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A War Too Far? Bush, Iraq, and the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election
Author(s) -
McALLISTER IAN
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00302.x
Subject(s) - iraq war , political science , presidential election , terrorism , honesty , public opinion , foreign policy , presidential system , law , public administration , politics
Following 9‐11 and the decision to go to war with Iraq, the Bush administration had to gain public support to legitimize its policy. This was achieved by priming the public on Iraq and by associating the Iraqi regime with terrorism, views about which most voters had clearly defined, preexisting views. In the run‐up to the 2004 presidential election, the Iraq issue also became closely associated with Bush’s personal qualities as president. Analyses of the 2004 American National Election Study show that voters were primed on Iraq through television coverage. Evaluations of Bush’s personal qualities declined between 2000 and 2004, and judgments about his honesty and intelligence in 2004 were significantly related to opinions about Iraq. Iraq had an important influence in promoting turnout in the election, which increased Bush’s vote, and in shaping the election outcome. However, the influence of the Iraq issue was indirect and mediated by personal evaluations of George W. Bush.