If Kerry won in 2004

[darklordoftech]

How would each side react?

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

Republicans would be disappointed that there would be a change of strategy in the Iraq War. My only question is why John McCain reportedly considered being John Kerry's running mate given the vast difference between their positions on the war.
Hollywood would have been ecstatic, and the religious right very disappointed.

[Del Tachi]

Does Kerry win the popular vote?  If not, there might be a limited period of bipartisan consensus to reform the electoral college.

[dw93]

Kerry only gets a few moderate (but still consequential) Supreme Court appointments at home and an earlier surge with a timetable in Iraq as well as an Obama style surge in Afghanistan. The left is pissed about foreign policy while the right is bitter about the election and pissed about everything Kerry does. Katrina still happens, and while Kerry responds better than Bush did, poor responses from state and local officials as well as limited resources thanks to the merging of FEMA with the Department of Homeland security still make a good response overall impossible. Cap all this off with a financial crisis in 2008 and rising oil prices like OTL as well as a possible Edwards scandal and 2008 is a repeat of 1980, only the Republican nominee (be it Romney, Jeb!, McCain, Allen, or even Dubya himself) unlike Reagan, win with big majorities in the House and Senate.

In short, as terrible as Bush/Cheney was and despite supporting Kerry at the time, I'm glad with hindsight that Dubya won in 2004.