Their colleagues assisting matters outside-like all Americans-were shocked and horrified to see those towers collapse, killing hundreds of the rescue workers and thousands of people who had been trapped inside. Total casualties from September 11, 2001, were nearly 3,000 people.The Taliban leadership was driven into the mountains and across the borders into neighboring countries, including Pakistan. Those early successes, however, turned into the longest war in American history, and the President never was able to achieve the greatest symbolic goal of the effort, the killing or capturing of the mastermind of the attacks, Osama bin Laden; U.S. special forces achieved that goal in 2011 under Bush’s successor, President Barack …show more content…
Bush was 62 years old when his presidential term ended. He left office with a dismal 33 percent approval rating and with 60 percent of the American public believing that he would be considered below average as President in the annals of history. When confronted with this situation, Bush wittily replied, “I was also the most popular president,” which he was following his response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Upon leaving office, Bush returned to Midland, Texas, and promptly took up residence at his beloved Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. No typical politician, he seemed to enjoy the relaxation and time away from power. Bush read several books about George Washington during the final year of his presidency and said that if historians were still analyzing the first President, then the 43rd would never fully discover how history viewed his own administration. Political adviser Karl Rove stated that despite the possibility of regrets, Bush “has an inner confidence…that what he did was right.” After leaving office, Bush lived a quiet life in Texas and largely refrained from any connections to politics, particularly resisting opportunities to criticize his successor. George and Laura also bought a home in an exclusive Dallas neighborhood near Southern Methodist University. The former President quickly became a part of the Dallas community, attending local events and hosting barbecues at his home. He supplemented his income with paid speeches