 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
 | |
| Campaign | 2004 Republican primaries 2004 U.S. presidential election |
|---|---|
| Candidate | George W. Bush 43rdPresident of the United States (2001–2009) Dick Cheney 46thVice President of the United States (2001–2009) |
| Affiliation | Republican Party |
| Status | Announced: May 16, 2003 Presumptive nominee: March 10, 2004 Official nominee: September 2, 2004 Won election: November 2, 2004 Certification: January 6, 2005 Inaugurated: January 20, 2005 |
| Headquarters | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C. |
| Key people | Marc Racicot, Campaign Chairman and advisor to the President Ken Mehlman, Campaign manager Karl Rove, Chief Political Strategist and Senior Advisor to the President Terry Nelson, Political Director |
| Receipts | US$196.0 million (2007-12-31) |
| Slogan(s) | A Safer World and a More Hopeful America Steady Leadership in Times of Change[1] |
| Website | |
| www.GeorgeWBush.com(Internet Archive version, November 2, 2004) | |
The2004 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the43rdpresident of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president on May 16, 2003. OnSeptember 2, 2004, he again became the nominee of theRepublican Party for the2004 presidential election. Along with his running mate, Vice PresidentDick Cheney, PresidentGeorge W. Bush was opposed in the general election byU.S. SenatorJohn Kerry ofMassachusetts and minor candidates fromother parties. Theelection took place on Tuesday, November 2, 2004.
George W. Bush's campaign chairman wasMarc Racicot. His chief political strategist wasKarl Rove, who had the title Senior Advisor to the President.Mark McKinnon was the chief communications strategist. He was later joined in August 2004 byKaren Hughes, a former Bush advisor who returned after some time away. His campaign manager wasKen Mehlman.
This re-election campaign was the most expensive in American history and was financed mainly by large corporations and industrial interests that the Bush administration represented in government.[2]
President Bush formally filed with the FEC on May 16, 2003.[3] As he was virtually unopposed, he did no campaigning during the primary season.
On March 10, 2004, Bush clinched the number of delegates require for the nomination, 1608 Delegates 168 Super delegates.
In May 2003, Vice PresidentDick Cheney told reporters that "The president has asked me if I would serve again as his running mate. I've agreed to do that."[4] In early 2004, with Bush expected to face a difficult re-election campaign, political commentators openly discussed the possibility that Cheney might be dropped from the ticket due to his "personal baggage".[5] Such concern derived particularly from allegations that Cheney had lied aboutthe rationale for theIraq War, and that his former companyHalliburton had profited inappropriately from that war.[5] Some analysts even floated the idea that Cheney – who had previously suffered four heart attacks – might step down on his own for health reasons.[4]
Among those viewed as strong contenders for his replacement were:Bill Frist, theSenate Majority Leader;Rudy Giuliani, the formerMayor of New York City;George Pataki, theGovernor of New York;Rob Portman, congressman ofOhio;Bill Owens, theGovernor of Colorado; andTom Ridge, theSecretary of Homeland Security.[5] In July, former SenatorAl D'Amato, Republican ofNew York, publicly stated that Bush should replace Cheney, and suggestedSecretary of StateColin Powell orArizona SenatorJohn McCain as potential choices.[6] Going into theRepublican National Convention at the end of August, many delegates still entertained the notion of a new vice president, with Powell and Giuliani leading in a preference poll.[7] Despite the speculation, Bush publicly maintained his support for Cheney,[5] who accepted the party's formal nomination on September 1.[8]
Bush gave many promises during his acceptance speech to the2004 Republican National Convention. At the end of his speech, he encouraged listeners to view his website in order to learn more about his agenda if he wins his next presidential term.[9] His speech promises include the following which his campaign is called "A Plan for A Safer World & More Hopeful America":
As a result of Bush's speech in NYC, the incumbent president was able to get a significant bounce in the polls. The day after the convention was finished, the polls showed Bush with a double-digit lead over John Kerry, although when the poll asked about the economy both candidates were still in a dead heat.[citation needed]
Bush expressed opinions in agreement with the pro-life movement.
Bush established theWhite House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, which allowed the federal government to fund community aid programs that were provided by a religious institution. He proposed a youth mentoring program for disadvantaged students and children of prisoners.
Bush supported making thetax cuts passed during his first term permanent; he maintained that the tax cuts made the recent recession shallower and shorter than it would otherwise have been.[10]
He supported job creation, by tax loopholes to invest in more higher job creation to "state and local control" than the federal government.
Bush's proposals for expanding health care coverage were more modest than those advanced by Senator Kerry.[11][12][13] Several estimates were made comparing the cost and impact of the Bush and Kerry proposals. While the estimates varied, they all indicated that the increase in coverage and the funding requirements of the Bush plan would both be lower than those of the more comprehensive Kerry plan.[14][15]
Bush signed theNo Child Left Behind Act, which requires mandatory standardized testing, forces schools that do not meet standards to provide alternate options for students, and stated the aim of closing the race andgender gap in schools. HisFY 2005 budget proposed a 1% increase in elementary and secondary education compared to the FY 2001 budget.
Bush'sClear Skies Act repealed or reducedair pollution controls, including environmental protections of theClean Air Act. His FY 2005 budget provided $4.4 billion for conservation programs. He signed legislation pushing for the cleanup of abandoned industrial sites (also known asbrownfields) and keeping forest fires at bay. He fell under criticism for rejecting theKyoto Protocol which would commit the United States to reducinggreenhouse gas emissions which are believed by much of the relevant science community to causeglobal warming. The Bush administration stated that this would cost the economy up to US$14 billion.
After theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, Bush signed theUSA PATRIOT Act and created theDepartment of Homeland Security. He also created the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) and theTerrorist Screening Center (TSC). He then promoted the idea of an independent "Czar of Intelligence" outside of the White House in response to the9/11 Commission's findings.
Bush has expressed support for "protecting the sanctity of marriage." He endorsed theFederal Marriage Amendment, a proposedconstitutional amendment that would define marriage for all of the states as strictly heterosexual. Late in the 2004 campaign, however, he said that the states should be allowed to "enable people to you know, be able to have rights, like others", though marriage would not be among them.[16] Activists on both sides of the issue took this comment as endorsingcivil unions.[17]
President Bush submitted hisNational Security Strategy of the United States; the "three pillars" of this are to:
Supportedcontinued American involvement in Afghanistan. Believed PresidentHamid Karzai to be beneficial to Afghanistan's progress.
In a series of negotiations which involved Libya, Britain, and the United States, Libya turned over materials relevant to the production of nuclear weapons.
Supportedthe continuation of American military presence in Iraq. Promoted the goal of democratic elections by January 2005 as integral to the nation's democratic reform. Bush ran as the war president.
Bush advocated pressure on theSaudi Royal Family to more directly combatterrorism and to seize the assets ofterrorists operating within their borders.
In previous campaigns, Bush had been criticized for his military service record. He skipped over a long waiting list to receive a spot in theAir National Guard; once he was in the Guard, it has been alleged he did not complete all his required duties. These long-standing charges were given more attention in the 2004 campaign because of the contrast with Kerry's record as a decorated combat veteran of theVietnam War.
A group of Bush supporters countered with an advertising campaign arguing that some of Kerry's medals had been undeserved (seeJohn Kerry military service controversy). The subject was further highlighted whenCBS News releasedmemos purportedly from Bush's commanding officer in the Guard. The memos added some unflattering details about Bush's Guard service. Almost immediately, however, widespread doubts were raised about theirauthenticity. CBS News eventually concluded that it could not validate them and that it should not have used them. The incident may have ended up helping Bush by creating doubts about the legitimacy of his detractors.
Bush's campaign launched its first major set of television commercials on March 3, 2004. Although these four spots (three in English and one in Spanish) contained no reference to Senator Kerry, two (one in English and the one in Spanish, both titled, "Safer, Stronger") generated controversy for their inclusion of four seconds of images drawn from the aftermath of theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks, including the wreckage of theWorld Trade Center site, images ofNew York firefighters (the New York firefighters' union supported Kerry), and the image of a flag-draped coffin being carried out of the attack site.[18]
Some families of 9/11 victims accused the Bush campaign of being insensitive to the memory of those who died and of exploiting the tragedy for his personal political gain. Bush campaign advisorKaren Hughes defended the ads as "very tasteful" and noted that 9/11 was a defining event for Bush's presidency.
The main topic of this heated discussion is the use of actual images of the attack. The use of images from the attack, saidGovernor of PennsylvaniaEd Rendell, a Democrat, onFace the Nation, implies support from New York firefighters. Rendell claims that a New York firefighters union head supports Kerry for President. But although the International Association of Firefighters was the first union to support Kerry, the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York endorsed the President for re-election in August 2004.
Defenders of the Bush messages liken his messages to those ofFranklin D. Roosevelt's re-election campaign, which used images of the December 7 attack byJapan on the United States and advised Americans to "RememberPearl Harbor."
George W. Bush received endorsements from manyRepublicans,Democratic SenatorZell Miller ofGeorgia and former 12-year mayor of New York CityEd Koch. The Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, representing 20,000 active and retired firefighters, endorsed the President on August 31, 2004. On September 22, 2004, the Abe Lincoln Black Republican Caucus, a political organization of gay African American Republicans, voted in a special call meeting inDallas, Texas, to endorse PresidentGeorge W. Bush for re-election.[19]
Actors and Actresses
Musicians
Politicians
Other
The Bush-Cheney campaign slogan was "Yes, America Can!"[24] The "Heart and Soul of America" tour[25] used "Moving America Forward."[26] The2004 Republican National Convention inNew York City featured "a safer world and a more hopeful America".[27]
On September 20, the Bush campaign and theKerry campaign jointly released a memorandum of understanding between the two campaigns. The 32-page MOU covered in minute detail many aspects of the staging and format for thepresidential and vice-presidential debates.
On September 30, Bush debated Kerry atUniversity of Miami inCoral Gables, Florida in thefirst of three scheduled debates.Polls conducted immediately following the debate suggests that a majority of undecided voters believe that, while neither candidate committed any serious gaffes, Kerry fared better than Bush did.
Asecond debate, in "town hall" format, was held on October 8 atWashington University in St. Louis withCharles Gibson moderating. Bush later attempted to deflect criticism of what was described as his scowling demeanor during the first debate, joking at one point about one of Kerry's remarks, "That answer made me want to scowl."[28]
Thefinal debate occurred on October 13 atArizona State University and was moderated byBob Schieffer ofCBS News.
Theonly vice presidential debate between Vice PresidentDick Cheney and SenatorJohn Edwards happened on October 5 atCase Western Reserve University. It was moderated byGwen Ifill of thePublic Broadcasting Service.
The foundation of Bush's campaign for re-election was ideologicalconservatism. Members of the campaign team believe there are clear ideological differences between George W. Bush andJohn Kerry, and believe this contrasts with the2000 Presidential election, in which both candidates attempted to portray themselves as "centrists".[29] Critics have argued that the crux of Bush's campaign was the suggestion that John Kerry would be soft on terrorism in comparison to George Bush, and to present Bush as a "war President". They also claim that the Bush campaign is concerned mainly with personalities rather than tackling ideological issues.[30]
Much of the opposition to the Bush campaign (and vis-a-vis support to the Kerry campaign) took the form of "Anybody but Bush" - voters who would vote for anyone else.
Not since the 1984 presidential election had Minnesota been an important Battleground Swing State as it was in 2004. As a result, President George W. Bush made 8 unprecedented campaign visits to Minnesota. On April 26, 2004, he made a first time presidential campaign visit to Edina, Minnesota during which Congressmen Jim Ramstad presented The President with the bookLest We Forget by John C. Martin, a U.S. Civil War veteran and Department Commander of the G.A.R. The National Daughters of the Grand Army first presented the book to President Coolidge on August 3, 1928.
The election took place on November 2, 2004, and ended with Bush gaining 286electoral votes and Kerry garnering 251 electoral votes. One vote went to Kerry's running mate and former presidential candidate,John Edwards, when one of the electors (pledged to Kerry) voted for John Edwards by mistake. This was the first time in U.S. history that an elector had voted the same person for president and vice-president. As President Bush's running mate, Vice President Dick Cheney received 286 votes and John Edwards received 252.
The key state that both candidates needed wasOhio. Ohio had 20 electoral votes, which were essential for either candidate to surpass the necessary 270 electoral votes to win the overall election and determined which candidate won the election. Ohio was reporting its results, but had not counted provisional ballots. In Ohio, Kerry trailed by 136,000 votes (not including provisional ballots). The chances of Kerry gaining the necessary votes through provisional ballots was slim.
Around 2:00 p.m. EST on November 3, 2004, John Kerry made a speech atFaneuil Hall,Boston. In this speech, he announced that he "cannot win this election." One hour later, George W. Bush declared that "America has spoken" and they had made a "historic victory." He said to Kerry supporters, "To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it."
With 286 electoral votes, President George W. Bush won the 2004 Presidential Election. Bush received over 62 million popular votes and Kerry received over 59 million votes.[31]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
| |||||||
| 20th century career |
| ||||||
| Presidential elections | |||||||
| Vice presidency (timeline) |
| ||||||
| Legacy and public image | |||||||
| Family and personal life |
| ||||||
