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Last Updated: Thursday, November 11th, 2004 HOME | Previous Page
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The U.S. Presidential Election
To the disappointment and perhaps displeasure of many people the world over, the Republican incumbent George W.
Bush of Texas will on January 20, 2005 be sworn in for another four year-term as President of the United States
of America. This is consequent upon his convincing victory over his democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry of
Massachusetts, in the Presidential election that occurred on American Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, 2004.
For months the candidates of the two dominant parties in America fought fiercely for the American mandate. They
strove earnestly to convince Americans about their respective positions on each and every issue that touches on
the lives and well being of Americans.
Although the campaigns at some point deteriorated to psychological warfare and attack on the personalities of the
candidates, the campaigns did not lose their democratic essence. Again, even though we considered the election
as one of the bitterest elections in the recent history of America, we were not entirely surprised that the campaigns
took a dimension that could be considered quite out of tune with the American political culture and means of conferring
political legitimacy. It seemed normal that the parties and their candidates decided to remove their gloves and
throw hard punches at one another. The last four years have almost polarised America along rigid lines. Security
has more than ever before become high politics. The Republicans have relegated all other issues and matters including
the economy to the background. America has alienated herself from many of her international friends and courts
new enemies by the day. George Bush carries on business as if America is living on an unassailable island. In fact,
he cultivated and made the unilateral approach to issues a cherished routine of his administration. On the home
front, unemployment is high.
The Democrats promised to reverse this trend and return America to the suzerainty of the world system as symbolised
by the United Nations. John Kerry was therefore able to woo the sentiments of the majority of humanity. With the
exception of Israel and Russia, all mock elections that were conducted in countries outside the United States of
America favoured John Kerry.
But the election proved otherwise as the majority of the American electorate preferred George Bush and what he
stood for or personifies. At the close of the election, his party did not have a second mandate for the White House
but garnered majority seats in both legislative houses. In consonance with the American democratic culture his
contender John Kerry was quick to acknowledge George Bush as victor. The moment he realised that he had lost Ohio,
Kerry on Wednesday November 3, 2004, quickly accepted defeat and called to congratulate the winner. He also urged
his supporters to accept the reality and support the winning party. This act of munificence of spirit and many
other aspects of the elections offer very many lessons for us in this part of the world.
As John Kerry stated in his concession speech, in America it is vital that every vote counts, and that every vote
be counted, but the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process. This is quite unlike Nigeria
where elections, including the presidential election results, are still being contested in election tribunals and
courts more than a year after the election. As John Kerry also pointed out, in an American election, there are
no losers, because whether or not a particular candidate won, the next morning both the successful and the unsuccessful
contenders will wake up together as Americans.
What is also worth learning is the peaceful nature of the elections. It is indeed gratifying that in an election
where about 115 million people participated, there was no record of fighting, let alone any talk of killings. Despite
the strong differences in views and positions, both the candidates and their supporters considered and respected
the fact that they were all carrying American citizenship, which they cherish above all other considerations. In
the words of John Kerry, being American is the greatest privilege and most remarkable fortune that can come to
Americans. It is a shame that we have not developed this sort of sixth sense in this part of the world. Personal
ambitions and inordinate lust for power often push people to kill their fellow human beings at elections.
Another significant lesson that we commend to our leaders in this part of the world is the immediate undertaking
of George Bush to reach out to the Democrats. Since George Bush reckons that Americans expect bipartisan efforts
and results, his Administration will work with both parties in Congress to achieve those results. Bush seems to
have realised that a winner-takes-all attitude is not going to fetch him the results that Americans expect from
him in his second term. The just-concluded American elections have also taught us the simple lesson that election
is all about acquiring the legitimate mandate of the people to execute identified programmes within a given time
frame. It is not a do-or-die matter. A candidate can put in all his resources and energies in an election with
the hope of acquiring the people�s mandate to execute programmes that he genuinely believes to be most beneficial
to the people and yet be prepared to accept the people�s verdict. If we adopt this attitude in this part of the
world, then we would have gone a long way in solving the seemingly intractable problem that confronts us.
For George Bush, this second mandate offers him the rare opportunity of making amends to the world. He also has
history on his side to avoid what the Americans called the �second term curse�. He could be a super hero to the
Americans but America�s position in world politics enjoins her leader to be more than just a national hero.
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