A lthough the final results, as in the 2000 election, will be delayed, U.S. President George W. Bush has won a second term in office. Democratic Sen. John Kerry could have dragged out the fight with legal challenges and demands for a recount, but he decided that the president's lead margin was too large to put the United States through such a trauma again. Now, Mr. Bush must -- as he pledged in 2000 -- find the common ground that will unite a divided country as it tackles important challenges in the next four years.

Unlike in 2000, Mr. Bush has claimed a majority of the popular vote. He won more than 58 million votes, about 3 million more than Mr. Kerry, and almost 8 million more than candidate Bush received four years ago.

The scale of Mr. Bush's win reflects both strategy and the sheer number of voters that turned out. Some 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, the highest turnout in 36 years; 120 million voters went to the polls, 15 million more than in 2000. While there has been much talk of the youth vote, the truth is that both parties were energetic in mobilizing new voters.