When you ask who was the president in 2007, the name George W. Bush likely pops up immediately, but the vibe of that specific year is often a bit of a blur. Honestly, 2007 was a weird, transitional bridge. We weren't quite in the total economic collapse of 2008 yet, but the cracks were absolutely starting to show. Bush was deep into his second term, and if you look at the approval ratings from Gallup at the time, he was hovering around the low 30s. It wasn't an easy time to be in the Oval Office.
People remember the boots-on-the-ground reality of the Iraq War more than anything else from that era. By the time January 2007 rolled around, the "Mission Accomplished" banner of 2003 felt like a lifetime ago. The country was exhausted. Bush was 61 years old, dealing with a newly Democrat-controlled Congress, and trying to figure out how to salvage a legacy that was being defined by a conflict that didn't seem to have an end date.
The Surge: Why George W. Bush Doubled Down in 2007
If you want to understand the presidency in 2007, you have to talk about "The Surge." Most politicians, when faced with a war that's losing public support, try to find the exit. Bush did the opposite.
In a televised address on January 10, 2003, he announced that he was sending more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq. It was a massive gamble. He wasn't just staying the course; he was accelerating. General David Petraeus was the man on the ground tasked with making this work. Critics—and there were many—called it a desperate move. Senator Barack Obama, who was just starting his own presidential run that year, was a vocal opponent.
The Surge is a classic example of Bush’s "decider" persona. He didn't care much for the polls. He believed that the Baghdad security plan was the only way to prevent a total sectarian civil war. Looking back, military historians still debate the efficacy of the move, but it undeniably changed the trajectory of the Iraq War during his second term.
Domestic Friction and a Changing Guard
It wasn't just Iraq. 2007 was the year Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House. This was a huge shift. For the first six years of his presidency, Bush had a relatively friendly GOP-controlled Congress. Now? He was facing a legislative branch that was ready to investigate everything from the firing of U.S. attorneys to the administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina.
💡 You might also like: Passive Resistance Explained: Why It Is Way More Than Just Standing Still
The Immigration Battle
One thing people often forget about 2007 is that Bush actually tried to pass a massive bipartisan immigration reform bill. He teamed up with Senator John McCain and Senator Ted Kennedy. Imagine that today! A Republican president and a liberal lion like Kennedy working together. They wanted a "pathway to citizenship," which sounds familiar because we're still talking about it twenty years later.
It failed.
The "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007" was killed by the base of Bush’s own party. They called it "amnesty." It was a stinging defeat for the White House and showed that even though Bush was the leader of the party, his influence over the GOP's grassroots was starting to wane.
The Quiet Hum of a Brewing Financial Storm
While the headlines were about troop surges and political infighting, the real monster was hiding in the housing market. In early 2007, the word "subprime" started appearing in financial news. New Century Financial, a big subprime lender, filed for bankruptcy in April.
Bush's economic team, led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, mostly stayed optimistic in public. They thought the "housing correction" would be contained. They were wrong. But in 2007, you could still get a mortgage with basically no paperwork. People were flipping houses like crazy. The iPhone launched in June 2007, and people were more excited about the touch screen than they were worried about their adjustable-rate mortgages.
📖 Related: What Really Happened With the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz
A President Under the Microscope
The 2007 presidency was also defined by the scandals that wouldn't go away. Remember Scooter Libby? He was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. In March 2007, he was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case involving Valerie Plame. Bush eventually commuted his prison sentence, which caused a massive political firestorm.
It felt like the administration was constantly on its heels. There was the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal, where The Washington Post exposed the horrific conditions for wounded veterans. Bush had to apologize and fire the Secretary of the Army. It was a year of accountability, often forced upon the White House by investigative journalism and a skeptical Congress.
Life Outside the War Room
Despite the heavy stuff, Bush tried to maintain some semblance of a normal "statesman" schedule. He took a high-profile tour of Latin America in March to counter the influence of Hugo Chávez. He hosted the G8 summit in Germany. He even designated a huge swath of the Pacific Ocean as a national monument—one of the largest marine conservation efforts in history.
People often miss that side of his presidency. He was an avid mountain biker. He spent a lot of time at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. In 2007, the "Western White House" was where he went to escape the humidity and the hostility of D.C.
Understanding the Legacy of Who Was the President in 2007
When you look back, the president in 2007 was a man caught between two eras. He was the last of the pre-social-media presidents. Facebook was only for college kids until late 2006. Twitter was barely a year old. The news cycle was fast, but it wasn't the 24/7 hyper-connected nightmare we have now.
👉 See also: How Much Did Trump Add to the National Debt Explained (Simply)
Bush's 2007 was about grit. He was convinced he was right about Iraq, even as his popularity cratered. He was trying to be a "compassionate conservative" on immigration while his party moved further to the right. He was watching the economy begin to tilt while hoping the free market would right itself.
Reality Check: What 2007 Taught Us
If you’re researching 2007 for a school project or just out of curiosity, don't just look at the dry facts. Look at the shift in the American mood. We were tired. The optimism of the early 2000s had evaporated, replaced by a cynical, watchful wait for the 2008 election.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Researchers:
- Analyze the Veto Power: 2007 was the year Bush started using his veto pen aggressively. He vetoed a bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and a bill that would have set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Studying these vetoes shows the friction between the executive and legislative branches.
- Look at the Judicial Appointments: Bush was still reshaping the courts in 2007. While most of the "big" Supreme Court stuff happened earlier (Roberts and Alito), the lower court appointments during this time set the stage for legal battles we see today.
- Check the Federal Budget: The 2007 fiscal year saw a deficit of about $161 billion. That seems tiny compared to today's numbers, but at the time, it was a major point of contention. Compare that to the 2009 deficit after the crash to see the scale of the change.
- Follow the Primary Trail: Even though the election was a year away, the 2007 campaign trail was where the future was being built. Study the speeches given by Bush in 2007 vs. the campaign promises of Clinton, Obama, and McCain. It’s a masterclass in political pivot.
The year 2007 wasn't just about George W. Bush; it was about the end of an American epoch. The global financial system was on the brink, the way we consumed information was changing forever with the smartphone, and the political divide in the U.S. was hardening into the partisan gridlock we know today.
Next Steps for Deep Research:
- Visit the George W. Bush Presidential Library website. They have digitized thousands of documents specifically from 2007, including internal memos about the Surge.
- Watch the 2007 State of the Union address. It’s the best primary source to see how the President framed his goals for his penultimate year in office.
- Read "Decision Points" by George W. Bush. His memoir provides a direct, albeit biased, perspective on why he made the calls he did during that pivotal year.