Someone last night (don't remember who) said that when you lack a solid message and agenda, the organizational machinery isn't enough. Maybe the turn-out effort resulted in minimizing losses...it could have been worse...but clearly we don't win with a superior ground-game alone. We still haven't figured out a way to speak around or over the heads of the media. Instead, Bush has largely allowed himself to be pounded for 6 years, and chosen to let a lot of accusations go unanswered. It discourages the base when they don't even try to answer the critics.
The Rove legacy: Assume the base will follow you and then fail to lead.