[Jameison]

"but for most voters the so-called "war on terror" hasn't been a major political issue in this country in almost four years."

Ummm ..hate to break it to you as well, but the one issue that President Bush was consistently ahead of Hanoi John Kerry in the polls,throughout 2004, the "strong on terrorism" poll.

Remember, Hanoi John was ahead in the polls in the aggregate realclearpolitics poll for most of 2004, but President Bush was never at any time behind in the poll on the War on Terror.
It's one of the factors that pulled him through to beat sKerry.

[Alberta's Child]

With every day that passes by, that issue becomes more and more remote in the minds of American voters.

The irony is that the GOP really had to twist itself into knots to make it seem as if the "war on terror" was a serious priority in 2004. Any credibility it had on this subject pretty much got tossed out the window in 2003 and 2004 when things like Medicare prescription drugs and Federal "Do Not Call" legislation were seen as important political issues.

[George W. Bush]

It's one of the factors that pulled him through to beat sKerry.

Not as much as Lurch's repellant personality. And that wife!

Every election has something in common with a junior high vote for class president. It's a popularity contest, among other things. Everything else being more or less equal, people vote for who they feel comfortable with, who they connect with.