A look at the journey to the presidency
Documentary chronicles the path of George W. Bush
President George W. Bush was in office less than eight months before 9/11.
It was a devastating moment in American history, one in which Bush had to take the reins.
The two-part documentary “George W. Bush” chronicles Bush’s early life as a playboy and his journey to becoming president of the United States.
“What we learned is that the man elected learned how to be president by the time his two terms ended,” says Barak Goodman, writer and senior producer for Ark Media. “His presidency started off in turmoil with a national crisis and it ended that way as well.”
The documentary, presented by American Experience, will air at 8 p.m. Monday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 5, on New Mexico PBS.
It features insights from historians, journalists and members of the president’s inner circle, including chiefs of staff Andy Card and Joshua Bolten, press secretary Ari Fleischer and senior adviser Karl Rove.
Part one of the documentary is Bush’s unorthodox road to the White House. Few expected Bush, the once-wild son of a political dynasty, to ascend to the presidency.
Yet 36 days after the November 2000 election, Bush emerged the victor of the most hotly contested race in the nation’s history.
Little in the new president’s past could have prepared him for the events that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001. Bush’s response to the terrorist attacks would come to define a new era in American foreign policy.
Part 2 opens with the ensuing war in Iraq and continues through Bush’s second term, as the president confronts the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina and the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.
“George W. Bush took office less than 10 months before 9/11 ushered in a new era of fear, anger and uncertainty, as news of threat levels and anthrax scares became a daily occurrence,” said Susan Bellows, American Experience acting executive producer. “Twenty years after the dramatic Bush-Gore election of 2000 that introduced the term ‘hanging chad’ to our lexicon, this new film explores the evolution of George W. Bush’s character and how it shaped his presidency.”
Goodman says what makes George W. Bush such a fascinating subject is that he was one of the least prepared presidents in our history, yet faced some of the greatest challenges.
“Not since Lincoln has such an inexperienced leader been called upon in a moment of genuine existential crisis,” says Goodman. “How Bush evolved in office under these pressures — at first struggling mightily, but later finding his feet — illuminates not only his character, but the evolving nature of power and the presidency in an increasingly dangerous world.”