Incumbent Republican President George W.

¶ … incumbent Republican President George W. Bush won reelection by over three and a half million votes, stunning John Kerry and the Democrats. Bush took the so-called "red" states for a number of key reasons, not the least of which is his firm policy on national security. However, as Election Day approached, voters tuned into another major aspect of Bush's policy: moral values. Moral values turned out to trump matters of foreign policy for many voters, and probably earned Bush major gains in certain demographics like Hispanics and women. The President's policies can be loosely filed into three main categories: issues of national security and defense; moral values; and the economy. On all these issues, Bush receives a considerable amount of criticism and applause. For example, while many laud Bush's firm stance against terrorism in the Middle East and staunchly support the war effort in Iraq, opponents criticize Bush for acting unilaterally and for failing to find either weapons of mass destruction or connections between Iraq and the September 11 attacks. Nevertheless, Bush supporters continue to cite the President's resolute attitude as one of his greatest strengths. On moral matters that mean much to the bulk of Middle America, Bush stands equally as firm in his opposition to stem cell research, cloning, gay marriage, and abortion. The defeat of a gay marriage initiative in eleven states proves that many Americans support Bush's stance on the issue. On the other hand, Bush detractors criticize the president's zeal for incorporating religiosity into politics. Finally, on fiscal matters Bush supporters exhibit a large amount of trust for a President that has created a national deficit nearing $477 billion (Gongloff). In spite of massive job losses, voters continued to voice support for the incumbent President, perhaps due to their faith in the American economy and in Bush's pro-business approach to taxes. In spite of the President's many failures and weaknesses regarding foreign, faith, and fiscal policies, he has shown himself to be a remarkably strong-willed, resolute, and unapologetic leader.

Bush's foreign policy, especially regarding the invasion and ongoing military efforts in Iraq, illuminates many of the President's strengths and weaknesses. His determined, resolute stance has earned him a great deal of respect by American citizens, who feel encouraged by a President committed to carrying out a specific plan. Bush exhibits an "unrelenting resolve to fight terrorism before it reaches American shores," according to proponents of Bush's foreign policy (Mann). In the first Presidential debate with Senator John Kerry, Bush praised the successes of his own administration's aggressive military policy in Afghanistan and the Middle East following the September 11 attacks: "We pursued al Qaeda wherever al Qaeda tries to hide. Seventy-five percent of known al Qaeda leaders have been brought to justice. The rest of them know we're after them," ("Transcript").

The invasion of Iraq proved to be one of Bush's most popular, albeit controversial, moves. The ousting of Saddam Hussein can be simultaneously hailed as strength and weakness. While those like Daily Star reporter Khalid Itum, who happens to be Muslim, believe that "America is in Iraq with a liberator's intent," large numbers of detractors say Bush's Iraq policy is completely misguided, even downright wrong. 650 scholars, members of a non-partisan group, note "The Iraq war is the most misguided since Vietnam, benefits terrorists and is justified by false claims," ("Academics Slam Bush Policy"). Senator Ernest Hollings states, "Acting militarily we have created more terrorism than we have eliminated" via the invasion, while Presidential candidate John Kerry stated, "The President's policy in Iraq has not strengthened our national security, it has weakened it," (Hollings; "Kerry"). Regardless of the differences of opinions throughout the nation, Bush's reelection to another four years in the White House in large part depended on his continued involvement in Iraq and the deep commitment of American troops there.

Another factor that definitely determined Bush's reelection and that sheds light on the President's strengths and weaknesses is his commitment to promoting certain types of moral values. In particular, Bush stands against gay marriages, an issue that arose in this year's election with eleven states adding a same-sex marriage initiative on their ballots. Bush bases his decisions on matters such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, and gay marriages on his Christian beliefs. Bush unabashedly refers to Christianity in public speeches and even named Jesus Christ as his favorite political philosopher (Sanchez). Most news sources noticed at the last minute prior to the 2004 Presidential election that moral values issues were on the minds of most Bush supporters. National exit polls showed that 22% of voters viewed moral values as the most important issue in the election, followed by the economy and terrorism (Curl and Duin). Because many Americans identify strongly with Bush's pro-Christian approach to politics, his position on such issues as abortion and gay marriage turned out to be one of his greatest strengths in the past election, earning him a considerable number of votes he might have otherwise lost to people concerned more with other issues. In fact, Bush secured more Hispanic and minority votes than he had in the 2000 election in large part due to the moral values question (Curl and Duin). Moreover, Bush appealed especially to the Christian right, which campaigned heavily for the President. Bush's unapologetic religiosity has also earned him disrespect among a considerable portion of American voters, however. His specific brand of Christianity and his desire to infuse religion and politics isolates and angers many Americans, who feel that matters of morality and religion should have no place in politics. That Bush won the election on those matters, though, shows that his religiosity proved more of a strength than a weakness, for the majority of Americans have voiced approval of Bush.