In 2004, Americans were proud of the War on Terrorism, our accomplishments in the Middle East, and the incumbent president that had kept us safe from harm since 9/11. The Republican Party capitalized on the War on Terror during the 2004 elections, but being affiliated with the Republican Party and a pro-war stance in 2008 wasn’t considered a good thing to the majority. Even other Republicans were openly embarrassed by the Bush Administration’s mistakes with the War on Terror and were hiding behind the “McCain’s not the same” way of thinking. What else could they do short of switching party affiliations? A division in the Republican Party gave the Democratic Party a united front – its campaign slogan should have been called “No Republican Left Behind.” That is how American wanted it – they were tired of the Republican strategies and they finally spoke up when it came to the vote. The War on Terror, the party that started and supported it, its impact on our economy, and our favoritism in the eye of other nations has had the largest impact on the shift of political culture between the 2004 and 2008 elections.
A thanks almost wholly to mainstream media, the nation now has an up front and in your face version of the American political process. The unfortunate piece of that is that most Americans allow their minds to be made up by other people’s influence. The Fox News Channel was unofficially dubbed “The Bush Channel” during the 2004 elections and has been known for its conservative favored reporting. “Since its 1996 launch, Fox has become a central hub of the conservative movement 's well-oiled media machine” a comment by Seth Ackerman, a reporter for FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), embodies the bias in media that is found on today’s cable news networks. The same thing held true for the 2008 elections and McCain’s favoritism in the media; Fox News Channel was definitely on the side of McCain. I think that the shift
References: 1. Newmark, C. (2009, April 1). Fair Elections Now Act introduced to change political culture. Huffington Post. Retrieved June 13, 2009, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/fair-elections-now-act-in_b_181936.html 2. Ackerman, S. (2001, August). The Most Biased Name in News: Fox News Channel 's extraordinary right-wing tilt. Extra!, Retrieved June 13, 2009, from http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1067 3. Cummings, J. (2008, January 3). Political Culture: Will Hollywood Matter in 2008?. Retrieved June 13, 2009, from Popdose: http://popdose.com/will-hollywood-matter-in-2008/