George W. Bush, at the age of 54, became the 43rd president of the United States, and also only the second President in American history that was the son of a previous President. The other was John Quincy Adams. George W. Bush also joined the club of only three other presidents to win the election without holding the popular vote, including John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Benjamin Harrison. Not even 9 months after being inaugurated, Bush faced the first attack on American soil, and an event that has changed the course of both US history and world history, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Bush responded by starting an unprecedented war on terror, sending American troops into Afghanistan to attempt to destroy the Taliban. The Taliban were successfully disrupted but their leader, Osama Bin Laden, was not captured and was still on the loose as Bush began his second term. His most controversial act was the invasion of Iraq on the belief that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein posed a grave threat to the United States. Saddam was captured, but the disruption of Iraq and the killing of American servicemen and friendly Iraqis by insurgents became the challenge of Bush’s government as he began his second term. This problem continued throughout his presidency, and finally in the past few years the drawdown of troops in Iraq has been started and almost completed. Bush campaigned for reelection in 2004 against Senator John Kerry and although the election was a good contest, 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 to 48 percent. Although Bush did not make major steps in his second term, but he did have to face the biggest natural disaster in recent American history: Hurricane Katrina. Overall, over the span of his presidency, although Bush may have been hated by many by the end, he had to face some very tough events, and very tough decisions.