Exit polls of voters after the presidential election show that John Kerry had a lot to work with in his campaign against President George W. Bush.

With results showing voters dissatisfied with the economy, tax cuts and the war in Iraq, Bush nevertheless convinced voters of his ability to lead on the strength of his character and moral values, said Margaret Thompson, associate professor of history who teaches a course entitled, ‘The Modern Presidency.’

Thompson said national exit polls show that one in five voters said values and moral concerns were the main topics that influenced voters’ choice in a candidate. The exit polls showed Bush leading in this category four to one.

‘George W. Bush is somebody who represents the values that are important to (voters),’ Thompson said. ‘I don’t think Kerry connected with a lot of people on a personal level.’

Thompson suggested Democrats needed to use the strategy of turning political matters into moral issues if they were to have a better chance of winning future elections.

‘Reframe arguments in terms that matter to more people,’ she said.

‘I think the Kerry campaign did not do an effective job at focusing the election on the economy,’ said Thomas Keck, assistant professor of political science.

Keck also recognized the tendency of voters to choose candidates based on moral and value issues, but said Kerry should have shown them those are not what is important. Instead, he should have focused on the state of the economy.

‘Kerry should have been able to use (the state of the economy) to appeal to the working class voter,’ Keck said.

Thompson also attributes the Bush victory to the percentage of youth voters. Due to the fact that the entire voter pool increased, the 18 to 29 age demographic remained at 17 percent of the voters.

‘The fact is there was not a larger percentage of younger votes,’ Thompson said. ‘But maybe Kerry didn’t motivate them.’

Keck said while Bush did a good job boosting voter turnout among the religious right, Kerry won 88 percent of the black vote.

With a Republican majority in Congress, Thompson said America will see the president implement most of his agenda within a year or so.

‘You may also see arrogance in power,’ she said. ‘I don’t think he’ll spend his time reaching out to Democrats.’

Jeff Stonecash, chairman of the political science department, said while he doesn’t know what effect the election will have on the future of America, ‘if his past is any indication, we ought to be getting a pretty conservative agenda.’

In addition to pushing his agenda, Thompson also said the Republican dominance in the executive branch of the American government will influence any appointments to the Supreme Court Bush might make.

While Keck said both the Senate and House of Representatives are still relatively split, the Republican Party will have some significant influences on the future of America. Keck said Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist will retire soon, along with potentially three other justices, and the Republican mandate will have a ‘dramatic impact on the court.’

‘It seems likely that conservative trends on the court will accelerate,’ Keck said.

In Congress, Keck said if Democrats ‘stand up and stick together,’ they can prevent Bush from becoming too extreme. Keck also pointed out there are a number of liberal Republicans in the Senate.

Overall, while exit polls show many voters disagree with Bush on many things, they voted for him anyway.

‘It reflects a kind of real priority towards value questions,’ Thompson said, speaking on the shift in views among Americans.

Keck said with Bush only receiving 51 percent of the votes, the country is still staunchly divided. Keck made reference to the map of red and blue states, saying that all but three states voted the way they did in 2000.

Published on November 4, 2004 at 12:00 pm