Why did Bush-Cheney '04 do so well in Missouri?

[Suburbia]

I always thought that John Kerry would win MO, the John Edwards pick at the time was to appeal to Midwestern and Southern voters, and Kerry had a good image of a war veteran that could appeal to some Missourians. Why did Bush-Cheney '04 do so well in MO?

http://p2004.org/states/bushmovisits04.html

http://p2004.org/states/kerrymovisits04.html

[Burke859]

Dems just weren't going to beat Bush anywhere that was culturally Southern.  I know Missouri isn't really the South, but you know what I mean.  Bush cleverly did a really good job of baiting the Democrats during the Bush years into making fun of Bush's Southern mannerisms on a regular basis, and implying that his way of speaking and Texas swagger were indicators that he wasn't very bright.  This created a sort of tribalism among the entire bloc of Southern and border states that prevented both Gore from carrying Tennessee and Kerry from carrying North Carolina (Edwards' home state) or states like Missouri that might otherwise be friendly to the Dems.

Bush is an extremely underrated politician and remains the only Republican in 30 years to have won two terms as president.  His combination of self-awareness, comfort with his own shortcomings, and street smarts allowed him to accomplish what most others could not.

[RINO Tom]

From looking at the county swings from 2000 to 2004, it looks to be a significant number of suburban voters moving from Gore to Bush and rural margins increasing for Bush.  On the second point, I think people underrate how many Yellow Dog Southern Democrats in rural areas died between 1992 and 2008.