It could only happen... In America

By Chris O'Keefe

I feel responsible for the election of George W. Bush.

You see on Tuesday night I was watching the coverage of the election and as it was unfolding, it was close but with John Kerry seemingly in control of Pennsylvania and insiders from Bush's camp saying they were planning for the eventuality that they would lose Ohio, I knew the electoral sums were looking good.

I also knew that people were queuing outside and I assumed that was a good thing as I was told they were likely to vote Kerry. So I allowed myself to go to sleep for a couple of hours.

7.30am: In the two hours and 30 minutes I was asleep, it seems Bush was in an unassailable lead in Ohio. By now my optimism has completely evaporated. I close my eyes for a couple of hours and them lot across the pond have elected (legitimately this time I might add) the one who led them war on false information, let their Public Enemy No.1 go in Afghanistan and he has the worst job loss deficit numbers of any President probably since the depression. That's just a sample of what he's done.

What shocks me is that he won the popular vote. Yet in our country and all over the world they can't stand. In fact when people in other countries were asked who they would elect, they said Kerry. Some nations backed him by 90 per cent. So how did so many Americans think different?

I looked at the map and the area voting for Bush were states with strong religious ties. I'm sure you've got a idea who I mean. The preachers who look to heal through faith, anti-abortion's, opposed to gay marriage.

Quite ironic that America's enemy is a group linked with religious extremism when his fan base is to put it mildly a group that believes firmly in religion and believes it has a prime place in the running of the country.

There has also been a notion that the US population shouldn't change their Commander in Chief in a time of war. Yet as a person living in the western world I feel less safe now than I did in 2000. A time when Clinton was in his eighth year in office, Bush was a mere footnote in American history at this point.

So lets look at his performance in this "War on Terror."

He failed to take notice of intelligence and security briefings warning America was at risk to an attack on its own soil. He then allowed members of the Bin Laden family to leave America without asking a question of any of them on their exit.

When he invaded Afghanistan, he failed to catch Osama Bin Laden, including letting him escape when British special forces were in touching distance.

Bush then proceeds to invade Iraq saying they have Weapons of Mass Destruction which have still to be found and the Iraq Survey Group say there are no weapons. Added to this US, UK and troops from other countries are being killed every day.

So how American voters gave such an irresponsible group of people a second term of office, I cannot explain. Not that I would suggest to the Democratic Party how to get back into the White House, but approaching a certain Hilary Clinton would be a good start.