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| | Weblog special: US elections 2004 |
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May 7 2004: America goes to the polls on November 2 2004, but with 18 months to go, the candidates are already taking to the campaign trail. We present the best online journalism on the race for the White House.
Special report: United States
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| | | Watchblog
This multiple-editor weblog is three blogs in one: there is a blog for the Republicans and one for the Democrats, plus one for the third parties.
| | | Republicans hang on to president's coat-tails
'George W Bush was the big winner last night,' says the New York Times on the morning of the Republican victory. It says Mr Bush's high-profile campaigning in the most closely fought congressional races was a key factor in the result: 'Both political parties ran campaigns that huddled around the fuzzy middle, but Republican candidates in key states were able to hang onto the coat-tails of a popular president. '
New York Times
Bush bets his popularity and wins - Washington Post
| Why the Republicans won
David Jones of CBS News concurs, saying Mr Bush acted as a 'campaigner-in-chief' - but also pointing out that the Democrats were unable to capitalise on concerns about America's dipping economy. 'In retrospect, Democrats may have wished they had presented a more coherent message on their plans to fix the economy. In the absence of a clear alternative, the issue of the economy did not drive voters to Democratic candidates and away from Republican candidates.'
CBS News
| Why the Democrats lost
Joe Conason, writing for Salon.com, delivers a harsher verdict - saying the Democrats' failure to campaign hard on economy and security was symptomatic of a deeper malaise. 'A party that will not criticise the incumbent president cannot defeat him, now or two years from now. A party that has nothing to say about unfair tax breaks, a vanishing surplus and a looted economy cannot expect anyone to listen when it asks for votes. A party without passion or vision is hardly a political party at all.'
Salon.com
The Democrats and national security - Washington Monthly
| The dull election
All of which, said Newsweek on polling day, has led voters to conclude that this election was 'dull and duller': 'a dismal campaign, highlighted mostly by impotent candidates, a disaffected electorate and a media that don't know what to do with either'. They do now.
Newsweek
St Louis Post-Dispatch
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