The Reelection of President Bush, Essay Example

The reelection of President Bush came at a time, when the government was still in the midst of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many people that voted Bush was still motivated by his actions following 9/11, that wanted to see people pay for those casualties.  The election that pitted President Bush and Senator Kerry against each other was vastly different. Both presidential candidates ran a pro-war campaign, as Kerry painted the picture as a war hero, and Bush ran as vacillator of revenge. Bush during his second reelection, mishandled several key issues that troubled many American people, including giving generous handouts for a bailout of banks, and financial institutions. Bush mishandled the response to Hurricane Katrina, lied on the reasons for going to war, and people were sunk into economic downtown that people are still trying to relieve themselves.  The 2008 election with then presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain was vastly different. The age of social media, and the amount of young people that mobilize was comparatively different from in previous elections. The issues of student loans, economic relief, and wanting to get out war was a primary concern for most Americans.

This issues that plagued the 2004 election that included the use of the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, illegal immigration, welfare, and other issues didn’t dissipate in the 2008 elections. However, they were not a priority, as the rights of women (abortion), gun control, deficit spending, same-sex marriage, and the legality marijuana. Society changed from a conservative consensus, to a more progressive or liberal thought, as younger individuals were more vocal in change than in past decades. In the 2008 election, more African Americans voted than ever before, more women, and younger people came out than in the 2004 election. Barack Obama was a younger, liberal, half black candidate that captured the generation that wanted to move towards more tolerance of issues such as immigration, marijuana use, and same-sex marriage.