Presidential Election 2004

The Presidential Election of 2004 really started as early as 1999 before the Presidential Election of 2000 even started.  While being interviewed by a ghost writer for his campaign autobiography A CHARGE TO KEEP; Governor George W. Bush talked about how his father, George HW Bush had bungled Desert Storm and wasted his political capital in the Presidential Election of 1992 against Bill Clinton and Ross Perot, only to lose his re-election to Bill Clinton.  George W. Bush said that if he were president he would have a war to get re-elected and use his political capital to get what he wanted done.

Given the controversial circumstances of the Presidential Election of 2000 against Vice President Al Gore, George W. Bush entered the presidency under a cloud of illegitimacy.  In his first eight months as president, he was having problems appointing judges and getting his tax cuts passed to the point that Republican Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont changed to an Independent caucusing with the Democratic Party, thus giving the Democrats the majority in the Senate.  Then, on September 11, 2001, everything changed.  The United States had been attacked by a foreign but faceless enemy. George W. Bush would begin to build that political capital.

As 2001 turned into 2002, the President spoke of what was called an Axis of Evil: Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.  The target for this wartime president was to go in and finish the job that his father started.  He was going to take out Saddam Hussein and bring democracy to the Middle East.  Thought 2002, the Bush administration laid out their argument for going to war with Iraq.  Colin Powell addressed the United Nations about the weapons of mass destruction.  Even members of Congress like Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton voted in support of allowing for the United States to go to war with Iraq.  Then, after Saddam Hussein ignored all ultimatums by the United States to remove the WMDs, the United States started a Shock and Awe campaign against Iraq in March 2003.  By May 1, 2003 aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, President George W. Bush who flew himself onto the aircraft carrier in a Top Gun style move declared "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED".  Saddam Hussein would be captured in December 2003.

Throughout 2003, the Democratic Party was regrouping to challenge the incumbent president who declared in the fall of 2004 that presidenting was hard work.  Al Gore, the obvious choice to rematch with George W. Bush decided in December 2002 not to run in 2004 because he felt that the campaign should be about the future and not about the past.  Early in, Vermont governor Howard Dean, MD seemed to be the frontrunner to beat.  Al Gore even endorsed him over his 2000 running mate, Joseph Lieberman.  But, on the night of the Iowa Caucuses, with strong support by Iowa's governor and first lady Tom and Christie Vilsack, Senator John Kerry won the Iowa Caucus.  Howard Dean, with the infamous, "Dean Scream" was done.

John Kerry went on to win primaries and caucuses despite his being accused of being a flip flopper.  After all but receiving the Democratic Party's nomination, Kerry was faced with choosing a running mate.  The shortlist came down to three names: Representative Richard Gephardt of Missouri, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina (both of whom ran for President in the Primaries) and Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa.  Senator Kerry chose Senator Edwards.  Now, it was off to Boston.

The Democratic National Convention was held in Boston, John Kerry's backyard.  It had the usual fanfare and speeches from Party heavyweights like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Ted Kennedy.  Former First Son, Ron Reagan spoke to the convention six weeks after his father's death to talk about the importance of stem cell research.  But the big event of the week was that of a state senator from Illinois named Barack Obama who delivered the Keynote Address.  Obama would energize the crowd with his there's no red states or blue states, only the United States rhetoric.  That speech had pundits wondering if Barack Obama would one day live in the White House.

As for the Republican Convention, it would be held in New York City, one of the three sites of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.  This convention was a lot of flag waving, mom, apple pie, and God bless the USA.  The Republican Party had every reason to be proud of their president.

As summer turned to fall, John Kerry's record as a veteran were being questioned.  After serving in Vietnam on a swift boat, Kerry returned to the United States joining Vietnam Veterans Against the War and testifying before Congress in 1971.  The Republican Party put out a group called Swift Boats for Truth making John Kerry seem as treasonous toward our Vietnam veterans as Jane Fonda.

As Election Day neared, it was still anyone's contest.  But due to some irregularities with voting machines in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and the fact that there were not enough provisional ballots to swing in John Kerry's favor, George W. Bush had won the presidency in both the Electoral Vote and the Popular Vote.  This was the first time since the Presidential Election of 1988 that the Republican candidate won both.  It is also the last time since.

While 2004 was George W. Bush's re-election, the real star that night was Barack Obama, winning his race for the United States Senate.  This would be the springboard for him to run a serious campaign for the presidency in 2008.

See also:

• Presidential Election 1940
• Presidential Election 1944
• Presidential Election 1948
• Presidential Election 1952
• Presidential Election 1956
• Presidential Election 1960
• Presidential Election 1964
• Presidential Election 1968
• Presidential Election 1972
• Presidential Election 1976
• Presidential Election 1980
• Presidential Election 1984
• Presidential Election 1988
• Presidential Election 1992
• Presidential Election 1996
• Presidential Election 2000
• Presidential Election 2004
• Presidential Election 2008
• Presidential Election 2012
• Presidential Election 2016
• Presidential Election 2020