George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (December 2016) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The 2004 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president on May 16, 2003. On September 2, 2004, he again became the nominee of the Republican Party for the 2004 presidential election. Along with his running mate, Vice President Dick Cheney, President George W. Bush was opposed in the general election by U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, minor candidates from other parties. The election took place on Tuesday, November 2, 2004.

George W. Bush's campaign chairman was Marc Racicot. His chief political strategist was Karl Rove, who had the title Senior Advisor to the President. Mark McKinnon was the chief communications strategist. 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.

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 President Dick 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 about the rationale for the Iraq War, and that his former company Halliburton 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:

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 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":

• 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 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 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 the

Bush supported making the tax 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 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 stated the aim of closing the race and gender gap in schools. His FY 2005 budget proposed a 1% increase in elementary and secondary education compared to the FY 2001 budget.

Bush's

After the

Bush has expressed support for "protecting the sanctity of marriage." He endorsed the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed constitutional 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 endorsing civil unions.^[17]

President Bush submitted his

• 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.

Supported

Supported the 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 the

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, 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 the Vietnam War.

A group of Bush supporters countered with an advertising campaign arguing that some of Kerry's medals had been undeserved (see

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

• Stephen Baldwin
• Ernest Borgnine
• Dean Cain
• Robert Davi
• Doris Day
• Robert Duvall
• Kelsey Grammer
• Angie Harmon
• Patricia Heaton
• Charlton Heston
• Chuck Norris
• Jerry Lewis
• Dolph Lundgren
• Burt Reynolds
• Jane Russell
• Tom Selleck
• Gary Sinise
• Kevin Sorbo
• Arnold Schwarzenegger was currently governor of California at the time.^[20]
• Jon Voight
• Bruce Willis^[20]
• James Woods

Musicians

• Clint Black^[21]
• Pat Boone^[21]
• Brooks and Dunn^[21]
• Alice Cooper^[21]
• Billy Ray Cyrus^[20]
• Gatlin Brothers^[21]
• Toby Keith^[21]
• Martina McBride^[21]
• Reba McEntire^[21]
• Wayne Newton^[21]
• Kid Rock^[21]
• Ricky Skaggs^[21]
• Britney Spears^[21]
• Randy Travis^[21]
• Travis Tritt^[21]
• Hank Williams Jr.^[20]
• Lee Ann Womack^[21]

Politicians

• Georgia (1991–1999)^[22]

• Bill Gates^[23]

Bush's campaign never officially announced a campaign slogan.^{[citation needed]} However, Bush's campaign made several bus tours bearing de facto slogans. These include the "Yes, America Can" Bus Tour^[24] and the "Heart and Soul" Bus Tour,^[25] which used the slogan "Moving America Forward".^{[citation needed]} The 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City featured the slogan "A Safer World and More Hopeful America".^{[citation needed]}

On September 20, the Bush campaign and the

On September 30, 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."^[26]

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

The

The foundation of Bush's campaign for re-election was ideological

The key state that both candidates needed was Ohio. 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 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. Bush received over 62 million popular votes and Kerry received over 59 million votes.^[29]

• 2004 Republican National Convention
• 2004 United States presidential election
• Second inauguration of George W. Bush
• John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign
• George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign