Inaugural Ceremonies for George W. Bush, January 20, 2005

The 2004 election made President George W. Bush the first presidential candidate since 1988 to win a majority of the popular vote, with 51 percent. Owing to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush's second swearing-in saw the tightest security measures of any inaugural ceremony. An ailing Chief Justice Rehnquist administered the oath of office for the final time on the largest inaugural platform built to date.