On November 7, 2000, George W. Bush was elected as the 43rd President of the United States of America. After running against Democratic nominee Al Gore, Bush lost the
County-by-county results of the 2000 election. Source: mob-rule.c2004
popular vote and won the electoral college. A great controversy arose around the election causing the Florida recount. Many liberals were left fuming over their loss, as Bush appealed greatly to the conservatives in the country.
The main areas of debate in the election of 2000 included oil, abortion, foreign policy and when to use the U.S. Force, social security, and public education.1 The candidates had very opposing opinions on nearly every area of debate, Bush with a much more conservative outlook than Gore. The polls were very close, and overall it was a well-run race.
Three issues that were at the forefront of the 2004 election included the war on terror, the war in Iraq, and the economy. When it came down to choosing a candidate, “terrorism… was the issue that was most important to the greatest number of people, so the impact of that evaluation on the thermometer difference was greater than the others”.2 Though Bush made an extraordinary amount of controversial decisions, enough people admired his approach to fighting terrorism that he stayed in office.
County-by-county results of the 2004 election. Source: wikepedia.org
Furthermore, his conservative views continued to draw people into his campaign, and “by March of 2004, Gallup data showed that Bush’s approval rating was 91% among Republicans and only 17% among Democrats”.2 Conservatives were continually pleased with the president’s decisions, though he did not do well in finding a common ground to win over many democratic votes.
On November 2nd, George W. Bush was voted in for a second term in office, with 50.7% of the popular vote over John Kerry, the Democratic nominee.
1 “THE 2000 CAMPAIGN; Transcript of Debate Between Vice President Gore and Governor Bush.” New York Times. N.p., 4 Oct. 2000. Web.
2 Abramson, Paul R., John H. Aldrich, Jill Rickershauser, and David W. Rohde. “Fear in the Voting Booth: The 2004 Presidential Election.” Political Behavior29.2 (2006): 197-220. Web.
In The Wake 