George W. Bush's chief political strategist was Karl Rove, who had the title Senior Advisor to the President.

This re-election campaign was the most expensive in American history and was financed mainly by large corporations and industrial interests that the Bush administration represented in government.

"[4] In early 2004, with Bush expected to face a difficult re-election campaign, political commentators openly discussed the possibility that Cheney might be dropped from the ticket due to his "personal baggage".

[4] Among those viewed as strong contenders for his replacement were: Bill Frist, the Senate Majority Leader; Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City; George Pataki, the Governor of New York; Rob Portman, congressman of Ohio; Bill Owens, the Governor of Colorado; and Tom Ridge, the Secretary of Homeland Security.

[6] Going into the Republican National Convention at the end of August, many delegates still entertained the notion of a new vice president, with Powell and Giuliani leading in a preference poll.

[7] Despite the speculation, Bush publicly maintained his support for Cheney,[5] who accepted the party's formal nomination on September 1.

At the end of his speech, he encouraged listeners to view his website in order to learn more about his agenda if he wins his next presidential term.

He signed legislation pushing for the cleanup of abandoned industrial sites (also known as brownfields) and keeping forest fires at bay.

He fell under criticism for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol which would commit the United States to reducing greenhouse gas emissions which are believed by much of the relevant science community to cause global warming.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act and created the Department of Homeland Security.

[17] President Bush submitted his National Security Strategy of the United States; the "three pillars" of this are to: Supported continued American involvement in Afghanistan.

Bush advocated pressure on the Saudi Royal Family to more directly combat terrorism and to seize the assets of terrorists operating within their borders.

These long-standing charges were given more attention in the 2004 campaign because of the contrast with Kerry's record as a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War.

[18] Some families of 9/11 victims accused the Bush campaign of being insensitive to the memory of those who died and of exploiting the tragedy for his personal political gain.

The use of images from the attack, said Governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell, a Democrat, on Face the Nation, implies support from New York firefighters.

George W. Bush received endorsements from many Republicans, Democratic Senator Zell Miller of Georgia and former 12-year mayor of New York City Ed Koch.

[citation needed] However, Bush's campaign made several bus tours bearing de facto slogans.

[citation needed] The 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City featured the slogan "A Safer World and More Hopeful America".

Polls conducted immediately following the debate suggests that a majority of undecided voters believe that, while neither candidate committed any serious gaffes, Kerry fared better than Bush did.

A second debate, in "town hall" format, was held on October 8 at Washington University in St. Louis with Charles Gibson moderating.

"[26] The final debate occurred on October 13 at Arizona State University and was moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News.

On April 26, 2004, he made a first time presidential campaign visit to Edina, Minnesota during which Congressmen Jim Ramstad presented The President with the book Lest We Forget by John C. Martin, a U.S. Civil War veteran and Department Commander of the G.A.R.