I am not American and have a question regarding American politics?

Question

Everyday on Yahoo are questions about G.W. Bush, and most answers speak of him in a very derogatory way, an imbecile, messing up America, poking his nose in many places it shouldn't be, impeach him, etc.
So what did he do that was good to get re-electd for a second term. (if it is his second term???)

Answer 1

Keep in mind that most people on Yahoo Answers are young and don't vote. That means that what you read here is not a reflection of the entire country.

At the same time, recognize that in both 2000 and 2004, the presidential elections were extremely close, and in neither case did Bush have a mandate.

Mostly what happened was that Bill Clinton got caught in a sex scandal and it drove a lot of people out of the Democrat Party into the Republican Party. The Republicans have a slight lead over the Democrats, which is why Bush won those close elections.

So it's not that Bush did anything good or bad, it's simply that the party memberships of the Democrats and Republicans work out that way. But those memberships are constantly changing, and might well be different by the time the 2008 elections come along.

Answer 2

Many political scientists (though not all) argue that peoople engage in retrospective voting. In other words, the reward or punish the president with a new term based on how the economy did during the later part of his first term. Predicted election results based on economic indicators are usually accurate (the 2000 election is an exception) 2004 was not an exception in that the result followed the economic projection.

Like many things, this may not have much to do with what the president does. The economy can help or hurt both Republican and Democratic presidents.

Answer 3

A lot of people I know, no longer believe that the electoral process in America actually reflects the voters choices. Bush was elected president by the corporations that actuall manage the United States, while maintaining the illusion of representational democracy... that's how he got elected to not only the second term, but his first term as well. The corporations desperately wanted the war in Iraq, and Bush was their man.

Answer 4

If you look back into the terms of every president, there is something wrong with all of them in the public eye. I'm not sure what other people believe but it can't be easy running an ENTIRE country. I am a mother of 4 kids and its not easy running a household, let alone millions!

Bush-terror, war in Iraq
Clinton-national financial affairs
Bush-I'm not sure, but someone will tell you
Regan-Too much tax dollar spending (Star Wars program)
Carter-??? but I think something with the oil supply and prices (I was born during this term)

The next president will probably have the same thing happen to them as well. People have to have someone to blame for the problems of millions. He is that person! Yes, this is his second term.

Answer 5

Good question.

Much of the political discussion in America has been distilled down to two diametrically opposed sides. As a result, you will see posts that reflect one extreme (Bush is bad) or another (Bush is the greatest). However I think most Americans have mixed feelings about the President. They like some of the things he does, but they dislike others.

He was much more popular in 2004 than he is now. According to polls, Americans have been disappointed with his handling of Katrina and the Iraq war and some scandals involving intelligence gathering and torture have hurt his reputation.

Answer 6

The chairman of his reelection committee in the state of Ohio was also in charge of counting the votes in that state. The US electoral system is to complicated to go into here. But the voter suppression in Ohio was enough to put the shrub over the top and give him a second term in office. Pick up a book called Armed Madhouse by BBC journalist Greg Palast. He lays out rethug voter suppression across the country.

www.GregPalast.com

Answer 7

the majority of American's are too busy with their lives to bother checking up on facts plus you scare them enough and yeah they will vote for you. They have Rove and every one from both parties respect him, we don't like him but we respect him for having the pulse of what we will allow and won't. Lastly, they control the media here to a larger degree than ever happen before. You add all that up and then cheat just a little in the end and you get Bush for a second term and a very divided country.

Answer 8

well the truth in my opinion is that both candidates in this past election were equally bad. With the exception of Bush having a stronger character because Kerry seemed like a woos.

Answer 9

He lost the first election, despite his efforts to disenfranchise blacks and jews in a key state under the governorship of his brother. Then he sued to have the primarily Republican Supreme Court stop the recount while he was ahead. Then the Republicans in key states used the mess from the 2000 election to create an infrastructure of disenfranchisement in several key states... they created Voting Machines, as the required standard in many areas, a touch-screen voting device which is so expensive poorer primarily Democratic districts couldn't afford enough of them (each district pays its own voting system out of property tax) and they had to wait in long lines for 8 to 12 hours, risking the loss of jobs and other inconveniences. In addition, he scared about half the population out of their skulls, and successfully indoctrinated the Us Vs. Them Theory.

Does that make sense?

Answer 10

First of all, be careful of how you interpret American comments, we have a habit of exaggerating and lampooning politicians.

I think one of many factors in the election was a "don't switch horses in the middle of the race" attitude. We were in the middle of a war with Iraq, and other related stuff, and I think we didn't want the insecurity of switching leaders at a delicate time.