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Bush reclaims White House
The victory halted temporarily by a dispute over Ohio tally, came after Kerry called up Bush and conceded defeat, reports S Rajagopalan.
In a remarkable showing at the hustings, President George W Bush has won a second term and his party has returned to the US Congress with expanded majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Bush’s victory, halted temporarily by a gathering storm over counting of provisional ballots in Ohio, came about at 11 am ET (9.30 pm IST) when Democratic challenger John Kerry called him up and conceded the election.
Till then, there was a very real fear of a replay of Florida 2000 that had mired the previous presidential election in lawsuits and delayed the outcome by 36 days.
Kerry was slated to make a concession speech in Boston later in the day, to be followed by President Bush’s address. While making the concession, Kerry is reported to have told Bush that he did not want to contribute to further division in the country after a long and bitter electoral campaign.
Bush, appreciating Kerry’s gesture, is said to have agreed that he will work towards ending the bitterness. CNN, quoting sources in both the camps, said that Bush promised to reach out to Democrats.
It was an extraordinary victory for Bush in the White House race and for his party in the congressional elections. Unlike 2000, Bush this time round won both the popular vote and the electoral college. He polled 58.23 million votes (51 per cent) as against Kerry’s 54.68 million (48 per cent).
