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Bush wins popular vote as ohio hangs in balance Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/041103/w110336.htmlhttp://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/041103/w110336.html
Bush wins popular vote in electoral nail-biter; Ohio hanging in balance
07:46 AM EST Nov 03
BETH GORHAM
WASHINGTON (CP) - The U.S. election became a tense showdown with no final result when Democrat John Kerry refused early Wednesday to concede defeat despite all indications that President George W. Bush won over Americans ultimately wary of abandoning their commander-in-chief in a time of war.
Bush captured the popular vote with 51 per cent, but under the complicated electoral college system, there was no clear winner without a final call on the crucial and deciding state of Ohio.
Democrats said they had no intention of making the same mistake they made in Florida four years ago and concede too early, insisting there were 250,000 provisional ballots in Ohio that wouldn't be counted for another 11 days - votes that could reverse the numbers that had Bush ahead by more than 100,000 votes with almost all the polls reporting.
"It's been a long night but we've waited four years for this victory," John Edwards, the Democrat vice-presidential candidate, told a cheering partisan crowd early Wednesday in Boston. "We can wait one more night."
"John Kerry and I made a promise in this campaign that every vote would count and every vote would be counted."
But the Democratic stalling tactics appeared to hold slim promise.
With Republican wins in the House of Representatives and the Senate, it was a banner night for conservatives who favour huge tax cuts and a social agenda that outlaws same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
A record number of Americans were thought to have voted after a bruising, bare-knuckle campaign focused on the Iraq war, terrorist threats and lost jobs. Officials forecast as many as 121 million people would turn out to cast ballots.
But the big numbers didn't translate into the votes for Kerry that analysts predicted, and instead may have actually benefitted Bush.
Long lines at voting stations indicated that the fractious eight-month campaign, marked by scare tactics, negative TV ads, misleading claims and vicious personal attacks, engaged Americans like no other race in recent history.
The turnout was considered a sign as well that Americans were determined to have their say after the chaotic 2000 battle that saw Democrat Al Gore capture the popular vote but allowed Bush to squeak into the White House with more electoral college points.
National and state polls have long suggested Bush and Kerry were in a dead heat, with independent candidate Ralph Nader getting about one per cent of the vote. Surveys also put Bush's approval rating below the critical 50 per cent mark as he fought to avoid that fate that befell his father 12 years ago - that of a one-term president.
A delegation of Democratic lawyers were en route to Ohio early Wednesday. Indeed, an army of party lawyers was on hand all day Tuesday to jump on any voting irregularities after the problem-plagued 2000 race was only resolved by a court ruling that ended a five-week Florida recount.
Several states were seen as key to determining who would be sitting in the Oval Office this time, but experts said the winner had to take two states among Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, worth 68 electoral college votes of the 270 needed.
Voters were divided sharply along age, gender, religious and racial lines, according to national exit polls.
Bush was favoured among white men, voters with family incomes over $100,000 US and evangelical Christians who view him as a messenger from God in a titanic fight to quell terrorism and spread liberty around the world, while Kerry was the overwhelming favourite of black voters, Hispanics, union households and was supported by many younger voters.
One in 10 voters were casting ballots for the first time and fewer than 10 per cent were young voters - hardly the flood that experts had predicted.
Bush, facing heavy U.S. casualties in Iraq and a sluggish economy that's resulted in more jobs lost than created during his tenure, based his campaign on who best can protect the country from terrorists. He traded heavily on his determined leadership after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - a platform that drew fire from some that he exploited the worst fears of Americans.
Interestingly, voters in the states that were hit on Sept. 11 - the District of Columbia, New York and Pennsylvania - lined up solidly behind Kerry.
The president, a lightning rod for people who fervently admire and despise him in equal numbers, said he takes the passion he evokes as a compliment.
"It means I'm willing to take a stand," Bush said after voting near his ranch in Crawford, Texas. He later headed to Washington to watch the results come in.
"These are very troubling times and I believe a president must lead by being resolute and firm and strong and clear. And the people know that. That's why I'm comfortable about this election."
Kerry, who became the Democratic challenger in March, staked his fortunes on pledging more help for middle-class Americans and creating jobs. He blasted Bush's invasion of Iraq and vowed to repair relations with key allies in a more internationalist and consultative approach to world affairs.
"I'm very confident that we've made the case for change, the case for trust in new leadership, a new direction, a fresh start," an emotional Kerry said in Boston, where he was awaiting the results.
"I'm moved by the courage of Americans and the numbers of people who believe we can do better in this country. And it's an uplifting experience, no matter what happens."
In most states, whoever wins the popular vote, even if it's by one, collects all the electoral college votes. There are a total of 538 and 270 votes are needed for a majority.
Some 105 million people voted last time. At least 10 million more were expected Tuesday, with millions voting in advance polls and casting absentee ballots.
© The Canadian Press, 2004
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