332 a short history of the united states
the leadership necessary in this on- going war against terrorism. Demo-
crats praised Kerry’s heroic war record and questioned Bush’s failure to
serve in the Vietnam War, arguing that his enlistment in the Air Na-
tional Guard was just a convenient escape from the more dangerous
task of fi ghting in the jungles of Vietnam. Republicans struck back by
suggesting that Kerry’s record in the war was fake. A group called
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth claimed that his supposed heroism was a
lie, a falsehood that Kerry did not immediately dispute. Even worse
was his voting record in the Senate where he “voted against before vot-
ing for” a partic ular bill. He was dubbed a “fl ip-flopper,” one who could
not make up his mind about anything and tried to have it both ways.
As for the war in Iraq, Bush insisted during the campaign that the
country must “stay the course.” To pull out would spell victory for ter-
rorism and sink Iraq into a worse chaotic state than it already suffered.
Another issue that figured prominently in this election was same-sex
marriage. The Massachusetts supreme court ruled that marriage of gay
couples could not be denied, an argument repeated by some politicians
in Oregon and California. Bush himself said he favored a constitu-
tional amendment banning same- sex marriage. This issue triggered a
strong reaction among evangelical groups, who came out in record
numbers to vote for the “born again” Christian, George W. Bush.
Their appearance at the polls seemed to vindicate the contention of
Bush’s close political adviser, Karl Rove, that capturing the evangelical
base was essential to success. Not surprisingly, eleven states passed
measures outlawing same-sex marriages.
Bush triumphed, capturing 51 percent of the pop ular vote to Kerry’s
48 percent. But it was a closer election in the electoral college, where
Bush received 279 votes to Kerry’s 252. Had Ohio gone to Kerry, its 20
electoral votes would have reversed the outcome. And that state also
passed a ban on gay marriage by 62 percent, the issue that undoubtedly
brought many conservatives to the polls in Ohio and gave Bush the vic-
tory by a narrow margin.
Bush chose to interpret his success as a mandate to continue the war
until the terrorists had been subdued and a democracy established in
Iraq. He claimed he had acquired considerable political capital from
this election, which he planned to use to further his plans for reducing