Plot

A chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.

Oliver Stone's biographical take on the life of George W. Bush, chronicling from his wild and carefree days in college, to his military service, to his governorship of Texas and role in the oil business, his 2000 candidacy for president, his first turbulent four years, and his 2004 re-election campaign.

Told in a non-linear fashion, the adult life of George W. Bush is presented, from his days in college to the end of his first term as US President. Issues presented include not being able to find his way in his early adult life but knowing that he wanted to have something to do with baseball despite not being a good enough player to make it into the majors, and concurrently with the Presidency of his father, George Bush, becoming a born again Christian with the "voice of God" directing him to do things, such as run for Texas Governor despite showing no interest in politics beforehand, run for US President, and as President direct the invasion of Iraq on the tenuous intel of Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction. That latter move was on the outward goal of homeland and global security without a mention to the public of the goal of oil security, and making this decision on his simplistic black and white view of the world that "you are either with us (the good guys) or against us (the bad guys)". Arguably the overriding issue in his life is his difficult relationship with both his parents, but most specifically his father, as W. was his father's namesake, but it was W.'s younger brother Jeb Bush who seemed to be following naturally in their father's footsteps and as such treated as the favored son.—Huggo

In 1966, George W. Bush (Josh Brolin) endures an alcohol-fueled initiation by his fellow Yale University students as a Delta Kappa Epsilon pledge. During the hazing, Bush successfully recalls the names and nicknames of many of the fraternity members, and states that his family's political legacy is one in which he has no interest. A little later, after Bush is jailed in New Jersey for rowdiness following a football game, his father, George H. W. Bush (James Cromwell), states that he will help Bush, but for the last time. Following his graduation from Yale, Bush takes a job at an oil patch back in his home state of Texas, but he quits after only a few weeks. Shortly after this, "Junior" reveals his real aspirations in a father-son talk: working in professional baseball, in some capacity. Soon afterwards, Bush is accepted into Harvard Business School with the help of his father. Later that night after drinking heavily, Bush crashes his car into his family estate and challenges his father to a fistfight. His brother, Jeb (Jason Ritter) intervenes and stops the fight.

In 1977, Bush announces he will run for Congress in Texas. At a barbecue, Bush meets his future wife, Laura Lane Welch (Elizabeth Banks). During his congressional debate, Bush is criticized by his Democratic opponent, Kent Hance (Paul Rae), who says that Bush is not a "real Texan" and has spent campaign contributions to throw an alcohol-fueled party for underage Texas Tech University students. Bush does poorly in the debate and loses the election, but with the highest number of votes for a Republican candidate in the state's history. Angered by his loss, Bush declares that he will "never be out-Texas'd or out-Christianed again".

In 1986, Bush becomes a born-again Christian, gives up alcohol, and somewhat mends his relationship with his father. The elder Bush invites him to assist with what becomes his successful 1988 presidential campaign, although Bush himself suspects that he only was asked because Jeb was busy. Bush's political advisor, Karl Rove (Toby Jones), tells him that he has the potential to make a name for himself, but has not yet done anything with his life. Bush becomes a front office executive of the Texas Rangers baseball team, while his father oversees the victory of the Persian Gulf War. Although Allied forces win the war within 100 hours, the elder Bush decides not to invade Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein. After his father loses the 1992 presidential election to Bill Clinton, Bush blames the loss on his decision not to depose Saddam.

In 1994, Bush decides to run for Governor of Texas despite his father's opposition. In 1999, he makes a successful bid to become President. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Bush labels three of America's enemies - specifically Iran, Iraq, and North Korea - as the "axis of evil". In 2002, Bush begins searching for evidence that Saddam was creating nuclear weapons, and has the army prepared. All of Bush's White House staff supports him except Secretary of State Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright), who states that planning to invade Iraq would destabilize the country. Powell is generally is overruled by Vice President Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn), who insist that the war - deliberately waged without an exit strategy - would secure the United States' status as sole global superpower while spreading democracy throughout the Middle East. In his State of the Union Address in 2003, Bush states that: "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists."

In March of that year, the U.S. invades Iraq and at first, the war appears to be a success, and Bush gives his infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech on an aircraft carrier. When it becomes clear that there are no weapons of mass destruction within Iraq, Bush learns that the responsibility for finding them had been relegated far down the chain of command. Bush also discovers that Saddam gambled his regime and his life on the assumption that Bush was bluffing. Bush is asked in a White House press conference what mistakes he made as President, a question that leaves him flustered and speechless.

That night, Bush has a nightmare in which his father accuses him of ruining his family's legacy, which the elder Bush claims was intended for Jeb. In the final scene of the film, Bush dreams of playing center field at a baseball game. Bush attempts to catch a pop fly, but it quickly disappears.