George W. Bush

=== Family and personal life ===
{{See also|Bush family}}
Bush was engaged to Cathryn Lee Wolfman in 1967, but the engagement did not last. Bush and Wolfman remained on good terms after the end of the relationship.<ref>Fleck, Tim (March 25, 1999). [http://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-woman-george-w-bush-didnt-marry-6567437 "The Woman George W. Bush Didn't Marry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305202624/http://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-woman-george-w-bush-didnt-marry-6567437 |date=March 5, 2018 }}. ''Houston Press.com''. Retrieved April 4, 2019.</ref> While Bush was at a backyard barbecue in 1977, friends introduced him to [[Laura Welch]], a schoolteacher and librarian. After a three-month courtship, she accepted his marriage proposal and they wed on November{{nbs}}5 of that year.<ref name="readherlips">{{cite news |title=Read her lips: Literacy efforts on first lady's agenda |url=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/bush/profile.html |publisher=CNN |date=April 8, 2001 |access-date=May 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512225849/http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/bush/profile.html |archive-date=May 12, 2008}}</ref> The couple settled in Midland, Texas. Bush left his family's [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] to join his wife's [[United Methodist Church]].<ref name="um">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/etc/script.html |title=The Jesus Factor |access-date=September 1, 2008 |publisher=[[PBS]] |archive-date=August 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830102613/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/etc/script.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 25, 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to [[fraternal twin]] daughters, [[Barbara Bush (born 1981)|Barbara]] and [[Jenna Bush Hager|Jenna]].<ref name=readherlips /> Bush describes being challenged by [[Billy Graham]] to consider faith in Jesus "Christ as the risen Lord", how he began to read the Bible daily, "surrendering" to the "Almighty", that "faith is a walk" and that he was "moved by God's love".<ref>{{cite book|title=Decision Points|publisher=Random House | first=George W. | last=Bush|isbn=978-0-7393-7782-6 | year=2010 | pages=47–49}}</ref>

==== Alcohol abuse ====
Prior to getting married, Bush struggled with multiple episodes of [[alcohol abuse]].<ref name="Life-changing">{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Lois |last2=Lardner |first2=George Jr. |title=Bush's Life-Changing Year |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072599.htm |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 25, 1999 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207101528/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072599.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In one instance on September 4, 1976, he was pulled over near his family's summer home in [[Kennebunkport, Maine]], for [[Drunk driving|driving under the influence of alcohol]]. He was arrested for DUI, fined $150, and received a brief suspension of his Maine driver's license.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdmv1.html |title=2000 Driving Record |date=November 2, 2000 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |publisher=Department of the Secretary of State of Maine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915165849/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdmv1.html |archive-date=September 15, 2008 |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Adam |title=Fallout From A Midnight Ride |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998465,00.html |magazine=Time |date=November 13, 2000 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524075710/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C998465%2C00.html |archive-date=May 24, 2008}}</ref> Bush said his wife has had a stabilizing effect on his life,<ref name=readherlips /> and he attributes her influence to his 1986 decision to give up alcohol.<ref name="turningpoint">{{cite news |date=January 23, 2000 |url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2000/01/23/george_w_bush/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012215629/http://boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2000/01/23/george_w_bush/ |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |title=Turning Point: George W. Bush, A Legacy Reclaimed |last=Leonard |first=Mary |access-date=September 1, 2008 |work=The Boston Globe }}</ref> While governor of Texas, Bush said of his wife, "I saw an elegant, beautiful woman who turned out not only to be elegant and beautiful, but very smart and willing to put up with my rough edges, and I must confess has smoothed them off over time."<ref name=readherlips /> Bush also claims that his faith in God was critical in the process to give up drinking. "I believe that God helped open my eyes, which were closing because of booze".<ref>{{cite book|title=Decision Points|publisher=Random House | first=George W. | last=Bush|isbn=978-0-7393-7782-6 | year=2010 | page=51}}</ref>

==== Hobbies ====
Bush has been an avid reader throughout his adult life, preferring biographies and histories.<ref name="wp-cohen">{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Richard |title=George W. Bush as an Avid Reader |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 30, 2008 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901896.html |access-date=August 6, 2014 |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812164011/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901896.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During his presidency, Bush read the Bible daily,<ref name="bushmuseumofthebible">{{cite web |last1=Gryboski |first1=Michael |date=November 5, 2014 |title=George W. Bush Says He Read the Bible Every Day of His Presidency, at Museum of the Bible Event |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/george-w-bush-says-he-read-the-bible-every-day-of-his-presidency-at-museum-of-the-bible-event-129122/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102161422/https://www.christianpost.com/news/george-w-bush-says-he-read-the-bible-every-day-of-his-presidency-at-museum-of-the-bible-event-129122/ |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |access-date=July 15, 2022 |website=The Christian Post |publication-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref> though at the end of his second term he said on television that he is "not a literalist" about Bible interpretation.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 15, 2021|title=Bible probably not true, says George Bush|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3686695/Bible-probably-not-true-says-George-Bush.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3686695/Bible-probably-not-true-says-George-Bush.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Daily Telegraph|date=December 9, 2008 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 15, 2021|title=Excerpts: Cynthia McFadden Interviews President George W. Bush|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Politics/story?id=6418908&page=1|website=ABC News|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515030911/https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Politics/story?id=6418908&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Walt Harrington]], a journalist, recalled seeing "books by [[John Fowles]], [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]], [[James Joyce]], and [[Gore Vidal]] lying about, as well as biographies of [[Willa Cather]] and [[Queen Victoria]]" in his home when Bush was a Texas oilman. Other activities include cigar smoking and golf.<ref name="harrington2011">{{cite news|last=Harrington|first=Walt|date=August 25, 2011|title=Dubya and Me|work=The American Scholar|url=https://theamericanscholar.org/dubya-and-me/|access-date=September 10, 2011|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327233614/https://theamericanscholar.org/dubya-and-me/|url-status=live}}</ref> Bush has also painted many paintings. One of his best-known projects is a collection of 43 paintings of immigrants, titled ''Out of Many, One''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/exhibitions/out-of-many-one-portraits-of-americas-immigrants/ | title=Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants &#124; Exhibitions | access-date=June 1, 2022 | archive-date=May 22, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522211234/https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/exhibitions/out-of-many-one-portraits-of-americas-immigrants/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Another painting project was ''Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute To America's Warrior''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bushcenter.org/exhibits-and-events/exhibits/2017/portraits-of-courage-exhibit.html | title=Portraits of Courage &#124; Bush Center | access-date=June 1, 2022 | archive-date=May 31, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531204227/https://www.bushcenter.org/exhibits-and-events/exhibits/2017/portraits-of-courage-exhibit.html | url-status=live }}</ref>