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US President George W. Bush won a mandate in Tuesday's midterm elections from voters still digesting the effects of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and looking ahead anxiously to a possible war with Iraq.
"This was an unusual election because the country is still in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Centre and in the run-up to a war against Iraq," said University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan.
"The message from the vote was that people wanted to stay the course behind a popular president in wartime. The people did not want to weaken the president at this point. Whatever doubts people have about the war, Bush gets the benefit of it," Buchanan said.
Republicans regained control of the Senate from the Democrats and retained their control of the House of Representatives.
Temple University political scientist James Hilty said Bush energized Republican voters by campaigning aggressively around the country, putting his personal prestige on the line. Democrats by contrast were hesitant and disunited. Many reluctantly supported the president on Iraq and were unable to mount an effective campaign on domestic issues.
"The Republicans seem to have won a quiet but clear mandate for Bush's proposed war on Iraq," Hilty said.
The result was particularly striking because historically the party controlling the White House almost always loses ground in midterm elections.
"Bush's involvement definitely tilted the balance. He gave Republicans a sense of mission, while the Democrats feared a backlash if they challenged Bush on foreign policy and tiptoed through the campaign," Hilty said.
One prominent Democratic casualty was Georgia Senator Max Cleland, whose opponent attacked him mercilessly for failing to support Bush's proposal for the creation of a government department of homeland security.
Three months ago, with the economy limping along and corporate scandals in the headlines, Democrats looked forward to sweeping gains. But Bush effectively pushed those issues into the background by pressing the Iraq issue.
"It's a pretty remarkable turn of events. Two years ago, Bush lost the popular vote to Al Gore. Now, he is sitting there with 62 per cent popularity," said Joel Goldstein, a political scientist at St. Louis University.
"When you look at the national picture, you have to conclude that many people wanted to support Bush because of the national security situation, especially since the Democrats were not putting forward a convincing message," he said.
Those voters who oppose the war against Iraq were left with no party to vote for and little reason to turn out.
All the Democrats facing tight Senate races backed Bush on Iraq with the single exception of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who seemed to be heading for re-election when he was killed in a plane crash 11 days before the election.
Americans traditionally rally behind the president, who is the commander in chief, in time of war. The September 11 attacks, which killed about 3,000 people, transformed Bush from the winner of a bitterly disputed presidential election into a wartime leader - a mantle he has worn ever since.
"The country was consumed by the issue of Iraq and the debate about the Iraqi resolution and what would happen," said Tom Daschle, a Democrat who had served as Senate majority leader.
With the nation as closely divided between Democrats and Republicans as it is, even slight changes can have major effects. So it proved this year.
(China Daily November 8, 2002)
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