You are more then entitled to call that mandate. But…remember that almost half of America angrily, desperately wanted you turned out

…it ought to be a wake-up call for those European states - above all Germany and France - which have held aloof not only from the liberation, but also from the reconstruction of Iraq…The country [Mr Bush] leads is diverging from Europe: it is younger, more self-confident, more diligent, more democratic and, in short, more conservative. Europe must come to terms, not only with Mr Bush, but with the country that elected him,

The Europeans will remain in the meantime what they are: at best useful back-up troops, at worst awkward troublemakers…Europe must find the will and the means (including military) for a stronger role

In the second term, [Mr Bush] will plan how to enter history. To do this he needs to exit Iraq honourably, defeat terrorism and calm America. It seems he cannot do all this alone. Mr Bush will have to reconcile the world, satisfy Europe, and prove to the Islamic world he didn’t declare a crusade against it. the required price for all this is simple: pressure on Israel.

The only hope is that a second Bush administration will be more concerned about its legacy, and will use its remaining four years to tackle with greater realism and justice the trouble spots it has itself created.

Issues relevant to Kenya and Africans - which include Africa’s troubles with Aids, poverty and general backwardness - cannot be expected to rate top of [the] US agenda; it did not matter who [won]. Neither Mr Bush nor…Mr Kerry spared any time to talk about this continent, even in passing.

The Americans preferred security to bread, yet they paid no heed to the fact that by invading Iraq, Mr Bush did weaken his war on terror [as well as] smearing the image of the US [for] friends and foes alike. By accepting Mr Bush’s message, the majority of the US people proved that the US has turned from the land of dreams to the land of fears.

The victory of Mr Bush proves that the people in America are interested in unilateralism, aggression and violation - and they don’t understand that the spectre of Bin Laden is made by the US itself.