Nevada County soundly backs President Bush

As they have in every presidential election since 1968, Nevada County voters backed the Republican Party ticket Tuesday.

The war on terrorism was the defining issue for voters interviewed as they left their polling places, and the majority of them believed that President George W. Bush will provide better leadership than Sen. John Kerry.

With 102 of 138 precincts reporting in the county, Bush had 18,588 votes (54 percent) to 15,528 (44 percent) for Kerry.

"It's a different world we live in. We're never really going back to pre-9/11," said Santia Enos of Grass Valley outside the Veterans' Memorial Building on South Auburn Street.

"I think Bush has been given a very difficult task. It's crucial that we have a president who can handle it. It's just too big for Kerry."

Voters who backed Kerry cited their opposition to Bush more than their support of the Democratic nominee.

Jackie McComb of Grass Valley said she was a lifelong Republican until she recently switched parties because she "detests" Bush.

"I'm so upset about the war, I'd vote for a Beanie Baby before I'd vote for Bush," she said.

"I think it's arrogant of us (to invade Iraq)," she added. "If you look at history, you can't impose western values on an Eastern culture. I don't think Bush believes the American people are very smart."

Michael Irvine of Lake of the Pines, who said he's a Republican by nature, believes Bush can provide stronger leadership in the war on terrorism.

"I'm uncomfortable with Kerry's inconsistencies," he said. "We're in a war-time situation, and I think the Bushes are born and bred for it."

Paul Siefer of the town of Washington, a registered Democrat who said he has voted for Republicans in the past, said he backed Kerry because he believes Bush has put the United States in an "untenable" position in Iraq.

Siefer said Bush has alienated the nation's allies, has not been completely truthful with the American public, and has no exit strategy from Iraq.

"I have an 18-year-old stepson looking at the draft," he said. "If Bush is re-elected, we're getting the draft."

Four years ago, Bush received 54.7 percent of the votes cast in Nevada County, easily defeating Vice President Al Gore, who finished a distant second with 37.2 percent of the vote.

Since favoring Democrat Lyndon Johnson over the GOP's Barry Goldwater in 1964, county voters have tilted Republican in every presidential election.

By contrast, California has been solidly in the Democratic column since 1992, when Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to carry the state since Johnson. The Republican Party conceded California to Kerry early in this year's race, and neither candidate spent much time or money in the Golden State.