Not just a slim win, but a huge conservative victory.

For you guys in other countries who might only be keeping up with the presidential election: you should know just how big a win this election has been for not just Bush, but conservatives in general.

We now hold the presidency, with a popular vote..

Weve gained a bunch of seats in the senate, which increases our majority...

Weve picked up some seats in the house of representatives, which we already had a majority in...

The power we have now is scary even to me... with the large popular vote, weve got a mandate from the people, and control every part of government except the judicial, and it looks like we will have the supreme court soon as well.

I even heard on the news about the possible death of the democratic party.. a complete overhaul of it. ~:eek: While i doubt that, its obvious the country has moved in a strongly conservative way, stronger than even i could hope!

This could be good or bad... if we rule well, the economy grows, and we win Iraq, then people will look at total conservative rule favorably, but if all goes to hell, we've no one to blame.

I just thought id bring this up, as the congress hasnt been discussed much here yet.

With more power you'll just screw it up more and there will be a backlash. 8 or so years from now be prepared for a string of democrats.

I think Iraq is the key for the Republicans now that they have won the election. Successfully resolve the situation there and they will likely gain a national consensus. If it continues spiralling downwards, the populous will quickly defect and things will got a lot worse at home and abroad. Let's hope for all our sake that they succeed.

IF the democrats are able to put together a party that has the ability to capture the majority.

Just now they had every chance to succeed and failed quite badly.

just remember: Power Corrupts

but I look forward to four years of peace and prosperity

They say Reagan changed the Republican party forever, but after Clinton left, the Democrats went right back to their far left ways.

Now that was spoken like a true American TinCow. We need more people with your attitude. Lets get this war over so that we can go back to doing the things at home that need to be done.

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Originally Posted by Gawain of Orkeny

Now that was spoken like a true American TinCow. We need more people with your attitude. Lets get this war over so that we can go back to doing the things at home that need to be done.

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Like planning the invasions of Iran and Syria? :help: Well lets hope Bush tones it down a little this time around.

I was complimenting Tincow on his being more concerned with the good of the country than partisan party politics. Take it as you like.

I offer my condolences.
Just saw it all on TV...We had a one-party state in Germany, not too long ago.
It can evolve complete and utterly wrong.
:bow:

R'as

Yes, you always need a strong oposition. Because over here the left wing party - labour - has had NO effective opposition Blair and co have been able to get away with things they should never have, simply because they have such power. I hope for the US sake, the democrats bounce back.

Yes and while I agree that Iraq needs to be sorted out and the troops brought home, I seriously wonder what plans Bush has for the next four years.

But hey I have a right to be concerned after all Tony Blair is so attached to Bush our country will be forced to go along with any new ventures he plans...

It would be great if he decides to have a quiet Presidency focusing on domestic issues, but I am sure you can understand me being nervous about his forgiegn policy plans that will certainly effect us in the UK.

well like I said power corrupts, I hope the Conservatives in Britain get a little bit better and stop pussy footing around

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Originally Posted by Templar Knight

well like I said power corrupts, I hope the Conservatives in Britain get a little bit better and stop pussy footing around

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What are you talking about? You can't get much more conservative than Tony Blair these days!!

fair point

I'm still searching for those "far left" democrats! ~:confused:

At least Panzer is now happy that he is part of the ruling elite. ~;)

i totally agree with PanzerJaeger. i have many friends romanian-american citizens and they mostly voted for Bush and republicans.i am not living in America so i think my opinion it doesnt matter but i like Bush and as lawyer i completly understand their electoral system .
i am sick of left , my country was a comunist country and i dont simply like left wing and especially left wing hipocrisy.
i am expecting great times. ~:cheers: to all republicans and :bow: for kerry's conceding.it is honourable

Thanks m8. ~:cheers:

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Originally Posted by Gawain of Orkeny

Now that was spoken like a true American TinCow. We need more people with your attitude. Lets get this war over so that we can go back to doing the things at home that need to be done.

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Thanks, I think what a lot of people forget is that we all have to live here. Regardless of who wins ANY election, we need to do our best to improve our nation and make life better. The only way to do this in a civilized society is to work with the system. This means cooperating with whoever is in power, regardless of whether you agree with them, and compromising where necessary. Right now, there is a great deal of animosity between the electorate on both sides. This serves no one at all. We need to heal the wounds and move on.

Those people who say they are considering leaving the country are cowards. The US needs everyone to buckle down and get to work solving our problems now. Stick around and help us, don't bail (physically or mentally).

There is no need to leave the country, the DHS will "disappear" political dissenters soon enough.

Winning the popular vote by a margin of four million will make a big difference to George Bush as his failure last time meant that the democrats were able to question his legitimacy to rule.

It will be interesting to see if countries like France attempt to heal the divisions with America now they know that the Americans support Bush's policies.

I predict a civil war within the ranks of the Democrat Party between the people who think they need to move to the right to win in 2008 and the people who think they are going to have to move to the left. These internal divisions will probaly cost the Democrats the 2008 election.

Well, I wish y'all Americans the best. Hope everything goes well for you. (Mostly because I live upstairs from you. ~:eek: )

Let me give you the street talk from here in Canada. What people here are saying, in general, is that they cannot believe how stupid the average American is for voting him back into office. There you have it, with no sugar coating.

Personally, I don't hold quite that severe an opinion, but in all honesty I cannot understand your choices. But perhaps this is how it should be. If we all thought alike, we'd be one country. For example, Kerry would have easily taken 90% of the vote had it been held here. That is the extent of our differences.

It's strange looking in from the outside and seeing Bush and what he is doing and has done, and your people's reaction to him. maybe I am beggining to understand, slowly, what you see in him (casting aside the propaganda and oblivious BS banter and sound bites that come from both sides). If I was to nail it down, it's the Average Joe persona of the guy.

I cannot be convinced in any way that Bush's actions in trying to find bin Laden and the war in Iraq are not complete failures in every way. But like the guy next door, standing there with a beer in his hand, promising that he'll finally build that garage "next year", which he's been saying every year, you want to believe him, and you really do hope he'll build it and you'll be happy to see him happy. Bush is that guy, a normal, full of faults but fun at a BBQ kind of guy. And Americans trust the Americanism of that hopeful effort more than the words of any fancy lawyer, who they would rather see drown than show up for drinks.

Bush is simple. And Americans crave simplicity. Not in a bad way, but in an old fashioned way. I don't think Bush represents accomplishment to the Americans, he represents hopeful effort, even blind hopeful effort, which is what so many of us live with every day. One look at Bush and you just know he's having trouble making it through the day just like everyone else. But he really does look like he's trying. And maybe he will build that garage he's been dreaming of. Next year.

In a crazy sort of way, I grudgingly admit that most Americans voted for Bush because they are hopeful. That ain't all bad.

I have to agree, there will be a split of the Dems. There was already one forming between the supporters of the DNC line (move to the right so we can get moderate conservatives) and the actual liberals that could be a challenge to the conservative disease. You could see the lines forming before the election, most liberals that I know wanted to see Dean win the nomination and run as a clear alternative to Bush. The Dem leadership and the DNC wanted someone who would not scare the center and center-right voters and try to convert some of them. It was a HUGE mistake for the dems to run a campaign based on "anybody but bush" instead of an actual platform. I hope that the split appens soon and we cann get a viable three or four party system in place befor the next election.

It was less his hopefulness, and more Kerry's weakness on defence. All the words in the world dont make up for that record.

And aside from that, the polls show that the #1 issue for the majority of americans was social issues! Who would have thought?

Americans dont like what the democrats stand for socially.. partial birth abortion, gay marrige, God in the Pledge.

It seems the american people still care about morals and values.. and thats solid republican territory.

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Thanks, I think what a lot of people forget is that we all have to live here. Regardless of who wins ANY election, we need to do our best to improve our nation and make life better. The only way to do this in a civilized society is to work with the system. This means cooperating with whoever is in power, regardless of whether you agree with them, and compromising where necessary. Right now, there is a great deal of animosity between the electorate on both sides. This serves no one at all. We need to heal the wounds and move on.

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Interesting.... would you agree that Democratic percieved obstructionism cost them this election- particularly in the Senate? I think this is particularly true in the case of Daschel.

I also think that while Republicans shouldnt become too arrogant, they clearly got a huge mandate from voters. I think that unless Dems want to sink farther into ruin in both houses of congress, its very important for them to give up the appearance of knee-jerk opposition to Republican initiatives. While Republicans should not brush off their Democrat peers, they also should not forget that they weren't elected to let Democrats get their way- they were elected for their Republican agendas.

I don't really think that many liberals actually belive that partial birth abortions are a good thing, at least I have not met many (actually I have not met any who agree with the practice). There may be a few fringe elements that belive that it is OK, but it is a brutal practice that should only be used in very extreme situations.

It is a misconception that liberals make a huge issue out of gay marraige. Liberals make an issue out of equality, they fought for civil rights for blacks in the 50's and 60's and are fighting about equality for gays now. I hate listening to conservatives when the go on about homosexuality destroying the sanctity of marraige but they still support divorce. If you believe in the sanctification of marraige and its strong moral and social role in society, ban divorce. The whole issue was a political trick to get an unsophisticated part of the electorate that wouldn't have voted energized and voting for fear and bigotry instead of the inalienable rights that our constitution holds dear.

Some good posts here - Beirut, Vlad, PJs last one.

Dems, don't get too upset, you weren't blown out of the water, you were only a few college votes away from winning. An extra couple of % in Ohio and its all different. Go here to look at how previous elections have turned out, most of them the map is all blue or all red, rarely is it as close as this one.

Bush is one of the most ridiculed, hated, mocked & despised leaders in modern history, whose policies have been extremely divisive, yet he still won. Why? Well, I think he has something of the Margaret Thatcher about him, ie he is hated, loathed, but those who hate and loathe him are the ones who would never vote for his party anyway. Mr & Mrs Middle America don't march through the streets of New York and they don't control the media so you don't hear much about them, but they're out there and they care about the kind of issues that PJ brought up, and they're out there in large enough numbers to swing the vote for Bush.

Just one word of advice for the Democrats - don't go with Hilary in 2008, she will divide America just as much as Bush. If the GOP have a candidate more moderate than Bush and with enough charisma & charm, Hilary would be a disaster.

Oh, and those who regard the Reps (or any party) having a mandate & control as a bad thing, I most heartily disagree. As much as I have been disapointed with Blair and many of his policies, I would much rather he had the power & authority to exercise his policies than be stuck in gridlock, every policy delayed, endlessly argued over, comprimised, watered down, diluted, nothing getting done. And I can't believe someone compared Bush having the authority to get things done in DC to Nazi Germany, good grief..... ~:confused:

Although I am glad Bush won (maybe more so that Kerry didn't win), I am unnerved by the overall election results. Power does corrupt; Republicans have had control of the government for four years, and I disagree with a number of the choices they made. They don't seem to have listened properly to the Democrats; it's as if they don't think they need them, and are content to do whatever they want without listening to other people's points of view. This is a dangerous attitude, and I certainly hope they get their act together this time around. I believe they have a chance to do much good, but if they don't take it, they will not have another chance for a long time.

I must admit I do not understand why the rest of the world is so hostile to Bush. I can understand some hostility - many people and governments worldwide disagreed with the Iraq invasion, and Bush certainly hasn't shown a lot of respect for decisions that the international community (particular the U.N.) supports. But the vast, seething, almost universal hostility I see doesn't seem justified. Bush's foreign policy decisions have not affected the rest of the world that badly. If anyone has a right to be angry, it's the people of Iraq - and they are more supportive of Bush than most of the rest of the world! I suspect worldwide media spin has made things seem worse than they are.

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Originally Posted by Kommodus

They don't seem to have listened properly to the Democrats; it's as if they don't think they need them, and are content to do whatever they want without listening to other people's points of view.

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With all due respect, the Democrats weren't elected, the Republicans were. I wouldn't expect any ruling party to ask the oppostion what they should do, and if I had voted for them I would be seriously peeved.