Triumphant after a night of electoral turmoil, President George W. Bush pledged to ''reach out to the whole nation" yesterday after accepting a concession call from Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts that put an end to one of the nastiest presidential campaigns in memory, clearing the way for Bush to become the 19th two-term president in US history.
Bush claimed sizable margins of victory in both the popular and electoral counts, overcoming the legacy of his one-term father and allowing him to claim a clear mandate to advance a conservative agenda over the next four years. Strong Republican performances in the House and Senate laid the groundwork for sweeping legislative action on taxes, Social Security, and education -- goals Bush named in his victory address.
''Because we have done the hard work, we are entering a season of hope," Bush told ecstatic supporters at the Ronald Reagan Building blocks from the White House yesterday afternoon. ''A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation. We have one country, one Constitution, and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
Appearing confident and poised, Bush made a direct appeal to the 55 million voters who had chosen his Democratic rival in a time of bitter polarization over social and cultural issues, terrorism, and the war in Iraq. ''Today I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent: To make this nation stronger and better I will need your support, and I will work to earn it," Bush said in remarks that lasted half as long as Kerry's.
Kerry, forgoing a lengthy wait for provisional ballot counting in Ohio, conceded in a cordial phone call to Bush at 11 a.m., ending hours of speculation about another protracted legal battle over the election results. Reflective even in defeat, Kerry called on the nation to ''begin the healing," delivering an emotional valediction at Faneuil Hall that left his crushed supporters in tears and threw a spotlight on the uncertain future of the Democratic Party.
''I did my best to express my vision and my hopes for America. We worked hard and we fought hard, and I wish that things had turned out a little differently," Kerry said.
''In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort, without remorse or recrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion. I hope President Bush will advance those values in the coming years. I pledge to do my part to try to bridge the partisan divide."
Reminding his supporters that victory once seemed impossible, Kerry expressed repeated thanks just for the chance to run. ''I wish that I could just wrap you up in my arms and embrace each and every one of you individually all across this nation," he said.
Teresa Heinz Kerry appeared in rapt attention as Kerry spoke, and nodded her head vigorously when the Democrat called for a ''larger measure of compassion" from a second Bush administration. Vanessa and Alexandra Kerry wrapped their arms around each other through Kerry's speech. Spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter and press secretary David Wade sat side by side, wearing clothes wrinkled from the campaign trail, and crying as the Democrat spoke. Close Kerry friend David Thorne described it ''as certainly one of the most difficult speeches, most difficult moments of his life."
Bush, who had held off giving his victory speech as Kerry struggled with what to do, appeared in Washington soon after his rival stepped off the stage in Boston. According to Democratic advisers, Kerry made note of the divided electorate in his concession phone call, and Bush picked up the theme in his public speech.
After months of bitter campaign attacks on Kerry, Bush turned conciliatory and offered the kind of lofty remarks that once defined his most important public addresses.
''There's an old saying: 'Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks,' " Bush said. ''In four historic years, America has been given great tasks, and faced them with strength and courage. Our people have restored the vigor of this economy, and shown resolve and patience in a new kind of war. Our military has brought justice to the enemy, and honor to America. Our nation has defended itself, and served the freedom of all mankind. I'm proud to lead such an amazing country, and I'm proud to lead it forward."
Despite the intensity of the campaign, Bush has shared relatively few details of his plans for a second term. Among the proposals Bush is likely to press: partial privatization of Social Security, simplification of the income tax code, drilling for oil in the Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. At the same time, Bush has a raft of external challenges ahead of him at home and abroad, as US forces grapple with continued standoffs in Iraq and the economy makes only faltering progress, all while the federal government faces a soaring budget deficit.
Mounting concerns over the health of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has retrained attention on the escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians -- a morass Bush largely ignored to focus on Iraq in recent months. US warplanes continued yesterday to hit Fallujah, a rebel stronghold in Iraq, laying the groundwork for a likely assault in the days ahead. Iraqi elections are scheduled for January, but will require vast security improvements to take place. The announcement that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist is undergoing treatment for cancer has renewed speculation about a vacancy on the Supreme Court, and choosing a justice could be one of the most consequential tasks Bush faces in his next four years.
Indeed, in his introductory remarks yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney called the first Bush term a ''consequential presidency" and anticipated actions of even greater import in the next.
''President Bush ran forthrightly on a clear agenda for this nation's future, and the nation responded by giving him a mandate," Cheney said. ''If ever a man met his moment as leader of this country, that man is George W. Bush."
As of last night, with 99 percent of precincts reporting nationwide and the outcome in Iowa the only one still being determined, it appeared a clear majority of the electorate agreed.
Bush won 51 percent of the popular vote, about 59 million votes, a forceful showing that seemed to validate the unusual political strategy of the Bush team -- mostly pursuing conservative Republicans even at the risk of alienating moderates. In his speech, Bush thanked ''the architect, Karl Rove," his senior political strategist and the engineer of the 2004 ground game.
Patrick Healy of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
