The 2004 Presidential Election, November 3, 2004, by Steven Charles
From MemoryArchive
Who: Steven Charles What: The 2004 Presidential Election When: November 3, 2004 Where: Brussels, Belgium
In the fall of 2004, Europe was the place to be for Americans dissatisfied with the George W. Bush administration. It was election time in the United States, and polls were showing the Republican incumbent and the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, running so close that it was impossible to pick a winner before Election Day. Most Europeans (and roughly half of all Americans) wanted Bush out of office. I was spending the semester studying in Brussels, Belgium, and being the good liberal Democrat that I am, I bonded with many European citizens on our mutual dislike of where America was headed under this dreadful administration. The race was too close to call for most of the night following Election Day, and not being sure of anything, I went to bed hoping for the best. The next morning my host mother gave me the awful news: the results were not yet official, but Bush was predicted to be the winner, having received roughly 51% of the vote. The first words out of my mouth to my host mother were, "Can I stay with you for the next four years?" The results DID become official later that day, when I was at my internship, and the outrage among my coworkers was intensely palpable. This was a truly dark day for America: we had missed our chance to regain our dignity. I don't know if the day would have been any easier had I actually been in this country, but I'm guessing not, because in Brussels I had many, many allies who shared my sorrow.
