The Democrats lost because they did not focus on one or two issues (the economy for example) but were totally fragmented in their messages to the voters and were, for want of a better term "whiney" when they spoke about what was happening in Washington.
The other reason is that they totally underestimated George Bush's skill as a poiltician. The man is NOT the dufus that everyone likes to paint him and he used that misconsception of his abilities with great skill.

troll