The German press is obsessed on Thursday. Major newspapers across the country focus almost exclusively on President George W. Bush's re-election. All papers lead with the story -- here's a round-up of headlines:

Die Zeit: "Why Him Again?"
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Bush Stays President"
Sueddeutsche Zeitung: "Bush Remains President of the USA"
Financial Times Deutschland: "Bush Achieves a Clear Victory over Kerry"
Tageszeitung: "Oops -- They Did it Again"
Die Welt: "Bush Stays in the White House"
Handelsblatt: "US President Bush Strengthened Entering Second Term"

Exhaustive reporting characterized the coverage by all newspapers with most devoting at least six pages to the US election, with the relatively small-sized Tageszeitung including a 12-page dossier. The editorialists likewise focus their attention on the US with a number of clear themes emerging.

The first comes out of Germans' complete disbelief that Bush could have been re-elected. How, many are openly wondering, could this have happened? Some editorialists have an answer to that question: Germans, and indeed Europeans, just don't understand the United States. The conservative Die Welt addresses this issue in its lead editorial, entitled "The End of Wishful Thinking." Europeans, the piece argues, must jettison their desire for the United States to think and act more like the old continent. "Europeans misunderstand their Atlantic partner from time to time, especially because we can't imagine how Americans think and act in the moment of democratic decision-making." Referring also to Europe's lack of understanding for the tremendous shock caused by the Sept. 11 attacks, the paper concludes that the US should not give up on Europe. "That will be difficult for the USA, though, especially when (Europe) continues to give itself over to wishful thinking, fear of power and its anti-American obsession."

The financial daily Financial Times Deutschland echoes this same theme, pointing out that Europe's inability to understand Bush's victory, stems in large part from not understanding the role fear continues to play in American politics. "In the most powerful country in the world," it writes, "an unconscious feeling has become accepted: fear. It is only possible to explain Bush's re-election with the irrational-appearing need for security with which the majority of Americans are obsessed."

A number of papers warn that this misunderstanding could easily transform Europe's simmering anti-Bushism into outright anti-Americanism. After all, US voters have now re-elected the guy. In discussing this problem, the right-of-center Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung warns that to avoid the problem, America needs to stop trying to split Europe, and Europe needs to avoid the over-the-top moralizing it has shown in the past four years. Noting the extreme differences that split the United States and the clear geography of that separation, the paper also discusses whether we might be witnessing a culture war in America. It is shocking, it writes, to see "the degree of contempt with which Bible Belt Christians and down-home conservatives look down at their 'liberal' fellow citizens."

One paper, the left-leaning Tageszeitung, seems to have already veered down the path of anti-Americanism. While their coverage of the elections is among the most comprehensive on Thursday, it publishes a piece by Austrian author Robert Misik that is almost celebratory in its condemnation. "This election is a unilateral action," he writes. "The entire world hoped for a John F. Kerry victory, but the rednecks, the Bible-thumpers and other riff-raff from White America weren't terribly interested by that." He also points out that the majority of Americans have voted for "an intellectual midget, fanatic and dried-out alcoholic," and warns his readers that Bush voters are "the dark underside of the American dream. We should get used to seeing the true face of America in people like Private Lynndie England."

Another editorial in Thursday's TAZ can be found under the headline, "Bush Belongs in front of the War Crimes Tribunal -- Not in the White House." The piece makes a point not-uncommon in Europe -- namely that the US invasion of Iraq was undertaken against the wishes of 95 percent of the world's countries. "The lies and manipulations with which the Bush administration justified his (Iraq) policy to Congress, the US population and the world are much worse than even those of President Richard Nixon.... The prerequisites necessary for impeachment hearings have been clearly fulfilled."

An additional theme in Thursday's papers is that Bush's victory this time around was, in contrast to 2000, quite decisive. He won by 3.5 million in the popular vote, the Republican majority in the Senate was confirmed loud and clear and, most importantly, there were no drawn-out recounts. Thus, writes the Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, "the president has cleansed the stain (from 2000). ... Bush won't just be a short episode in history, rather he represents the majority (in a split country)," a position echoed by many other papers. Yet while Bush may have a strong mandate, he has to be careful what he does with it warns the financial daily Handelsblatt. "Bush's clear victory should not obscure the fact that the difficult campaign has left behind a divided country.... Bush, therefore, should rein in any triumphalism." Writing that Bush has an opportunity for a new beginning, the paper continues, "He can only dull the polarization in the US and with foreign partners if he follows the course he promised way back in 2000: to reconcile instead of to divide."

The Handelsblatt also runs a far-reaching editorial by Andrei Markovits, a professor of comparative politics at the University of Michigan, that takes a close look at Bush's meaning for the European Union. The title says it all, "European Crocodile Tears." He argues that Europe should actually be glad that Bush was re-elected. After all, the widespread anti-Americanism -- propelled by European-wide disgust with Bush -- that people in Europe feel is really the only thing uniting them at the moment. He steers clear of supporting anti-American viewpoints, but does write, "If at some point in 50 or 100 years, the statues of the most important EU founders are erected in Strasbourg or Brussels, ... George W. Bush should receive a place of honor.