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November 03, 2004
US Election
10.54 am It increasingly looks as though Bush has won Ohio and therefore the election. The White House chief of state has just claimed victory. Ohio (20 votes), New Mexico (5 votes) and Iowa (7 votes) have still not been called. Bush has 254 electoral votes to Kerry’s 252.
I stayed up until 5 am, got up again at about 8.30, and then again at 10. At first it looked good for the Democrats. The turnout was huge: 115 million voters, 10 million up on 2000. It was widely hoped and assumed that new voters meant Kerry voters, but this morning we know that this was not the case. (It is probable that the Republicans have won votes on the social issues, gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research.)
America is polarized in every way. Even the map is no longer a patchwork of contrasting colours. One large red Republican area is consolidated in the centre with two blue blocks of states, one in the north-east and one on the Pacific.
What would a Bush victory mean for the transatlantic relationship? Britain has nothing to gain from a ‘special relationship’ with the conservative American hinterland. We don’t share their religion. We don’t share their social values or their political beliefs. Our future lies with Europe.
Posted by Simon Holledge at November 3, 2004 10:54 AM
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