"Yes, America Can:" The Election of 2004

Not to often, presidential elections fall in the middle of a war. When they do, the incumbent is normally forced to make the war a major campaign issue. In history, a few elections have been held in war time, notably 1812, 1864, 1900, 1916, 1944, 1952, 1968, and 2004. With the War on Terror being fought on foreign soil in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. citizens had not experienced war at home like in 1864. Almost three years had passed since September 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq had become unpopular. Even with Saddam Hussein's death in late 2003, President George W. Bush was losing his popularity for the continuing conflict. Heading into the summer of 2004, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won the nomination of the Democrats to face Bush, choosing former North Carolina Senator John Edwards as his running mate. Some of the main election issues was the handling of foreign policy by Bush and Kerry's record of changing positions. Although the war had become unpopular, many Americans still supported Bush and wanted terrorists brought to justice. While Kerry tried to blame Bush for many problems on foreign policy, it ended up not being enough. On election day, Bush managed to win by almost 3 million popular votes, carrying the South and Midwest. The electoral college result was much closer, with Bush winning 286-251. Unlike 2000, there was hardly any controversy in this election and it was clear Bush had been re-elected. Bush's second term was filled with much controversy and his poll numbers continued to slip. The No Child Left Behind education program has received a lot of flack, as well as the economic collapse that struck the nation towards the end of his term, with the housing crisis and failure of major loan corporations. It became unpopular to be associated with Bush, and everyone in the 2008 campaign would try to run from his name. However, the nation was not struck again in a terrorist attack during his remaining time in office, and the country was thought to be much safer. It is also worth noting that vice-president Dick Cheney was one of the most powerful VP's in history, often advising Bush on key decisions and pulling strings with department heads. Campaign items from this election are abundant and very cheap. Almost all buttons can be found for less than $10, and many under $5. Some of the single day event pins or larger buttons can be more rare, but there are a lot of items from this election on the market. I have pictured a few of my favorite buttons from the election.