Americans Choose Their President

After Bush and Kerry ended a frenzied final day of campaigning, during which their paths crossed at Milwaukee airport as one left and one arrived for rallies, the traditional first votes were cast in the New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville Notch just after midnight (0500 GMT).

With 11 registered Republicans, two registered Democratic voters and 13 independents, Bush won an early election day victory by a comfortable 19-7 margin over Kerry.

Across the rest of the country, polling centers were to open at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) in at least nine eastern states, including New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut and Indiana.

A huge turnout has been forecast with Iraq and the war on terror dominating the campaign, and widespread fears expressed of a repeat of the 2000 election debacle, the rest of the world is also anxiously awaiting the outcome.

US Papers

Meanwhile, US papers urged voters to turn out in masse to decide whether Bush deserves to stay longer or Kerry deserves a shot at presidency.

The Washington Post Tuesday pondered on the possible aftermath of the US presidential election, especially should George W. Bush be reelected, while The New York Times made a last minute pitch to Americans to go out and vote.

“It is no secret that many governments of US allies around the world, and especially in Europe, are hoping for Mr. Bush’s defeat,” said the Post adding that if Bush is returned to the White House anti-American feelings “could be greatly strengthened.”

“Bush could head off this backlash by quickly pledging to make the rebuilding of US alliances a priority of his second term and by promising to consult more often and more carefully with traditional American partners.

“If he is to manage the tremendous challenges he will face in Iraq, Iran, North Korea and elsewhere, Mr. Bush will need more international help. He would do well to say so immediately,” said the Post.

However, the Post added, “the challenge may be greatest for Mr. Kerry,” should he win.

After criticizing Bush’s leadership and with Iraq “at a crucial juncture,” he must show that his presidency “will not mean retreat from America’s commitment to hold elections and defeat extremist movements there.”

Under the title “Vote, No Matter What”, The New York Times urged Americans to do their civic duty “because the rest of the world has become disillusioned enough about the American political process.

“If people can ride donkeys over mountains in Afghanistan to choose among the decidedly imperfect candidates they were offered last month in their first democratic election, we can stand in line and force election officials to make sure our vote is recorded,” said the Times.

“If we start complaining now, perhaps we can fix things before it’s too late,” added the editorial, drawing a parallel between the electoral debacle in Florida in 2000 and “Athens in the age of Pericles.”

“On the presidential level, the popular vote really does matter, despite the Electoral College,” said the Times referring to the peculiar US voting system that gave Bush victory in 2000 in electoral college votes, even though his Democratic challenger Al Gore won the popular vote by over one million votes.

The USA Today daily wondered if there could be a repeat of the electoral nightmare of 2000 when final poll results were delayed by 36 days of legal wrangling over Florida’s results.

“With the candidates neck-and-neck in the polls and a dozen states rated as tossups, the nightmare of the 2000 presidential election easily could be back for an encore,” warned the nationally distributed newspaper.

“There is no easy answer to this, except one of conscience: Fight to make sure the election is fair,” added the USA Today editorial, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Bush, Kerry on the Papers

Incumbent George W. Bush and his Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry, meanwhile, used the pages of the USA Today Tuesday to issue their final urgings to voters.

In the twin commentaries, both titled “Why you should vote for me today,” both candidates repeated their well tried mantras and took parting shots at each others’ perceived failings, trying to convince voters to put them in the White House, AFP said.

Bush again said former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain was a “unique threat” and that the United States was “right to take action,” adding that it was “promoting freedom, hope and democracy in the broader Middle East.”

The president said Kerry “from the Cold War to the Gulf War to the war on terror … has been consistently and dangerously wrong,” and warned Americans that he would raise taxes and broaden the scope of government.

After saying the country had made “tremendous progress in only four years,” Bush asked voters “to build on the good work we have begun.”

Kerry drummed home his main theme that the United States “is headed in the wrong direction,” saying Bush had made “the wrong choices” and “catastrophic misjudgments in Iraq.”

He stressed again the missing “760,000 pounds (345,000 kilograms) of explosives” from an Iraq weapons depot, implicitly criticizing the Bush administration’s description of the cache as a small amount.

“It took just one pound of these explosives to blow up Pan Am Flight 103.”

Kerry reminded voters of his background as a Vietnam War veteran, saying he would “fight a smarter, tougher, more effective war on terror.”

The senator also tore into Bush’s domestic track record.

“He (Bush) has taken care of the special interests, but failed the middle class,” losing jobs and putting social security and health care at risk.

Kerry promised to lift the ban on stem cell research, save social security and “make America independent of Middle East oil within 10 years.”

“It’s high time America relied on its own ingenuity and innovation instead of the Saudi royal family,” said Kerry, adding that he would also spearhead a bipartisan effort to “restore America’s leadership in the world.”

It is only a bit over twelve hours before the answer to their pleas is known.