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Bush Wins White House, Reaches Out to Foes
Wed Nov 3, 5:34 PM ET
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) won re-election to a second four-year term over Democratic Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) on Wednesday and promised deeply divided Americans he would work to earn their support and trust.
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Electoral
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Bush
279
51%
Kerry
252
48%
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"A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation," he said in a victory speech in Washington. "When we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
Speaking directly to supporters of Kerry, Bush said: "I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can to deserve your trust."
Bush clinched victory in a bitter eight-month struggle for the White House when Kerry ended a vote-counting battle in the decisive state of Ohio and conceded. Kerry, who called Bush to offer his concession, later told supporters in Boston's historic Faneuil Hall to "begin the healing."
In a dispute that evoked memories of the prolonged election recount in Florida in 2000, delays in counting provisional and absentee ballots in Ohio had postponed the final outcome of the presidential election for hours.
Ohio's 20 electoral votes were the final hurdle to Bush capturing an Electoral College (news - web sites) majority of 270 votes after a divisive campaign that focused on the war in Iraq (news - web sites), the battle against global terrorism and the economy.
"I would not give up this fight if there was a chance we could prevail," an emotional Kerry said in Boston. "There won't be enough outstanding votes for us to be able to win Ohio, and therefore we cannot win this election."
Bush begins his second term with the daunting challenges of a worsening insurgency in Iraq -- the aftermath of his decision to invade the country in 2003 -- and soaring federal budget deficits.
Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) said Bush's win by 3.5 million votes over Kerry was "a mandate" for his second term agenda for the future.
Republicans also celebrated expanded majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate in results likely to build on that mandate and ease Bush's conservative agenda in Congress.
Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle, the leading spokesman for the party's congressional opposition to Bush for the last four years, lost his re-election bid to Republican John Thune.
Bush captured a majority of the national popular vote, unlike the disputed 2000 election against Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites), winning 51 percent to Kerry's 48 percent.
"Sen. Kerry waged a spirited campaign and he and his supporters can be proud of their efforts," Bush said.
Kerry called Bush on Wednesday morning after meeting with running mate John Edwards (news - web sites) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), his colleague from Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.
"DESPERATE NEED FOR UNITY"
Kerry said he congratulated Bush and they discussed the country's divisions and "the desperate need for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together. Today I hope that we can begin the healing."
The dispute over uncounted ballots in Ohio had thrown the presidential result into uncertainty, as Kerry's campaign vowed he would not concede until all the outstanding provisional and absentee ballots had been counted while Bush claimed victory.
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card made a predawn appearance before Bush supporters to say Bush had a "statistically insurmountable" lead in Ohio and had won a majority of the popular vote.
Ohio's Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell had estimated as many as 175,000 provisional ballots could be cast, and counties reported as of Wednesday morning that 135,149 had been issued.
Stocks soared on news of the win from Bush, with shares of major U.S. drug and defense companies rising on the expectation those industries would do well under Bush.
Allies like Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi saw Bush's victory as bolstering the U.S.-declared "war on terror." But some disenchanted Europeans urged Bush to heal transatlantic rifts.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites), Bush's biggest ally in the war in Iraq, said in London the re-election of Bush came at a critical time when the world must unite to fight terrorism and Europe must rebuild its relationship with Bush.
"We must be relentless in our war against terrorism," Blair said. "We should work with President Bush on this agenda."
Republicans will hold 55 of the 100 Senate seats, three more than they now have, and widened their slim majority of the 435-member House in the new 109th Congress, set to convene on Jan. 3.
That will make it easier for Bush to push his conservative agenda through Congress, potentially making his tax cuts permanent and appointing more federal judges including possibly some U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) justices.
"With a bigger majority, we can do even more exciting things," said House Majority leader Tom DeLay, a Republican from Texas.
Long voter lines were reported across the United States on Tuesday and few major voting glitches were recorded in the final act of the long campaign.
With 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, Bush captured 29 states with 274 electoral votes. Kerry won 19 states and the District of Columbia and 252 votes.
Still undecided were Iowa and New Mexico, but only Ohio made either candidate a winner.
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