Background

George Walker Bush

George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) served as

the 43rd President of the United States from 2001

to 2009. He also served as the 46th Governor of Te

xas from 1995 to 2000.

Bush is the eldest son of George H. W. Bush (the

41st President) and Barbara Bush; he is one of only

two Presidents to be the son of a preceding

President (the other was John Quincy Adams).

After graduating from Yale University in 1968,

and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush

worked in his family's oil businesses.

He married Laura Welch in 1977 and unsuccessfully

ran for the United States House of Representatives

shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas

Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann

Richards to become Governor of Texas in 1994. In a

close and controversial election, Bush was elected

President in 2000 as the Republican candidate,

receiving a majority of the electoral votes while

losing the popular vote to then-Vice President Al

Gore.

Eight months into Bush's first term as president, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred. In response, Bush announced a global War on Terrorism, ordered an invasion of Afghanistan that same year and an invasion of Iraq in 2003. In addition to national security issues, Bush promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, and social security reform. He signed into law broad tax cuts, the No Child Left Behind Act and Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors. His tenure saw a national debate on immigration and social security.

Bush successfully ran for re-election against Democratic Senator John Kerry in 2004, garnering 50.7% of the popular vote to his opponent's 48.3%. After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from conservatives. In 2005, the Bush Administration dealt with widespread criticism over its handling of Hurricane Katrina. In December 2007, the United States entered the longest post-World War II recession, prompting the Bush Administration to take more direct control of the economy, enacting multiple economic stimulus packages. Though Bush was a popular president for much of his first term, his popularity declined sharply in his second.

After leaving office, Bush returned to Texas. He is currently a public speaker and is writing a book about his presidency.

Background of the Speech

U.S. President George Bush delivers his farewell address to the American people at 01:01:30 UTC.

While most recent presidential farewells have been broadcast from the White House Oval Office, Mr. Bush will speak from the much larger East Room, where he will have an audience featuring a number of Americans he met during his presidency.

President Bush is preparing to deliver the final speech of his presidency. He previewed the speech earlier in the day, during a visit to the State Department.

In the day time, he said, "Tonight I'm going to give a farewell address to the American people. It's going to be a short one, you see. But it's got a lot of meaning to it, as far as I'm concerned. I'm going to urge our nation to continue to engage the world with confidence - confidence in the transformative power of freedom and liberty." Mr. Bush will spend his final weekend as president at Camp David, the presidential retreat near Washington. His final public appearance is on Tuesday, when he greets President-elect Barack Obama at the White House before they ride together to the Capitol for Mr. Obama's swearing-in.

Words and Expressions

vitality

Vigour; If you say that someone or something has vitality, you mean that they have great energy and liveliness. e.g. Without continued learning, graduates will lose their intellectual vitality.

generosity

Opposite: meanness; If you refer to someone's generosity, you mean that they are generous, especially in doing or giving more than is usual or expected. e.g. There are stories about his generosity, the massive amounts of money he gave to charities.

rubble

When a building is destroyed, the pieces of brick, stone, or other materials that remain are referred to as rubble. e.g. Thousands of bodies are still buried under the rubble.

shield A shield is a large piece of metal or leather which soldiers used to carry to protect their bodies while they were fighting.Or a shield is a sports prize or badge that is shaped like a shield.

e.g.The shield protected him from the blows of his enemy.

badge

A badge is a piece of metal or cloth which you wear to show that you belong to an organization or support a cause.

e.g. He was awarded a merit badge for his bravery in the battle.

vow

If you vow to do something, you make a serious promise or decision that you will do it. e.g. While many models vow to go back to college, few do.

ally A country's ally is another country that has an agreement to support it, especially in war. e.g. Washington would not take such a step without its allies' approval.

dictatorship

A dictatorship is a country which is ruled by a dictator or by a very strict and harsh government. e.g. Every country in the region was a military dictatorship.

sworn

Sworn is the past participle of swear. If two people or two groups of people are sworn enemies, they dislike each other very much. e.g. It somehow seems hardly surprising that Ms Player is now his sworn enemy.

tribute

If one thing is a tribute to another, the first thing is the result of the second and shows how good it is. e.g. His success has been a tribute to hard work, to professionalism.

toil

When people toil, they work very hard doing unpleasant or tiring tasks. e.g. People who toiled in dim, dank factories were too exhausted to enjoy their family life.

fanatic

extremist; If you describe someone as a fanatic, you disapprove of them because you consider their behaviour or opinions to be very extreme, for example in the way they support particular religious or political ideas. e.g. I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.

dissident

Dissidents are people who disagree with and criticize their government, especially because it is undemocratic.

e.g. they are political dissidents.

vulnerable

Someone who is vulnerable is weak and without protection, with the result that they are easily hurt physically or emotionally. e.g. Old people are particularly vulnerable members of our society.

setback

A setback is an event that delays your progress or reverses some of the progress that you have made. e.g. The move represents a setback for the Middle East peace process.

complacency Complacency is being complacent about a situation.A complacent person is very pleased with themselves or feels that they do not need to do anything about a situation.

e.g. She warned that there was no room for complacency on inflation.

let down

Deflate; If you let down something such as a tyre, you allow air to escape from it.

e.g. Remove wheelnuts, let down tyre, put on spare.

isolationism If you refer to isolationism, you are referring to a country's policy of avoiding close relationships with other countries and of not taking sides in disputes between other countries.

e.g. The country is at the perils of isolationism.

protectionism

Protectionism is the policy some countries have of helping their own industries by putting a large tax on imported goods or by restricting imports in some other way. e.g. we expect to promote free trade and avert increasing protectionism.

optimism

opposite to pessinism; Optimism is the feeling of being hopeful about the future or about the success of something in particular. e.g. The Indian Prime Minister has expressed optimism about India's future relations with the USA.

ambush

An ambush is an attack on someone by people who have been hiding and waiting for them. e.g. A policeman has been shot dead in an ambush.

petition

A petition is a document signed by a lot of people which asks a government or other official group to do a particular thing. e.g. We recently presented the government with a petition signed by 4,500 people.

deploy

To deploy troops or military resources means to organize or position them so that they are ready to be used. e.g. The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.

legacy

A legacy is money or property which someone leaves to you when they die. e.g. You could make a real difference to someone's life by leaving them a generous legacy.

resilient

People and things that are resilient are able to recover easily and quickly from unpleasant or damaging events. e.g. When the U.S. stock market collapsed in October 1987, the Japanese stock market was the most resilient.

falter

If you falter, you lose your confidence and stop doing something or start making mistakes. e.g. I have not faltered in my quest for a new future.

privilege

You can use privilege in expressions such as be a privilege or have the privilege when you want to show your appreciation of someone or something or to show your respect. e.g. It must be a privilege to know such a man.