2008 Woodie Awards
Kerry concedes: Bush elected to second term
Sarah Mitchell
Issue date: 11/13/04 Section: Lead Stories
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The country spent the first few days of November buzzing with speculation about the outcome of the presidential election. Many Assumption students and administrators weighed in on the debate, with theories ranging from voter conspiracies to complaints about voting methods to confusion over the differences between the electoral versus popular vote. Many professors even took time from their lectures to discuss the election and allowed students the opportunity to voice their opinions. Many Republicans argued that Kerry should face reality and concede, while Democrats countered that if Bush had not legally challenged Florida's outcome he wouldn't be president now.
Yet by late Wednesday, November 3rd, it was all over. Americans had made their decisions, the ballots had been collected, and the votes were counted (and in some cases recounted). The announcement finally arrived: President Bush and Vice President Cheney had successfully won another four years in the White House.
Although the popular vote seemed nearly too close to call with President Bush at 51% and Senator Kerry holding strong with 49%, the electoral vote was the deciding factor. With 270 electoral votes needed to win, Bush captured 274 votes as Kerry significantly lagged behind at only 252. In the end, the incumbent president edged out his opponent and brought an end to a highly emotional, and at times controversial, campaign that dominated the news for the past several months.
Yet the end to the election raises a critical question: what do the results mean for the future of the country?
One of the most important aspects of the 2004 election was the extremely large voter turnout- the highest it has been in the U.S. since 1968. According to the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE), about 120 millions voters participated in the 2004 election, or roughly 60 percent of registered voters. This was a jump from the 105.4 million votes cast in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which represented only 54 percent of eligible voters at that time.
Yet by late Wednesday, November 3rd, it was all over. Americans had made their decisions, the ballots had been collected, and the votes were counted (and in some cases recounted). The announcement finally arrived: President Bush and Vice President Cheney had successfully won another four years in the White House.
Although the popular vote seemed nearly too close to call with President Bush at 51% and Senator Kerry holding strong with 49%, the electoral vote was the deciding factor. With 270 electoral votes needed to win, Bush captured 274 votes as Kerry significantly lagged behind at only 252. In the end, the incumbent president edged out his opponent and brought an end to a highly emotional, and at times controversial, campaign that dominated the news for the past several months.
Yet the end to the election raises a critical question: what do the results mean for the future of the country?
One of the most important aspects of the 2004 election was the extremely large voter turnout- the highest it has been in the U.S. since 1968. According to the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE), about 120 millions voters participated in the 2004 election, or roughly 60 percent of registered voters. This was a jump from the 105.4 million votes cast in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which represented only 54 percent of eligible voters at that time.