George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign
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.
For the 2000 campaign of the same name, see George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign.George W. Bush for President 2004
George W. Bush
43rd President of the United States
(2001–2009)
Dick Cheney
46th Vice President of the United States
(2001–2009)
Announced: May 16, 2003
Presumptive nominee: March 10, 2004
Official nominee: September 2, 2004
Won election: November 2, 2004
Inaugurated: January 20, 2005
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C.
US$196.0 million (2007-12-31)
A Safer World and a More Hopeful America
Steady Leadership in Times of Change[1]
George W. Bush's 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.
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.[8] 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.
Issue stances[edit]
Abortion[edit]
Bush expressed opinions in agreement with the "pro-life" movement.
Community aid[edit]
Bush established the White 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.
Economy[edit]
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.[9]
He supported job creation, by tax loopholes to invest in more higher job creation to "state and local control" than the federal government.
Health care[edit]
Bush's proposals for expanding health care coverage were more modest than those advanced by Senator Kerry.[10][11][12] 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.[13][14]
Education[edit]
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.
Environment[edit]
Bush's Clear Skies Act repealed or reduced air pollution controls, including environmental protections of the Clean 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 as brownfields) and keeping forest fires at bay. He fell under criticism for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol which would commit the United States to reducing greenhouse gas emissions which are believed by much of the relevant science community to cause global warming. The Bush administration stated that this would cost the economy up to ?.
Homeland security[edit]
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, 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). He then promoted the idea of an independent "Czar of Intelligence" outside of the White House in response to the 9/11 Commission's findings.
Same-sex marriage and gay rights[edit]
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.[15] Activists on both sides of the issue took this comment as endorsing civil unions.[16]
National security and foreign policy[edit]
President Bush submitted his National Security Strategy of the United States; the "three pillars" of this are to:
George W. Bush received endorsements from many Republicans, Democratic 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. On September 22, 2004, the Abe Lincoln Black Republican Caucus, a political organization of gay African American Republicans, voted in a special call meeting in Dallas, Texas, to endorse President George W. Bush for re-election.[18]
Actors and Actresses
Musicians
Politicians
Other
Slogan[edit]
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[23] and the "Heart and Soul" Bus Tour,[24] which used the slogan "Moving America Forward". The 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City featured the slogan "A Safer World and More Hopeful America".
Features of the campaign[edit]
The foundation of 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".[26] 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.[27]
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.
Campaign visits[edit]
Not since the 1972 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 book “Lest 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.