A War Too Far? Bush, Iraq, and the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election

Ian McAllister*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    13 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    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.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)260-280
    Number of pages21
    JournalPresidential Studies Quarterly
    Volume36
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2006

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