By Brianna Holcomb

Arts & Entertainment editor

In order to accurately capture the entire span of a presidency, one would need a large amount of information, as well as time. The David Filderman Gallery was able to highlight many of the major aspects of not only one, but both of George W. Bush’s terms as president.

The walls and cases in the gallery on the 9th floor of the Axinn Library are filled with many of the unforgettable moments from Bush’s time as president. From his 2000 election, the attack on Sept. 11 and even his AIDS and malaria initiatives in Africa, this gallery looks to highlight many of the important moments while he served in office.

Many documents were needed to be able to showcase these moments. My personal favorite, or at least the most entertaining, was the political cartoons that were made throughout his time in office. These cartoons consisted of several artist such as Ann Telnaes, Sue Coe and Steve Breen.

My favorite cartoon features Bush giving John McCain and President Obama a tour of the White House where a rather happy pet tyrannosaurus rex with the word debt on him, lives in the backyard with a caption reading, “Rex comes with the house.”

Each cartoon depicted a point in the presidency, good or bad, that made Bush’s two terms more than memorable. Every display in the gallery was covered by one of these political cartoons.

On a more serious note, cartoons were not the only things found within the gallery. There are several documents as well as photographs and mementos that depict major moments during his terms.

One of the featured documents was a presidential statement from the Oval Office on Sept. 11, 2001. Along the wall in the glass case was also a picture of Bush standing with retired New York City firefighter Bob Beck on the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Each piece added to the gallery marked a moment in the United States history. Although many of these events happened over a decade ago, looking at the gallery made me feel as though they happened recently.

Major events such as Hurricane Katrina and Sept. 11 are depicted in this gallery through images, statements and even physical pieces connected to the events. For example, a pair of work boots were shown with a picture of Bush and firefighter Bob Beck.

These were not the only physical pieces within the gallery. A voting booth was placed to represent the 2000 election, along with a map depicting the electoral votes distributed form that night.

Even though the gallery did not highlight every policy or event that took place during the span of Bush’s two terms, the ones picked were meaningful and helped to give an overall feel of his time as president.

It was truly amazing to see these moments showcased and depicted across several different mediums. Walking throughout the gallery felt as though I was walking through a time capsule.