Bush: New democracies eye US election

US president urges Americans to vote, says spirited campaign "proves self-government can endure."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
bush makes point 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
bush makes point 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
President George W. Bush is urging Americans going to the polls on Election Day to remember that the US election sets an example for budding democracies around the world. Bush, who cast an absentee ballot for Sen. John McCain last week, said all Americans should take advantage of their right to go to the polls and cast votes that will determine the nation's future. "Young democracies from Georgia and Ukraine to Afghanistan and Iraq can look to the United States for proof that self-government can endure," Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address. "And nations that still live under tyranny and oppression can find hope and inspiration in our commitment to liberty." Bush said that the spirited campaign between McCain and front-runner, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, reflects a political competition that is an "essential part of a healthy democracy." "But as the campaigns come to a close," he said, "Republicans, Democrats, and independents can find common ground on at least one point: Our system of representative democracy is one of America's greatest strengths." As Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama make their final pitches to voters this weekend, Bush will be spending time at the Camp David presidential retreat. He has no public events on Monday or Tuesday, not even an Election Day photo op. On election night, Bush is expected to watch the returns on television at the White House with friends and celebrate first lady Laura Bush's 62nd birthday.