No one alive on September 11, 2001, will ever forget the shock and horror of that day.

The unthinkable happened.

Radical Islamic terrorists hijacked American airplanes and crashed them into buildings in New York and Washington, D.C., murdering 3,000 innocent people.

The attack shattered American sense of security. Surely another assault was coming, but when? Tomorrow, next week, next month? The question

preoccupied the nation's commander-in-chief, the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush.

If he had anything to say about it, the inevitable would never happen.

George Walker Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on July 6, 1946.

Although he came from a prominent New England and proud Republican family, his character was formed by his upbringing in Midland, Texas, where his father and future U.S. President George H.W. Bush built a successful oil business. A blue blood with a cowboy spirit, young George went to Yale and later Harvard Business School. But instead of

hitting the books, he hit the booze. Not surprisingly, his grades suffered. After graduating,

he went into the Texas oil industry. But unlike his father, he didn't find oil. He did,

however, find love. In 1977, he married Laura Welch, also of Midland,

Texas. Four years later, they had two children, twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. Bush loved his

family, but when he turned 40, he realized he had a drinking problem and needed to make a big

change. With the help of family

friend, the renowned Reverend Billy Graham, Bush became, in his words, a believing Christian.

He never took another drink. He channeled his newfound energy into his father's 1988 run for

the presidency. Bush's folksy, gregarious charm proved to be an asset on the

campaign trail. If he didn't have the family knack for finding oil, he did have the family knack

for politics. In 1992, his father lost his re-election to Democratic candidate Bill Clinton.

Bush took it hard. But ironically, the defeat opened the

door to his own political career. With the help of gifted strategist Carl Rove, Bush ran for

governor of Texas in 1994, taking on popular incumbent, Democrat, and Richards. She refused to take him

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