The Democrats tried to prevent Bush from implementing his economic plan, and hoped that the economy wouldn't be in obvious good health in '04.The Democrats criticized Bush's seizure of Iraq from Saddam & Sons, and are hoping to be able to make Bush's decision look bad with the help of murderous efforts by al Qaeda and the Ba'athist Party.
Their hope lies not in any objective reality but in the possibility that they--journalism included--will be able to fool half of the people on election day. And that George Soros will be able to buy the election for "the party of the little guy."