George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004

This article is about the presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the incumbent President of the United States and victor of the 2004 Presidential Election. See George W. Bush for a detailed biography and information about his current presidency, and George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000 for a description of his first presidential campaign. See U.S. presidential election, 2004 for general information on the 2004 election.

George W. Bush's opponent was U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), whose primary campaign was successful in securing the majority of Democratic delegate votes. For his presidential campaign, see John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004.

George W. Bush's chief political strategist was Karl Rove, who had the title Senior Advisor to the President. He was later joined in August 2004 by Karen Hughes, a former Bush advisor who returned after some time away. His campaign manager was Ken Mehlman.

Issue stances

Abortion

Bush opposes abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk. He has appointed many justices to federal courts who oppose Roe v. Wade, and has indicated that he would nominate justices in the mold of Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, who oppose Roe v. Wade.

Community Aid

Bush established the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, which allows the federal government to fund community aid programs that are provided by a religious institution. He has proposed a youth mentoring program for disadvantaged students and children of prisoners.

Economy

Bush supports making the tax cuts passed during his first term permanent; he maintains that the tax cuts made the recession shallower and shorter than it would have been.

Education

Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires mandatory standardized testing, forces schools that do not meet standards to provide alternate options for students, and attempts to close the race and gender gap in schools. His FY 2005 budget proposes a 49% increase in elementary and secondary education compared to the FY 2001 budget.

Environment

Bush's Clear Skies Act repeals or reduces air pollution controls, including environmental protections of the Clean Air Act. His FY 2005 budget provides $4.4 billion for conservation programs. He signed legislation pushing for the cleanup of abandoned industrial sites (also known as brownfields) and keeping forest fires at bay. He was under criticsm for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol which would commit the United States to reducing greenhouse gas emissions which are believed to cause global warming. The Bush administration has stated that this would cost the economy up to $400 billion.

Homeland security

After the September 11th terrorist attacks, Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act and created the Department of Homeland Security. He also created the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) and the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC). Is currently promoting the idea of an independent "Czar of Intelligence" outside of the White House in response to the 9/11 Commission's findings.

National security and foreign policy

Presient Bush submitted his National Security Strategy of the United States . The "three pillars" of this are to

Defend the peace by working against terrorists and terrorist-tolerating regimes
Preserve the peace by maintaining relations with allies and reaching out to nations to combat terrorism.
Extend the peace by spreading democracy and human rights across the globe.

The White House looks at five nations as successes in his foreign policy.

Afghanistan

Supports continued American involvement in Afghanistan at the request of the government. Believes President Hamid Karzai is helping Afghanistan make progress.

Libya

In a series of negotiations which involved Libya, Britain, and the United States, Libya turned over materials that are necessary to the production of nuclear weapons.

Iraq

Supports continued American presence in Iraq at the request of the Iraq interim government. Promotes having democratic elections by January of 2005.

Saudi Arabia

Bush is putting pressure on the Saudi Royal Family to directly combat terrorism and to seize the assets of terrorists operating within their borders.

Same-sex marriage and gay rights

Bush has expressed support for "protecting the sanctity of marriage." He has endorsed the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage for all of the states. 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." [1] (http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=193746&page=1) Activists on both sides of the issue took this comment as endorsing civil unions. [2] (http://www.civilmarriage.org/article.php?story=20041026134115870)

Early fundraising

Bush, facing no major challengers for the 2004 Republican presidential nomination, had an early advantage in fundraising, and raised over $130 million before early March 2004, when John Kerry emerged as the Democrats' presumptive nominee. Bush's fundraising totals were greater than all of the Democratic candidates during the Democratic primaries combined.

Campaign controversies

Military service controversy

See main article George W. Bush military service controversy

In previous campaigns, Bush had been criticized for his military service record. He skipped over a long waiting list to receive a spot in the Air National Guard; once he was in the Guard, 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 the Vietnam War.

A group of Bush supporters countered with an advertising campaign arguing that some of Kerry's medals had been undeserved (see John Kerry military service controversy). The subject was further highlighted when CBS News released memos 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 their authenticity. 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.

"Audiogate": the mystery bulge

Missing image
DebateBulge1.jpg

Frame grab from the 2004 presidential debate illustrating a mysterious bulge beneath George W. Bush's suit coat.

Citing an unexplained bulge [3] (http://homepage.mac.com/c.shaw/BushBulges/PhotoAlbum15.html) in the back of his suit jacket, allegations in the media suggested that George W. Bush was wired with a hidden earpiece of sorts in order to receive coaching during the 2004 Presidential Debate. A number of blogs[4] (http://www.bushwired.blogspot.com/) began following this matter, speculating that the "bulge" could have been anything from an audio transmitter, medical device, or bulletproof vest.

When Salon first broke the news of these allegations, Bush campaign officials initially downplayed the bulge and questioned the authenticity of the photographs stating that they were likely doctored. This statement was retracted after television footage showed the same feature. A seller of surveillance equipment who looked at the images concluded, "There's certainly something on his back, and it appears to be electronic."

In response to persistent questioning about the bulge, Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman replied "The president is an alien. That's your quote of the day. He has been getting information from Mars." [5] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32527-2004Oct14.html)

The maker of the suit, Georges de Paris, said that the bulge was simply a pucker in the fabric that became more visible when Bush crossed his arms and leaned forward. At least one doctor has concluded it was Bush's backbone. There also remains the distinct possibility Bush must communicate with the Secret Service in the event of an emergency.

President Bush stated in an interview with Charles Gibson on ABC's Good Morning America that the mystery bulge was "a poorly tailored shirt." He said there was no sound system or electrical signal.

Television advertising: 9/11

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 the September 11, 2001 attacks, including the wreckage of the World Trade Center site, images of New York firefighters (the New York firefighters' union supported Kerry), and the image of a flag-draped coffin being carried out of the attack site.[6] (http://www.georgewbush.com/tvads)

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 advisor Karen 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, said Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, on Face 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 of Franklin D. Roosevelt's re-election campaign, which used images of the December 7 attack by Japan on the United States and advised Americans to "Remember Pearl Harbor."

Endorsements

George Bush received endorsements from many Republicans, Democrat Senator Zell Miller of Georgia and former (12 year) mayor of New York City Ed Koch. The Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, representing 20,000 active and retired firefighters, endorsed the President on August 31, 2004.

Slogan

Bush's campaign never officially announced a campaign slogan. However, Bush's campaign made several bus tours bearing de facto slogans. These include the "Yes, America Can" Bus Tour [7] (http://www.georgewbush.com/Compassion/PhotoAlbum.aspx?gallery=38) and the "Heart and Soul" Bus Tour [8] (http://www.georgewbush.com/News/photoalbum.aspx?gallery=131), which used the slogan "Moving America Forward". The 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City featured the slogan "A Stronger, More Faithful America".

Vice Presidential choices

George W. Bush kept Dick Cheney as his running mate, but there was continuing speculation during the summer of 2004 that he might have been replaced; notably, former New York Sen. Al D'Amato publicly stated that Bush should replace Cheney. Speculation about vice presidential possibilities (besides Cheney) included:

Convention and nomination

Bush gave many promises during his acceptance speech to the 2004 Republican National Convention. At the end of his speech, he encouraged listeners to view his website (http://www.georgewbush.com/agenda/) in order to learn more about his agenda if he wins his next presidential term. His speech promises include the following which his campaign is called "A Plan for A Safer World & More Hopeful America":

Rewrite and simplification of Tax Code
Creation of "Opportunity zones" to encourage companies to move into areas where companies closed
Allowing and encouraging small businesses to join together to negotiate for health care
Establishment of health centers in every poor or rural county in the country that does not have one
Promoting flexible schedules to make companies family friendly
More funding for local and community colleges
Creating personal social security account options to allow social security to be self managed for younger workers

As a result of Bush's speech in NYC, the incumbent President was able to do something his opponent John Kerry was unable to do much of...get a significant bounce in the polls. The day after the convention was finished, the polls showed a double-digit lead over Kerry, although when the poll asked about the economy both candidates were still in a dead heat.

Debates

On September 20th, the Bush campaign and the Kerry 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 the presidential and vice-presidential debates.

On September 30th, Bush debated Kerry at University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida in the first 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.

A second debate, in "town hall" format, was held on October 8 at Washington University in St. Louis with Charles 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" [9] (http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-deb09.html).

The final debate occurred on October 13 at Arizona State University and was moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News.

The only vice presidential debate between Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator John Edwards happened on October 5 at Case Western Reserve University. It was moderated by Gwen Ifill of the Public Broadcasting Service.

Features of the campaign

The foundation of President Bush's campaign for re-election was ideological conservatism. Members of the campaign team believe there are clear ideological differences between George W. Bush and John Kerry, and believe this contrasts with the 2000 Presidential election, in which both candidates attempted to portray themselves as "centrists".[10] (http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040601-122125-2987r.htm) 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. [11] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5625195/site/newsweek/)

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 instead of George W. Bush.

Election and victory

The election took place on November 2, 2004. Bush had 254 electoral votes. Kerry had 252 electoral votes. The key state that both candidates needed was Ohio. Ohio has 20 electoral votes, enough for both candidates to surpass the necessary 270. 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 PM EST on November 3, 2004, John Kerry made a speech at Faneuil 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.

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