WASHINGTON, November 4 (IslamOnline.net) – American Democrats accused US President George Bush of playing on religion and the terror scare to win a second term in office, but did not exonerate their presidential contender John Kerry from blame.

"He scared the public by the terror rhetoric and that our actions in Iraq are necessary," Mart Andy told IslamOnline.net just few hours after Democratic Senator John Kerry made his concession speech in Boston.

"Bush has stolen this election like Richard Nixon in 1960," he said, describing Bush's reelection as "a disaster [for] America and the peoples around the world."

Emmy Lyndoln, an NGO activist, agreed that Bush "played on our emotions and is ambiguous and unclear exactly as his terror threats are."

She said his winning played well on the hands of the right-wing and "fundamentalist Christians who are so destructive and came out in droves to re-elect him."

Quizzed on how Bush retained his foothold in the White House, Leo Johnson said national security and religion are the key word.

Kerry conceded defeat in make-or-break Ohio rather than launch a legal fight reminiscent of the contentious Florida recount of four years ago.

"I hope that we can begin the healing," the Massachusetts senator said in his concession speech.

Bush's vote totals were the biggest ever and his slice of the vote, 51 percent, made him the first president to claim a majority since 1988 when his father won 53 percent against Democrat Michael Dukakis.

"I think that national security and people’s concern with security were at the top of many people’s minds, but a lot of people came out to vote for religious purposes," said Mike Houel, who works for an insurance company in Washington D.C.

"There is a large evangelical population in the United States which constitutes George Bush’s base and given that a ratio of 3 to 1 believed that George Bush was the moral candidate. So, I think religion plays a bigger role than national security."

He said that it is high time now that Bush reached out to other countries and enhance cordial relations.

"The United States has now to rebuild new bridges with other countries and do away with the unilateral approach."

Bush was not the only one who tried to play the religion car but it seems he done it better.

Protesters shout slogans during a demonstrating against Bush and the election results at New York's Union Square.

Asked about Kerry’s performance, Andy said: "The last part of his campaign he ran well, before that he did not do enough in countering Bush’s attacks of being flip-flopper and doesn’t have a mind of his own and when he started running well, it was too late."

Cidney McDonald, a 47-year-old housewife from Michigan, was more critical of the Democratic contender.

"He failed to connect to the people in the middle of the country on issues like national safety, which is a big issue more important that food and jobs.

"And I think Kerry was the wrong choice because he is an Eastern Liberal and doesn’t play well in the Mid West where people thought that he lives in an ivory tower."

She said his running mate John Edwards would have won with a comfortable majority if he had run for president.

"Because Edwards is self-made and is more charismatic than Kerry."

Mrs McDonald expected difficult time ahead "particularly in terms of war as many people think that Bush is mishandling it and I’m a mother of two boys who are of a draft age and I’m very much concerned."