long held as a Republican talking point and its repeal showed the GOP base that the Republican Congress was living up to expectations. The estate tax was one thing, but there was much more to discuss in terms of the final language of the Bush Tax Cuts. With public support on their side, the Republicans began to take the passage of the cuts for granted, adding it to the budget that was introduced by President Bush in April. Throughout the process of passing the legislation, the Republican Leadership in the House and the Senate fought hard to keep members in line. They told the members of their respective caucuses that the Bush Tax Cuts were President Bush's first chance to prove himself to the American people and failure of the measures would spell disaster for the Bush Administration and, as a result, the entire Republican Party. Members stayed in check and the argument over passage of the Bush Tax Cuts soon became ceremonial. With large Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate, the Bush Tax Cuts, formally known as the "Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001" passed the House and the Senate and were signed into law by President Bush on June 11, 2001. It was an incredible victory for the President and the Bush White House.

Internal memos in the White House suggested that the president next wanted to tackle the issue of education. He announced a nationwide tour of schools across the nation in hopes of talking with students, teachers, and parents about how best to reform the education system. While Secretary of Education Rod Paige played a major role in the reform, the President turned to longtime confidant Margaret Spellings to work with him on passing substantial education reform. He insisted that the 1st Century meant new beginnings and that it was time to provide children in school districts across America with a 21st Century education. On top of that, interviews with Bush Administration officials suggested that the president wanted to be known as the "Education President" in history books that retold the story of his time in office. Of course, an ability to predict the future could have told any of the members of the Bush White House that such a title would not happen and that there was little they could do to prevent that.

The disconnect between the FBI, CIA, and other homeland security agencies would eventually result in a catastrophic situation for the nation. Throughout much of President Bush's first year in office, the defense mechanisms in place were weak and an inability to communicate -- and a hostility between the agencies -- threatened American lives. The 1967 film Cool Hand Luke contains a quotation that applied to these various agencies. "What we've got here is a failure to communicate," says the captain in the movie. The failure to effectively communicate grave intelligence details between the agencies sounds like a large problem on paper, yes, but it was an even bigger problem in reality. It was going to be a leading contributor to the event that would forever shape the President's legacy. The advisers closest to President Bush also ignored the problem and as a result it went unfixed. This ignorance would leave the administration in a tight position in the weeks and months to come.

While this problem grew, the President was out across the United States. He met with various leaders of statewide governments and worked to gain their desires for education reform. Eventually, he was reaffirmed in a previous commitment of his: while there needed to be federal guidelines for education, it was best to leave a lot of the responsibilities of reform to the state governments and local municipalities. The Bush Education Agenda soon became outlined through various speeches that the President gave across his nationwide tour. As autumn grew closer, the President began visiting several big states to tout his plan for education. By reading the subtext of his speeches and addresses, the media was able to piece together what they felt the President would unveil during the 2002 State of the Union Address about education. Ultimately, they wouldn't have that chance.

 

[NickCT]

Next Update: Chapter 2, Hell on Earth on 7/6

 

[JVM]

Brilliant update, giving a real eye into Bush's domestic policy ideals and initiatives before foreign policy changed everything. The foreshadowing isn't too much or too little, but it's going to prove interesting soon. Nice job.

 

[d32123]

Awesome update. KUTGW

 

[Dan1988]

Interesting update. Close to OTL, but I'm sure the butterflies will be flapping before long.

 

[OnlyAlb]

So I'm guessing that the next update is about 9/11. When it comes to the Middle East what will Bush's policy be towards Iran? Will he be more agressive then OTL? Will there possibly be a war with Iran?

 

[joea64]

This sounds like, for whatever reason, al Qaeda pulls the trigger on its mass-hijacking operation close to two months earlier than OTL. I wonder what impelled them to do so and what effect this change will have...

 

[NickCT]

Interesting update. Close to OTL, but I'm sure the butterflies will be flapping before long.

Biggest difference right now is the repeal of the estate/death tax.

 

[Dan1988]

Biggest difference right now is the repeal of the estate/death tax.

Yes, that's the one change.

(BTW, please no NCLB! If he reforms education, have him go in a different direction by, say, embracing the CIM/CAM idea as part of his American Competitiveness Initiative. The Initiative sounds like a better way forward, so it would be interesting if that is how he starts his education reforms. Say, model the CAM on both the IB Diploma Programme and the APs and a partial model of the CIM on the IB's Middle Years Programme.)

 

[vultan]

So I just realized that a more successful Bush presidency might actually be a net positive for gay rights.

In this story, Bush is almost certainly going to go into the 2004 election with a bigger advantage than in real life, and with almost certainly win by a much bigger margin, both in the Electoral College and in the popular vote. And because he'll be polling better, there will be no need for Karl Rove and friends to bring stir up opposition to same-sex marriage to get votes. Meaning you won't get movements to ban it in many states that it was banned in historically.

 

[d32123]

I wouldn't be surprised if they do it anyway, tbh.

 

[MrHuman]

Welp, the estate tax is gone, so that's not a good signal.

 

[vultan]

I wouldn't be surprised if they do it anyway, tbh.

Well, there still will be some sort of movement to ban SSM on the part of social conservatives, certainly, but I think without a competitive 2004 election, there will be less of an impetus for Rove and co to throw their weight behind it.

 

[Rich Rostrom]

I don't blindly hate [Woodrow Wilson]... but..... the pros to him being president are dwarfed by all of the other cons, up to his massive imposed taxes, to his latent racism.

ITYM his blatant racism. Wilson was a flat-out white supremacist Southerner, and there was never any secret about it.

 

[Rich Rostrom]

Of course Cheney and Rumsfield were war hawks. Anything to get that oil. I mean Cheny was chairman of Halliburton. There's no doubt in my mind that the Iraq war was about resources.

Which is really funny, because the U.S. did not seize any oil in Iraq, nor any oil revenue. What the U.S. accomplished was to remove Saddam, so the UN restrictions on Iraqi oil sales could be lifted. Iraq could now sell all its oil, and collect a lot more revenue.

Boy, that villain Cheney!

 

[OnlyAlb]

Which is really funny, because the U.S. did not seize any oil in Iraq, nor any oil revenue. What the U.S. accomplished was to remove Saddam, so the UN restrictions on Iraqi oil sales could be lifted. Iraq could now sell all its oil, and collect a lot more revenue.

Boy, that villain Cheney!

Yes they removed Saddam and in turn Privatized Iraq’s Oil Industry. Of course the good thing about removing Saddam was that he could no longer continue his plan of selling oil for Euros which would of damaged the value of the dollar. Also if Iraq is collecting a lot more revenue where is the money going? Is it helping Iraq in anyway? No, not even. You could even make the argument that Iraq is in a worse place because of the US invasion. It is now lead by an corrupt-puppet government. I guess that's fine since the government will do anything the US wants. Also you can add in the fact that the country is crawling with terrorists and torn apart by religious tensions. I'm sure that those 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians think of Cheney as a great hero. Most wars are fought for resources and currency.

 

[SargentHawk]

ITYM his blatant racism. Wilson was a flat-out white supremacist Southerner, and there was never any secret about it.

yep, that's what i meant.

 

[joea64]

People, if you want to argue the pros and cons of OTL Iraq, take it to Chat. Let Nick get on with his ATL and you can argue the pros and cons of ATL Bush's policies here.