How Bush Won

As the days pass and the dust settles it is clear that America is a deeply divided nation.  As is so often the case in electoral politics the divide most voter’s feel is not about policy. It is about the character and personal values that the voters perceive exist in the candidates.  This election was very much about the roles faith and intelligence play in the voter’s decision. 

Those who favor science and intelligence as the most important values in a President are afraid of a man of faith.  People of faith are afraid of a man who makes his decisions about the future without the inspiration of God and the foundation of a good religious, (meaning Christian), background.  What most voters’ do is buy into the exaggerations and simplifications that the campaigns put forward.

George Bush ran a campaign that played on the fears of the faithful and he did it very well.  It was a brilliantly crafted message that was executed with excellence.  John Kerry recognized the importance of faith and tried to address it in the acceptance speech he gave at the convention.  Unfortunately, as it turns out in most Presidential elections, it was a poor tactical decision to not re-enforce that message and that is why he lost the election.  Those who are of little or no faith may not have tolerated that message well, but historically it is a vital part of every victorious candidate for President.

Your immediate thoughts may be that Clinton didn’t come off as based in faith as Bush and you are right.  In the beginning he spoke of his faith and more importantly he would use vernacular of the bible to describe some of his thoughts.  Because of that he connected with the faith-based voters just enough to pull some of them along until he left them no room to stand after his exploits with Monica.

So now the campaign is over.  And already we will begin looking for new candidates.  The obvious two are Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.  The only Democrats who have won the White House since 1960 are southern Democrats and I believe that is as much or more because of their ability to speak to people of faith as it is because they are more moderate than northeastern liberals.

So what should George Bush do?  He should work to unite the country if he really wants a mandate.  Do I believe he will do that? No.  He will not.  He will pursue his agenda with full force because he is not intending to be a beloved President; he intends to be a President that has reshaped America into his vision of what is right.  What should Democrats do?  We should work to unite the country, pick battles very carefully and anticipate that we will be spending much more time defending previous gains rather than making new advances.

Comments

[Hank]

I agree. You mentioned the Democratic track record, and though I'm not old enough to remember, I've been wondering for the past few days if Kennedy's choice of a Texan as a running-mate might have been a tactical decision to counterbalance his New England background.

The importance of faith is troubling to me. Christianity is cetainly not a bad thing, but people seem to have forgotten that our country was founded on the basis of a need for the separation of church and state. Ever since Reagan began ending each of his speeches with "may God bless America," that separation has grown smaller and smaller. Can you foresee an election in which faith is not at least a minor issue? Unfortunately, I cannot.

I enjoy reading your thoughts on these issues, and I look forward to returning to your site. Thanks.

[Dem D]

You are giving Bush entirely too much credit. Bush didn't run his campaign, Rove did. Brilliant is not an adjective I would use to desctribe anything associated with GWBush.

We Dems didn't do enough. I agree that Kerry didnt push the faith card enough. Likewise, this country needs to seriously look at our voting methods. This is a MAJOR issue that is not being attended to and much needs to be done about it.

Just passing through,

Dem D.

[David Fagus]

In his speech Friday to the Urban Land Institute, former President Bill Clinton attributed Kerry's loss to the Democrats' failure to counter how Republicans portrayed them to rural and small-town voters.

"If we let people believe that our party doesn't believe in faith and family, doesn't believe in work and freedom, that's our fault," he said.

Democrats "need a clear national message and they have to do this without one big advantage the Republicans have, which is they won't have a theological message that basically paints the other guy as evil."

Clinton gave Bush and the Republicans credit for the election victory.

"The Republicans had a clear message, a good messenger, great organization and great strategy," he said. "The Republicans did a better job of turning out those who were already registered who hadn't voted" as well as bringing out their base.