11/03/2004
Americans gathered around TV sets through the night, hoping for a quick resolution to the presidential contest, and it finally came on Wednesday morning with word that Sen. John Kerry had called President Bush to concede the election.
Bush made his victory speech mid-afternoon Wednesday, thanking supporters for their work on his campaign and saying, "I'm humbled by the trust and confidence of my fellow citizens."
The president's victory speech was relatively short, mentioning only broad strokes of policy initiatives, including the need to continue to work toward democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he also noted his focus on economic issues.
"We will continue our economic progress," Bush said. "We'll reform our outdated tax code. We'll strengthen Social Security for the next generation. We'll make public schools all they can be."
Kerry gave his concession speech at Faneuil Hall in Boston early this afternoon, thanking his supporters and family for their work through the campaign. He called for the country to come together and begin "healing" as the closely fought election ended.
NFIB President Jack Faris said that small-business owners nationwide are looking forward to the prospects of Bush's second term in office.
"Over the last four years, President Bush has spurred economic growth and prosperity amongst America’s job creators by providing them with the tools necessary for small-business success," Faris said. "President Bush’s tax-relief program has been a shot in the arm for small-business owners, and many have used their hard-earned income to reinvest in their businesses and hire new employees. This victory is a prelude to permanent tax relief, as well as certainty and consistency in the tax code, for long-term planning and growth."
A long night
With many networks hosting all-night coverage and election officials working around the clock, Iowa, New Mexico and Ohio were still up in the air according to some estimates on Wednesday, but returns in so far would put all of them in the president's column, giving Bush a comfortable 286-252 victory in the Electoral College.
President Bush easily won the popular vote, 58,884,526 to 55,313,030 as of 4 p.m. EST Wednesday. Independent candidate Ralph Nader was not a large factor in yesterday's tally, as he was in 2000, garnering just 0.3 percent of the popular vote nationwide.
Small-business work pays off
During the campaign, NFIB had conducted its most massive voter education and turnout efforts to date, educating its members on small-business-friendly candidates on the federal and state levels.
While NFIB did not endorse a presidential candidate, it did compile an issue comparison for NFIB members, based on Bush's and Kerry's public records on the critical small-business issues. In response to an NFIB member mailing, 95 percent of NFIB members indicated that they planned to support Bush, while 4 percent were supporting Kerry and 1 percent were undecided.
President Bush has supported many small-business issues during his first term, including Small-Business Health Plans, also known as AHPs, permanent tax relief, and tort reform.
