Only Barely

Without the courageous efforts of the swift boat vets and the rest of the Vietnam veterans that stood up in our nations greatest time of need since World-War-Two we salute you for without your gallant efforts all would have been lost for with your testimony and the reopening of old wounds for all to see the 3% margin of victory was achieved.

:Amen to that! I salute all of our troops, all of the volunteers, and all of my fellow freepers!!!!!!!!

yep

(Jeff Head is a great guy though)

I think our goal must be to reshape public opinion. This election was fought on the premises set by the Dems and the media. The economy is strong and growing, and our efforts internationally are historically unprecidented in success. Yet the election was over a bad economy and a failed Iraq. Important issues like social security, taxes, and cultural issues need to be focused on all the time, so more people understand the facts.

It's not enough to show up every two or four years, run some ads, and win elections. There are major problems in our country due to people not fully understanding the issues. Things are certainly moving in our direction, which is positive, but we should have 5-10% more people on our side.

Good article. But you might shall out for a few more commas and periods. Short sentences are clearer than the following:

Without the courageous efforts of the swift boat vets and the rest of the Vietnam veterans that stood up in our nations greatest time of need since World-War-Two we salute you for without your gallant efforts all would have been lost for with your testimony and the reopening of old wounds for all to see the 3% margin of victory was achieved.

"...instead he won only by three percent."

Look at it this way, in 2000, they say he got less voters than Al Gore. So what he did this time is not only picked up his voters but added enough to beat moveon.org and the other 527s (not to mention Moore's 911) and a lot of attack books. So comparing 2000 to 2004 you see a bigger difference than only 3%.

Just as this is President Bush's "last campaign", so is it also Karl Rove's last (national) campaign, and that (as Martha Stewart would put it) is a good thing. I know that in the afterglow of the Bush victory there will be a rush to lionize King Karl, but the fact is that he blew a 20 percent lead in 2000, and (as this article illustrates) he came d_mn close to causing an incumbent wartime President to fail in his reelection effort (and in the process made himself one of the most demonized political figures since Newt and Hillary). Republicans can and must do better in the future. The path to victory in '06 and '08 starts today! We all watched Lee Atwater, and Mr. Rove, you're no Lee Atwater.

I believe that in the future this election will be reflected upon as the one where the perceptions of the two parties switched.

The Dems have long been portrayed as the party of the little guy, the average Joe, the party that would stand up against the rich. This image was perpetuated by a willing media and co-conspirators such as the labor unions.

Republicans on the other hand were portrayed as the party of the elite, the rich, the oppressors.

But this Republican victory was won at the grassroots level - one voter at a time with a stellar GOTV effort. It was won through the efforts of a heretofore unknown group of vets & POWs we know as the "Swifties". It was won by bloggers, many living here, who turned the MSM's repeated attacks back upon the attacker, turning disadvantage into opportunity. In short, this election was won from the bottom up.

The Dems, on the other hand, clearly showed themselves as the party of the billionaire (Soros et al). The party of the media elite. The party of Hollywood and Rock the Vote. The party that disdains the "flyover red states" that gave Bush the win.

The trend will continue. Alternative media will continue to grow, at the expense of the MSM. Republicans will continue to build on the inroads made into traditionally Dem populations. America is slowly waking up, but the Dems just don't get it.

The opportunity before us all now is to build on this success, keep the momentum going, and to keep fighting the good fight.

We have not yet won the war. But, we did win a major battle, and now we hold the high ground. The challenge will be keeping it.

Once more into the breach dear friends!

Good post, and good warning.

We have won a reprieve, but looking at the future, it will be brief. I fear the Republican party will swing further leftward in order to be more "centrist" as more lukewarm Dems flee the sinking ship.

The pundits say the campaign was won on moral issues, and for that I am thankful. My fear is that almost half of the US thought that Kerry would make a good president.

I believe that in the future this election will be reflected upon as the one where the perceptions of the two parties switched.
The Dems have long been portrayed as the party of the little guy, the average Joe, the party that would stand up against the rich. This image was perpetuated by a willing media and co-conspirators such as the labor unions.
Republicans on the other hand were portrayed as the party of the elite, the rich, the oppressors.
But this Republican victory was won at the grassroots level - one voter at a time with a stellar GOTV effort. It was won through the efforts of a heretofore unknown group of vets & POWs we know as the "Swifties". It was won by bloggers, many living here, who turned the MSM's repeated attacks back upon the attacker, turning disadvantage into opportunity. In short, this election was won from the bottom up.

The Dems, on the other hand, clearly showed themselves as the party of the billionaire (Soros et al). The party of the media elite. The party of Hollywood and Rock the Vote. The party that disdains the "flyover red states" that gave Bush the win.

Brilliant point! I would hope that this become crystal clear to the masses.