Why did Americans support Bush?

Question

It seems Bush's support has crashed recently in the US but what I want to know is why it has taken this long for Americans to catch on to something that the rest of the world has known since the begining: Bush for pres is a VERY bad idea. When he was re-elected the whole rest of the world groaned is disbelief. Why did Americans continue to believe in him? And what has finally changed?

Answer 1

Americans are a self-absorbed bunch. and when the N.Y. towers burned, and the horrific acts were presented on all channels in *die-hard* big screen quality, we all were guilty of being frightened to death. It appeared more like world war 3 than a terrorist act! and like any mourning family we went through stages, first frightened,,then angry that it could happen to us. The local flag and banner shop had lines around the block, and sold out instantly. and I remember specifically standing on a balcony and looking to the horizon that evening, and was frightened by the quiet, and then was quite relieved as a jet from the close-by national guard came zooming by. I thought, were a strong country, and they can't do this to us.I was guilty! i wanted revenge! i wanted to be protected from the terrorists. and the following day Bush released a fantastic speech, a virtual hug for all of americans, telling us he would fix it. and we all were grateful he was there. There wasn't a congressman that would vote against any military action, there was too much hostility in the air, and even they wanted to fight. WELL NOW, things have come around, and our emotions have settled. It's now obvious that we cannot..and will not..win a fight against the entire middle east. we cannot and will not continue in good conscience sending our youth to fight. Why did it take so long for U.S. citizens to figure it out? maybe because we were THAT MUCH emotionally charged, THAT MUCH frightened, and a bit misinformed along the way. but have faith. is still a great country. :)

Answer 2

Well, the question shouldn't be why "did" they, but why "do" they. There are still some Americans that support Bush. I am one of them. He's a great Christian man and he's doing a pretty decent job for all that our country has been through. Believe it or not, Clinton did hand Bush the Presidency at a pretty bad time in the economy. It's not all Bush. I support everything he's done and everything he will do. I would even support a 3rd term if there was one.

Answer 3

Truth be told, only 1/3 of registered voters voted in the last presidential election so "America" as a whole was not behind him or Kerry. This past election was a bigger picture of Americans that are sick of being lied to and the lack of American values and principles as set forth by our founding fathers.

Answer 4

Before I answer this question, I'd like to say how interesting it is to not only hear from people of other countries, but what people within our OWN country seem to think.
That said, here's my theory. I didn't vote in the 2000 election. I decided it would be better to NOT vote since I didn't research either of the two viable candidates thoroughly. When Bush won, I thought that he won fair and square, but I had no other feelings for it in that regard.
When 9/11 happened, ALL of us were wrapped up in getting revenge for that despicable act. Congress voted to go to war, and most of the US was for it. Even when we went into Iraq, most people were still for it.
In the election in 2004, I voted for whom I believed to be the best candidate (after doing two years of research, and observing him the whole time): Bush. I'm not ashamed of this fact. He's done some things I disagree with, but he's also done the best he could with what he's been given.
It's interesting to me that people call those who still follow Bush "sheep", and people who blindly believe the hype of the media, especially since Bush still has the support of the military.
Much of what people name as reasons to dislike Bush, and what the military thinks, is BULL. This is not opinion. It's FACT.
I've spoken to many soldiers, and guess what. They're more educated politically than many of the civilian population are. And the way it USUALLY works in my experience is that the less-educated military spouses (those who don't read, pay attention to politics, and have little education) DON'T like Bush.
Furthermore, why should we CARE what other countries think of us and our president? History shows that most countries only like us when they want something anyway!
Those of us who still support our president DON'T rely on the media to tell us what to think, WE research independently! Many of us have seen FIRST-HAND what's going on in Iraq. Many of us have talked to those who have BEEN there, rather than relying on the media's account. You honestly think they're THERE? They get their news from generals sitting in DC! Wow, SO accurate.
I could go on and on about this, but I don't see a point. I have my reasons to support my president STILL, and so do the soldiers I know.
How can a minority be called "sheep"? It's actually the MAJORITY that's usually the sheep!

Answer 5

Well, given that his key opponent, John Kerry, could stand on both sides of any issue, up to and including the Iraq War, it was much more reassuring to know that Bush stood his ground.

Kerry had more waffles on issues than you could count. He changed his mind like the breeze, so long at it appeared to make him look good. It surely was a sad day for the Dems when he lost.

Answer 6

To start with, he has name recognition. We Americans aren't a very polical sort, so we just vote for whomever's name we recognize (and I admit, I've just guessed sometimes).

Then Bush beat the drums of war after September 11th. Don't ever underestimate the effect that day had on a lot of people... and most of those who weren't moved by that are so apathetic that they don't really care WHAT our leaders do.

Now that we've got thousands of boots in the sand, and billions of dollars thrown this way, there's not much most of us think we can do. Since the Patriot Act, overt direct actions against the government are suicidal at best.

And why did some folks vote for Bush? I quote:
"Now he can clean up the mess he made." Rational, no. But it gives you an idea just how screwed up we are.

And back in 2000, we really didn't elect him. Bush's primary appeal is to the upper crust and the elite-types. He actually lost the popular vote, but he won in our signature Electoral College. Also an irrational idea, but that's the good 'ol USA for you.

What's changed? Some soldiers have been away from home for years, kept beyond when they thought they'd be able to go home. There are reservists who thought they'd be home for Christmas _2004_ who still haven't seen their families and still have to worry about being car-bombed.

And their families don't much appreciate that. Even we Americans can only be so apathetic.

I hope that helps, but I doubt I can explain it. You'd have to really immerse yourself in the culture to get it.

Answer 7

Good question, many in the U.S. groaned too. But did you see democracy work, I see a definite difference in Bush's manner. A little to late. He is seeking solutions instead of dictating failed policy's, Americans have spoken, staying the course is no longer an option,he works for us. Maybe people have caught on his spin of blaming everything and everybody but himself. Mostly it was the ongoing murder in Iraq. The American people want solutions to the Iraqi problem and he waited too long to look for them. The general repuglican corruption paid a role in it also. Many factors, but a lesson to the world that Americas revolution is still strong, the people have a voice. Democracy works.

Answer 8

If this makes sense, it was not a vote for Bush but a vote against Gore and Kerry. Gore was running on the coat tails of Clinton and his success. Also, as for Kerry, if you saw his record, he was virtually the same as Bush. The public didn't know what to believe. Kerry basically went with the opposite of what Bush wanted. He told the people what they wanted to hear. I know, all politicians do that but Kerry was unapologetic about it. We have not had a competent leader in the White House in years. Unfortunately, Kerry or Gore were not a great alternative to Bush.

Answer 9

Americans always rally behind their President.
Mr. Bush with the assistance of the US Congress and the US senate, brought a viable reason as to why the events of the last 6 years have been happening.
We always have practice allegiance to the Chief in the US.
However controversial facts in the aftermath, have caused the "low" popularity of the Chief to his people.

Answer 10

they didn't the majority supported gore first but bush was elected by a minority called the electoral college which is the majority of the states [just 26 states] but not the majority of the population of the u.s.who are in 24 states and then the second time it was an even more suspicious election with the electronic voting that was always in favor with bush when ever it was very close in some states even though all of the polls especially the most accurate ones were in favor of Kerry! the electronic voting machines are made by the military industrial complex die bold and they support bush!