Kerry: Taking Federal Money a Mistake Was it his campaign's slow response to the swift boat advertisements or the remark that he voted for Iraq war money before he voted against it that John Kerry regrets most from his failed bid for the White House? Bush Certified As Presidential Winner WASHINGTON -- Congress certified President Bush's re-election Thursday but only after Democrats forced a challenge to the quadrennial count of electoral votes for just the second time since 1877.U.S. Election Voted Top News Story of '04 NEW YORK - The Iraq war and terrorism dominated the 2004 list of top stories in an annual Associated Press survey, but it was President Bush's election victory that editors and news directors chose as the biggest story of the year.