I, for one, was very surprised that bush got a clear majority of the vote. I was about to say that was a "landslide" despite the fact that it was one of if the closest reelections ever.
Before the Republican/9-11 palozzaa/Swift Boat trifecta, I was expecting a map like this-
and there were even signs that Bush was struggling in Colorado, Arizona and Arkansas.
and even on Election Night, I was expecting that Kerry would have taken what he did plus Ohio because he did alright in the debates and was doing well in Ohio polling...or at least that's what I remember. ...and I do remember him doing alright in New Mexico, but Bush crept back over him near the end.
I am thinking that Republicans may reasonably expect to simply win by restoring Bush's empire and after the debate, they will hold to hopes of just getting that extra state in either Colorado or Virginia to put them over. When election night comes, they will find that they eventually win in Indiana and maybe even North Carolina, but Georgia and Arizona won't be called until Obama creeps up on them in the wee hours of the morning and they get called for him.
