1. First Lady. The wealth and power of a ketchup heiress was no match for a cheerful librarian’s charm.

2. Second Coming. Religious voters of all faiths who attended services weekly made up 61% of Bush’s vote, and evangelical votes gave Bush 35% of his total. Many Bush supporters, including Catholics, African Americans, and Hispanic Voters, chose to reelect the President because of his religious values. Presumably, one of his religious beliefs was that all men will have to give an account of their deeds to God, upon the second coming of Jesus Christ.

3. Third Rail. One of the President’s biggest domestic issues in the campaign was the idea of reforming Social Security (often called the “third rail” of American politics) and letting younger workers set up private savings accounts. While the electorate was evenly divided on this issue, as they were in general, most Americans felt reform was needed, and that Social Security was a looming crisis.

4. Fourth Estate. The press hated George W. Bush, and coverage of his campaign was overwhelmingly negative. Bush’s built-in media disadvantage was best articulated by Newsweek’s Evan Thomas, and 2004’s top prize in this category went to Dan Rather.

5. Fifth Column. Shortly after 9/11, Andrew Sullivan wrote, “The decadent Left in its enclaves on the coasts is not dead - and may well mount what amounts to a fifth column.” There was plenty more where that came from. The war on terror was the central issue of the campaign, but there was a loud minority doing everything it could to convince us of our own defeat. See also “fourth estate.”

6. Sixth Sense. Some say Karl Rove is a genius. Some say he’s evil. Others say he’s both. I tend to agree with this analysis of Rove. It doesn’t take a genius to label John Kerry as a flip-flopper. Even Kerry had to admit it.

7. Seventh Heaven. Bush won. The red states, and the majority of America, rejoiced.

Of course, that doesn’t explain everything, but it touches on the major themes. Here’s a more detailed look at one half of the campaign.