Americans vote for Bush primarily because of fear and religion. But I feel there's also a large segment of our population that actually enjoys being dominated, is attracted to Bush's seemingly limitless power. Even if Bush's policies hurt them, they're infatuated with the prospect of increasing American power. They feel that they'd do what Bush does if they could afford to. Ignorance is also a factor here. It might sound condescending to say this, but if you look at the arguments by Bush supporters, they mainly appeal to emotion:
We were a peaceful nation, but then we were attacked by evil terrorists, and President Bush stood up for America. I might not agree with all of his policies, but Bush was there hugging the firefighters on Sept. 11th... (OK. Sept. 14th. So what that it took him three days before he even got to New York City?)
If you counter this argument by reporting the actual state of our union -- a net loss of a million jobs the last four years, a record $445 billion budget deficit, more Americans without insurance, record-setting prices at the gas pump, involvement in a very costly war that seemed avoidable -- the Republicans start the noise machine, and shout you down as unpatriotic. They can't argue factually, because the facts just aren't on their side. But the emotional nature of the situation allows them to justify their actions. And the result is one more misguided vote for Bush.
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