For Republicans:
Was there ever a point during the 2004 campaign/election were you said to yourself, "Damn, we might lose this thing."
Sure. I thought that in the spring, with the Abu Ghraib scandal and the increasing violence in Iraq. Then in June, there were some economic numbers that weren't so great.
After Labor Day, Bush opened up a decent lead, but I know how fast those things can evaporate when there are 2 months to election day. Then Bush "lost" the first debate, and that hurt his lead.
Going into the home stretch, Kerry seemed to be gaining, and the weekend before the election, I thought there was at least an even chance that Bush would lose.
Bush of course ended up being helped by CBS News' clumsy attempts to hurt him with their falsified National Guard story. Maybe that's even what put him over the top.
Then of course, election day had the faulty exit polling data released in the middle of the day that showed Bush losing. By then, I was suspicious and decided to reserve judgment. I remembered the manipulation of exit polling from 2000 and how it contributed to the mess in Florida, by calling the state for Gore while polls were still open in the heavily Republican panhandle. I think the exit poll manipulation in 2004 ended up helping Bush, by motivating his supporters to get out and vote.
In the early evening, I watched the "expert" liberal pundits talking about how it would be impossible for the president to win, but at that point, strangely enough, I didn't believe them, and didn't get too upset with the early results. I was very pleased and relieved when I saw the tide turning and the president won re-election.
The biggest drawback to the Bush victory was the it clears the way for Hillary Clinton in 2008. A victory by that woman would be an absolute calamity for the country, and the fact that Bush's 2004 victory made a presidency by Madame Clinton more likely is the worst side effect of the 2004 results.
