From the Publisher:
Bush win is good for Mississippi
fter all of the experts, pundits and analysts had their say, the results of the 2004 Presidential Election again prove surprising. In 2000, most experts had Bush with a comfortable lead and we ended up in the Supreme Court. This year most predicted that the nation was again headed to the courts and that lawyers, not voters, would decide the election. Instead, we have an incumbent President who won with a close but convincing margin (the first President elected since 1988 to gain more than 50% of the popular vote).
Additionally, the Republicans increased their lead in the House and the Senate, defeated incumbent Minority Leader Tom Daschle and possibly secured two or three pro-life Supreme Court Justices in the next four years. What was predicted to be a nail-biter resulted in one of the best days for Republicans in history. Bush can claim the mandate needed to finish his plan in Iraq and answer the many issues raised during the election. Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran stands to be named Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in a very top-heavy Republican Senate.
The exit polls that web pundit Matt Drudge released predicted a strong Kerry turnout. Almost every analyst insisted that a high voter turnout spelled doom for Bush. These analysts were off for a second consecutive Presidential Election. What are they missing?
I believe that they are not taking into account rural America, where the greatest numbers of voters reside. When stirred, the moral fiber of the nation is still our strongest suit. The map of the read and blue states reads perfectly like a battle between rural and suburban America and urban America.
Also during this election we sadly saw how The New York Times, CBS, PBS, and other once respected national media concerns, did their best to throw this presidential election to Senator Kerry. Two weeks from election day, The New York Times ran a front page story on President Bush which shortly after being published, was questioned for it’s accuracy and factual information. Before that episode, CBS’ Dan Rather had to apologize to the nation for a misleading story he ran and in fact many called for Mr. Rather to step down from CBS. And, the night before the election, PBS ran a fluff biographical story, nationwide, on Senator Kerry. The list of media concerns that did their best to overthrow President Bush in his bid for reelection is almost endless. This proves one thing: the nation’s largest media outlets cannot be trusted any longer. Gone are the days of fair and balanced reporting. The nation’s leading media outlets have become “un” fair and “un” balanced. Or, could it be that perhaps this just goes to show how insignificant the national media is and how smart rural America has become?
With President Bush in office for a second term, with Senator Cochran’s elevation in power, and with Haley Barbour as our governor, look for big things to take place in Mississippi during the next four years. DBJ
Scott Coopwood
Publisher
