Thursday 05 February 2004

There is an old saying "I am not a member of an organized political party…I am a Democrat." In 2004, that no longer seems to be the case. The exit polls show a party united around beating George Bush, and a party willing to rally behind the eventual nominee.

Eighty percent of Democratic voters are saying they will be satisfied with John Kerry as the nominee. That is a very strong showing for Kerry at a time when 5 other Democrats are still in the field, and a sixth was also at the time voters took the poll.

Over 40% of Democrats are angry with George Bush, while the number rises to over 80% dissatisfied with the current administration. Most Democrats say they are worse off economically than they were 4 years ago and 80% oppose the war.

John Kerry has emerged as the clear frontrunner while John Edwards, Howard Dean, and Wesley Clark have long-shot scenarios to get back in the race. Six months ago, the pundits were calling this a lackluster field, but with record turnouts in state after state, this field has caught the attention of the voters.

Drawn-out, protracted races usually hurt the party that takes a while to unite behind one candidate. This year however, the Democrats have united behind attacking George Bush and have damaged him more than each other.

With polls showing Kerry and Edwards ahead of Bush already, as well as Bush's approval ratings dropping, the Democrats look very strong at a time when often in the past they would be trying to heal from a bruising nomination battle. Perhaps George Bush really is a uniter and not a divider: he has certainly united the Democratic Party.

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Scott Galindez is the Political Editor of truthout.