Free Essay on Leadership and Cognitive Bias

Political leadership plays a critical in the management of government and the people in a sovereign nation. Leadership skills are required of individual vying for any position of power in a given country. The country requires an individual with knowledge trans-versing economics, governance, education, and psychology. The selection of leaders through activities such as elections gives potential leaders a chance to get into political positions of power. A seat at the helm of presidency gives a leader supreme powers that are above all powers to any office within the sovereign state. It is important to acknowledge that cognitive bias or rational choice predicts the modes by which individuals make choices during voting. Rational choice predicts the choices that an individual will make when given the potential course of action, this usually depends on their objectives and beliefs of the instrumental relationship between these alternative goals (Dóci, Stouten and Hofmans, 2015). This paper is going to analyze the life and the impacts of George W Bush the retired president of the United States of America.

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Introduction

George W Bush born in 1946, served as the 43rd president of the United States of America. His tenure was between the year 2001 and 2009. Before getting into office, George W Bush was the two-time holder of the governor of Texas. George Bush studied at Harvard University and Yale University which landed him into the Texas Oil industry. He was a young leader right from his younger days; he is the first born of the Bush family. Leadership was a part of him in 2001 and when he got into office he was able to exercise his powers as the president. In tenure as president, the USA was hit by terrorists, the 911 attacks. This attack was game changing to the country; it was imperative that President Bush makes changes to his policies on security. He formulated the Homeland Security and he declared war on terrorism. He later launched attacks in Afghanistan (Facts, 2016).

2001-2005

The year 2001 marked the beginning of George Bush’s first term as president of USA. The terrorist attack of 2001 against America was life changing to the American people. The attacks left over 3,000 people killed in the aftermath. The following year saw to the attack of Afghanistan which was initiated by the American government in an attempt to destroy Taliban terrorist group which was suspected of harboring Osama Bin Laden, world’s most wanted criminal. The leader of the Republican Party did not flinch when it came to making a decision to save its citizens. George Bush put in military units all across Afghanistan that led to the killing of many people. The military effort saw to the annihilation of Taliban and their sympathizers. This indicated the power of the American military. Osama Bin Laden was never captured, in the military intervention.

In the spring of 2003, George Bush sent out its military against Iraq. Iraq needed to be apprehended as Sadam Hussein was considered to be a supporter of terrorist activities specifically the Al Qaeda. It was imperative that the president called for a tactic that would secure the life of the American people. This move was supported by the Department of Defense at the Pentagon due to other suspicions that Iraq harbored Weapons of Mass Destruction. In the course of the war, in December Saddam Hussein was captured and later executed through an open trial. The weapons of mass destruction were never recovered (Stiglitz, 2007).

After the waging war on terror groups across the world, President George Bush went ahead to solicit for support for a cross-cutting tax-cut bill. The tax bill benefited many Americans and industries within the country. It was imperative that the government developed a mechanism that would help reduce the expense of life and the cost of doing business Across America. He also passed the Medicare bill for prescription drug coverage program for the senior in society. He signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law. Through his advocacy as the president, he allocated billions of dollars to fight HIV/AIDS around the globe. He went ahead to create the White House of Faith-Based and Community Initiative. In his decisions as the president, he went ahead to remove the Kyoto protocol that was initiated and signed in 1997 by President Clinton on the basis that the US economy would suffer.

In the year 2004, the incumbent president George Bush ran for the presidency for the second term against the Democratic leader John Kerry. He narrowly defeated John Kerry with vote percentages at 50.7 and 48.3 percent. The American people voted him based on cognitive bias. This is in regards with the priorities of the American people at the rime. The citizen's major priority was security, based on the psychological state of the citizens it was bound that President Bush would take another term of presidency (Stiglitz, 2007).

Psychology and politics are critical parts of the same coin, the way people vote, their objectives, their reasons of preferences are always ruled by what they perceive to be right or wrong. Cognitive bias or rational choice It is important to understand peoples psychology when analyzing the way people can be convinced, either on policies based on their needs, wants, fears and objectives. President George Bush understood one thing out of all the principles of political psychology. The fears of the American people was what he focused on; he did everything in his power to apprehend anyone or group that was a risk to the security of the American people (Human Decision Making., 2011). He waged war when it was required of him against impending risks and future foreseeable risks. The American people voted him back into office due to his ability to eliminate the terrorists and secure the protection of all Americans all over the globe.