The Election of 2004
The last time an incumbent sitting President ran for re-election was eight short years ago in 2004 when George W. Bush achieved the feat, winning over his Democratic rival. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. It was surprising in some respects because Bush had failed to win a majority of the popular vote in 2000, and because the nation was involved in two wars which strained Bush's popularity. In fact Kerry led in the polls for a time.
George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 after the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore remanded the case to the Florida Supreme Court, which declared there was not sufficient time to hold a recount without violating the U.S. Constitution. Just eight months into his presidency, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 suddenly transformed Bush into a wartime president and his approval ratings surged to near 90%. Shortly thereafter, the forces of a coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan and by December, the Taliban had been removed as rulers of the nation. A long and ongoing reconstruction followed, accompanied by on-going violence.
The Bush administration embarked on a campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, alleging that Saddam's regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to have previously possessed, and believed to still maintain. The position was taken that the possession of these weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the failure to account for them, violated the U.N. sanctions. Other major powers including China, France, Germany, and Russia remained unconvinced that Iraq was a threat and refused to allow passage of a UN Security Council resolution to authorize the use of force.
The United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, along with a "coalition of the willing" that consisted of additional troops from the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent, from Australia and Poland. the invasion caused the early collapse of both the Iraqi government and its armed forces, but the allied forces failed to find any WMD in Iraq. The occupation of Iraq lost support as months passed and casualty figures increased, with little apparent progress toward stability in the region.
By summer of 2003, Howard Dean had become the apparent front runner for the Democratic nomination, performing strongly in most polls and leading the pack with the largest campaign war chest. Dean's strength as a fund raiser was attributed mainly to his embrace of the Internet for campaigning. Dean denounced the policies of the Bush administration especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Dean was far ahead in the superdelegate race going into the Iowa caucuses in January 2004. Heading into the primaries, the Kerry campaign was seen as in trouble, and Kerry fired his campaign manager Jim Jordan.
Kerry did unexpectedly well in the Iowa caucuses while Dean slipped to third place. The dismal results caused Gephardt to drop out and endorse Kerry. In a speech Dean gave at a post-caucus rally, he was shouting over the cheers of his enthusiastic audience. The media replayed his emotional repsons which came to be known as the "Dean Scream", which led to a debate on whether Dean was the victim of media bias.
John Kerry went on to win the nomination and selected North Carolina Senator John Edwards as his running mate. The Kerry/Edwards ticket unveiled their new slogan—a promise to make America "stronger at home and more respected in the world." Kerry made his Vietnam War experience the prominent theme of the convention. In accepting the nomination, he began his speech with, "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty."
Bush focused his campaign on national security issues, presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a "flip-flopper." Bush's point was that Americans could trust him to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be "uncertain in the face of danger." Bush also sought to portray Kerry as a "Massachusetts liberal" who was out of touch with mainstream Americans.
Kerry supporters attempted to capitalize on the dwindling popularity to rally anti-war sentiment. Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard. However, the focus quickly shifted to the conduct of CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday introducing what became known as the Killian documents. Serious doubts about the documents' authenticity quickly emerged, leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes.
Kerry was accused by the Swiftboat Vets and POWs for Truth, of exaggerating his service in Vietnam, and misrepresentation the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations. A post-convention Gallup poll showed the President leading the Senator by 14 points
Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and held in the autumn of 2004. The first debate was held on September 30 at the University of Miami, moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS. During the debate, slated to focus on foreign policy, Kerry accused Bush of having failed to gain international support for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Bush replied to this by saying, "Well, actually, he forgot Poland." A consensus formed among many that Kerry won the debate decisively.
On October 29, four days before the election, excerpts of a video of Osama bin Laden addressing the American people were broadcast on al Jazeera. In his remarks, bin Laden claimed credit for the September 11, 2001 attacks and taunted Bush over his response to them. In the days following the video's release, Bush's lead over Kerry increased by several points.
Bush ended up winning the election with 50.7% of the popular vote, compared to 48.3% for Kerry. Bush received 286 electoral votes, compared to 251 for his opponent. The election turned on three "swing states": Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida which were seen as evenly divided. As the final results came in, Kerry took Pennsylvania and then Bush took Florida, focusing all attention on Ohio. The morning after the election, it was clear that the result in Ohio, along with two other states who had still not declared (New Mexico and Iowa), would decide the winner. Bush had established a lead of around 130,000 votes in Ohio, but the Democrats argued that provisional ballots that had yet to be counted. In the afternoon Ohio's Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell, announced that it was statistically impossible for the Democrats to make up enough valid votes in the provisional ballots to win. At the time provisional ballots were reported as numbering 140,000 (and later estimated to be only 135,000). Faced with this announcement, John Kerry conceded defeat.
George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 after the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore remanded the case to the Florida Supreme Court, which declared there was not sufficient time to hold a recount without violating the U.S. Constitution. Just eight months into his presidency, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 suddenly transformed Bush into a wartime president and his approval ratings surged to near 90%. Shortly thereafter, the forces of a coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan and by December, the Taliban had been removed as rulers of the nation. A long and ongoing reconstruction followed, accompanied by on-going violence.
The Bush administration embarked on a campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, alleging that Saddam's regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to have previously possessed, and believed to still maintain. The position was taken that the possession of these weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the failure to account for them, violated the U.N. sanctions. Other major powers including China, France, Germany, and Russia remained unconvinced that Iraq was a threat and refused to allow passage of a UN Security Council resolution to authorize the use of force.
The United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, along with a "coalition of the willing" that consisted of additional troops from the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent, from Australia and Poland. the invasion caused the early collapse of both the Iraqi government and its armed forces, but the allied forces failed to find any WMD in Iraq. The occupation of Iraq lost support as months passed and casualty figures increased, with little apparent progress toward stability in the region.
By summer of 2003, Howard Dean had become the apparent front runner for the Democratic nomination, performing strongly in most polls and leading the pack with the largest campaign war chest. Dean's strength as a fund raiser was attributed mainly to his embrace of the Internet for campaigning. Dean denounced the policies of the Bush administration especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Dean was far ahead in the superdelegate race going into the Iowa caucuses in January 2004. Heading into the primaries, the Kerry campaign was seen as in trouble, and Kerry fired his campaign manager Jim Jordan.
Kerry did unexpectedly well in the Iowa caucuses while Dean slipped to third place. The dismal results caused Gephardt to drop out and endorse Kerry. In a speech Dean gave at a post-caucus rally, he was shouting over the cheers of his enthusiastic audience. The media replayed his emotional repsons which came to be known as the "Dean Scream", which led to a debate on whether Dean was the victim of media bias.
John Kerry went on to win the nomination and selected North Carolina Senator John Edwards as his running mate. The Kerry/Edwards ticket unveiled their new slogan—a promise to make America "stronger at home and more respected in the world." Kerry made his Vietnam War experience the prominent theme of the convention. In accepting the nomination, he began his speech with, "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty."
Bush focused his campaign on national security issues, presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a "flip-flopper." Bush's point was that Americans could trust him to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be "uncertain in the face of danger." Bush also sought to portray Kerry as a "Massachusetts liberal" who was out of touch with mainstream Americans.
Kerry supporters attempted to capitalize on the dwindling popularity to rally anti-war sentiment. Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard. However, the focus quickly shifted to the conduct of CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday introducing what became known as the Killian documents. Serious doubts about the documents' authenticity quickly emerged, leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes.
Kerry was accused by the Swiftboat Vets and POWs for Truth, of exaggerating his service in Vietnam, and misrepresentation the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations. A post-convention Gallup poll showed the President leading the Senator by 14 points
Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and held in the autumn of 2004. The first debate was held on September 30 at the University of Miami, moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS. During the debate, slated to focus on foreign policy, Kerry accused Bush of having failed to gain international support for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Bush replied to this by saying, "Well, actually, he forgot Poland." A consensus formed among many that Kerry won the debate decisively.
On October 29, four days before the election, excerpts of a video of Osama bin Laden addressing the American people were broadcast on al Jazeera. In his remarks, bin Laden claimed credit for the September 11, 2001 attacks and taunted Bush over his response to them. In the days following the video's release, Bush's lead over Kerry increased by several points.
Bush ended up winning the election with 50.7% of the popular vote, compared to 48.3% for Kerry. Bush received 286 electoral votes, compared to 251 for his opponent. The election turned on three "swing states": Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida which were seen as evenly divided. As the final results came in, Kerry took Pennsylvania and then Bush took Florida, focusing all attention on Ohio. The morning after the election, it was clear that the result in Ohio, along with two other states who had still not declared (New Mexico and Iowa), would decide the winner. Bush had established a lead of around 130,000 votes in Ohio, but the Democrats argued that provisional ballots that had yet to be counted. In the afternoon Ohio's Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell, announced that it was statistically impossible for the Democrats to make up enough valid votes in the provisional ballots to win. At the time provisional ballots were reported as numbering 140,000 (and later estimated to be only 135,000). Faced with this announcement, John Kerry conceded defeat.