Introduction

Democratic candidate John Kerry was stunned when he realized that he would have to concede the US presidential election on November 3, 2004. Throughout the summer, his polling numbers had showed him leading Republican candidate George W. Bush. Several factors working against Bush—his failure to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, two protracted expensive wars, a sluggish economy—forced the Republican campaign into crisis mode. Although ad blitzes in battleground states had tightened the gap as Election Day approached, exit polls seemed to indicate Kerry’s eventual victory.