The Bush Presidency
Follow the milestones in George W. Bush's presidency in 2004.
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Mr. Bush proposes major changes to U.S. immigration law, saying temporary legal status should be granted to potentially millions of illegal workers in the United States, as well as those still in their home countries who can show they have a job offer in the U.S.
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In a new emphasis on space travel, President Bush proposes sending astronauts back to the moon by 2015 and establishing a base there as an eventual springboard to Mars and beyond.
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Mr. Bush uses a so-called "recess appointment" to bypass Congress and install Charles Pickering on the federal appeals court – a nomination Democrats had blocked for more than two years. The appointment is valid until the next Congress takes office in 2005.
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In his annual State of the Union address, Mr. Bush offers an optimistic view of the economy and defends his record on fighting terrorism. Unlike last year's speech, he avoids predictions about finding banned weapons in Iraq, but insists the U.S. mission there is just.
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President Bush sends Congress a $2.4 trillion election-year budget featuring big increases for defense and homeland security but also a record $521 billion deficit.
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Under increasing political pressure, President Bush names an independent panel to look into U.S. intelligence failures in assessing Iraqi weapons programs. Mr. Bush sets a March 2005 deadline for the panel's final report – five months after the presidential election.
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Facing election-year questions about President Bush's military service, the White House releases pay records and other information it says supports Mr. Bush's assertion that he fulfilled his duty as a member of the Air National Guard during the Vietnam war.
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President Bush announces he will back a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, saying he wants to stop activist judges from changing the definition of the "most enduring human institution."
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A year after ordering military strikes against Iraq, President Bush hails the anniversary as a "day of liberation" for the Iraqi people and calls on allies to remain committed to military action against terrorism.
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In his first direct response to criticism by Richard Clarke, his former top terrorism adviser, Mr. Bush denies he ignored al Qaeda threats before Sept. 11. He says if he'd had "any information that terrorists were going to attack" on Sept. 11th, "we would have acted."
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Mr. Bush signs legislation expanding legal rights for the unborn. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act makes it a separate crime to harm a fetus during commission of a violent federal crime against a pregnant woman. Critics fear the law could threaten abortion rights.
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In highly anticipated testimony on Capitol Hill, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice tells a federal commission that President Bush "understood the threat" of terrorism before the Sept. 11 attacks.
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In his first prime-time press conference since before the war, President Bush vows the U.S. "will finish the work of the fallen" and usher in a new era of democracy in Iraq. He also says he's ready to send more U.S. troops to Iraq if necessary.
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President Bush and Vice President Cheney answer questions from members of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. The three-hour closed-door meeting centers on how seriously the administration took the threat of al Qaeda prior to Sept. 11.
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In a rare appearance on Arab television, President Bush calls the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers and contractors "abhorrent" and promises a full investigation.
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Seeking to reassure Americans that the situation in Iraq is under control, President Bush outlines details for the June 30 transfer of power to Iraqis. He lays out five areas the U.S. will focus on, but offers no exit strategy for bringing American troops home.
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President Bush joins French President Jacques Chirac to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. Despite tensions between the U.S. and France over Iraq, both leaders stress the ties of friendship between the two countries.
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President Bush hosts leaders of major industrial nations at the G-8 summit in Sea Island, Ga. The group adopts a compromise version of Mr. Bush's plan to promote democracy in the Middle East but ties the effort to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, at European insistence.
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President Bush eulogizes Ronald Reagan as "an enduring symbol of our country" at a state funeral for the former president at Washington's National Cathedral.
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President Bush marks the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq from the U.S.-led coalition to an interim Iraqi government. "The Iraqi people have their country back," Mr. Bush says during a news conference at the NATO summit in Istanbul, Turkey.
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President Bush accepts the Republican nomination for a second term, telling delegates at the party's convention in New York, "We are on the path to the future – and we are not turning back."
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President Bush signs the most sweeping rewrite of corporate tax law in nearly two decades, showering $136 billion in new tax breaks on businesses, farmers and other groups.
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Amid heavy voter turnout, President Bush wins a second term with over 50 percent of the popular vote. A close vote in Ohio holds the final result until the morning, when John Kerry concedes. "We are entering a season of hope," Mr. Bush tells the nation.
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President Bush swears the oath of office for a second term as president of the United States, pledging to seek "freedom in all the world" as the surest path to peace in an era of terrorism across the globe.
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Credits:
CBS/AP
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