How America was Painted Red
And the American people voted for Bush and the Republicans both in presidential, congressional and other local elections, despite record unemployment and the deterioration of the Iraq war. For the first time since 1988, Bush won an emphatic election victory, with more than 50 percent of the votes and retained the presidency, but why?
Perhaps the Republicans read the mind of American people better and succeeded to pull their supporters to the ballot box better. The Republican strategy was built on reflecting Senator John F. Kerry as a leftist and weak leader in terms of family values and leadership. Much was made of Kerry’s conflicting voting record on the war and his tolerant approach to same sex marriage. At the risk of scaring away the electors at the center, the rhetoric was aimed to motivate the strong nationalist-conservative base of the party. They appealed to those at the center with propaganda claiming Bush as more reliable in the fight against terrorism and distracting them from the issues such as the Iraq War.
The appeal to traditional Christian values through the churches and evangelical Christians mobilized much support for the Republicans. Exit-polls indicated that the voters who gave importance in particular to national spiritual values were voting for Republicans. The participation of the youth vote, assumed to have democrat sympathies was not sufficient.
Experts predicted that the candidate who won two of the three big battleground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida would win the election. In fact, Bush won Florida with a surprising ease and Ohio with a comfortable enough statistical difference despite all the last minute Democratic expectations. After the hurricanes in Florida, Governor Jeb Bush contributed to his brother’s performance.
It was clear from the beginning that Kerry was a relatively weak candidate. A significant portion of Democrat voters were acting out of hatred of Bush rather than a passion for Kerry. The Kerry campaign made a big mistake by not pressuring his rival at the Boston convention. The Republicans took a double-figure lead in some areas through the salvos delivered at the New York convention. Television debates revitalized Kerry and the Democrat Candidate was able to close the gap on Bush. Bush’s spouse Laura gave the image of a lady while Kerry’s outspoken, foreign spouse Teresa drew a negative picture in general. It was also a blow that Democrat’s propaganda weapon, the former President Bill Clinton, was not on the campaign trail because of a sudden heart disorder. Kerry was cold in his addresses to the logic of voters, in comparison with Bush. If he had shown earlier the sincerity and emotion of his farewell speech, the result could have been different.
The country’s political map seems like a repetition of the 2000 elections. America is divided into a Democrat North and Republican South. The difference between the secular Democrats and religious Republicans in the country became more obvious. The "American Anatolia", the area outside the densely populated Northeastern coast and the West coast, was covered in the Republican red.
The strength of the Republicans is guaranteed to leave its mark on the country’s direction in the 21st century by appointing Supreme Court judges to replace those likely to retire soon and the US Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who has recently begun treatment for cancer. The Republican President, Senate and House of Representatives can now make historic decisions. It seems like that these elections will influence not only the course of America but also the world for much more than the next four years.
