In state after state it's as if nothing at all happened to change anything over the last four yrs.
I think it's simply because the nation is so polarized... other than that modest 10-15% of "swing" voters. Neither Gore nor Kerry are "attractive" candidates. So, to a large degree (IMO) both 2000 and 2004 are referendums on the same person... Bush. So, given the polarization, there's no way to shift anything. Voters who supported Bush in 2000 were so staunchly pro-Bush that they're not likely to be swayed by anything. He could appoint Osama as new CIA director and the 2000 Bush voters would still vote for him in 2004. Ditto for the anti-Bush voters. Unemployment could go to zero and we could pull out of a stable Iraq by September and the 2000 anti-Bush voters would still vote for Kerry in 2004.
Yes, that's hyperbole, but you get my point... It will be VERY difficult to sway voters' opinions.