The reelection of George W Bush is the victory of an extremely well oiled machine that expertly exploited the politics of fear (of a war against terrorism mishandled), mindless patriotism (we are the US and have no peer or problem), misdirection (let's make it all about what the other guy did 30 years ago), misinformation (let's blatantly mislead people about the other guy's statements) and prejudice (don't let gays intrude on the sanctity of marriage).
Yes, the Kerry campaign was guilty of some of the above a well (eg stirring up fear over a draft which probably won't be introduced or the whole hoopla about Bush's National Guard record), but overall it only seemed to demonstrate that whoever plays dirtier, wins.
I pay bitter tribute to the genius of Karl Rove et al.
I fear things will only get worse in the next four years, especially foreign-policy wise.