The New Bush
By Stefan Kornelius

In 2000, George W. Bush became president by judicial decree. For four years this man bore the taint of the accidental, of one unjustly appointed. His policies carried the suspicion of illegitimacy and perhaps that is why they were even more aggressive, more rigorous. A president supported by the majority of voters could have been more equanimous. Bush however had to prove himself; he virtually had to impose himself.

Now the president has expunged this taint. With an ample lead and an impressive result in the swing states Bush was elected for a second term. This will be a remarkable phase. He will advance his agenda secure in the knowledge of broad support at home and he can rely on a conservative majority in both houses of Congress. America moves to the right because the people wished it so.

The long hours of uncertainty over the election result must be taken as a sort of shock absorber for the Democrats. No one had expected such an explicit vote of confidence for Bush; especially in the last few days the dynamics had seemed to favor Kerry. Consequently it took him some time to accept and concede defeat. The gap in Ohio was simply too large. A recount would most likely have caused the Democrats lasting damage because they would have looked like sore losers.

The sensation of the 2004 election is that despite a dramatic increase in voter turnout Bush was able to garner not just the majority of electoral votes but also the absolute majority of voters. America supports the president's course and does not share the perception of most of the rest of the world that sees Bush as damaging to the country. The foreign policy amid rough waters, an illegitimate war in Iraq with an uncertain denouement, an exorbitant deficit and a rapid loss of jobs in his own country -- and still George Bush has the majority's trust because this majority admires his directness and toughness.

America decides based on its own inner state and is unsusceptible to the outside viewpoint. The heart of America -- dyed Republican red on the election map -- this heart demands strength and simple formulas. Difficult problems must be solved by simple means. Bush's voters do not see the world tangled up in a mare's nest of dependencies and a host of problems -- they see America as the leading nation that must mold and construct.

All of this has little to do with ideology. The country yearns for security and wants to see American values lived, strength above all. Therefore, in his second term Bush will court these values even more intensely and will scoff at all those who expect a more conciliatory, more tolerant president. He will work for the history books that, in his view, will reward resoluteness, clarity and the religious-conservative worldview.

The majority in the United States shares these values and even provides him with a Congress that the president can use to effectively refashion the country in the coming years. The classic structure of control in the American system -- Congress and White House controlled by competing political camps -- this structure has been overridden again. America prefers things unambiguous. Bush's second term then will change the United States because the president feels he has been validated in his policy: He defied the critics and was rewarded. Therefore he will continue on his path. The Democrats should not be a major obstacle for him here. Their party faces months of self-flagellation.

America has become a stranger to many observers, most especially in Europe. The election only confirmed this impression. Bush will not have remained a short episode in history; he represents the majority of a country that has declared its political division as concept and the war of opposing camps a national sport. Its size allows America to endure this tension. The rest of the world however cannot. It is infected with the Bush-bug, which appears divisive and demanding.

Therefore, there is a real danger that the polarization of America will find its continuation in the rest of the world and might even be increased. A reconciliation with the United States under Bush seems to be unthinkable for many nations, especially in Europe and of course the Arabic world. Retreat and reciprocal contempt however would be the worst reactions to the election result. It is a historical truism that America's role in the world can be positive and enriching. And the months of election campaign have shown that in the United States the right politics are struggled for more vehemently than anywhere else in this world, in other words, the political competition still functions.

However, despite his great domestic power Bush faces difficult years ahead. The mountain of problems that he himself has racked up is gigantic. Now he must conquer it as well. The world must be a critical and challenging partner to him in this endeavor. Because America is more than its president.

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A German version of this essay originally appeared in the opinion page of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on November 4, 2004. This essay appeared in the November 12, 2004, AICGS Advisor translated by Sarah Fichter.
For the original German version, please click here.
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The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies.