In GOP Win, a Lesson in Money, Muscle, Planning (washingtonpost.com)

Starting more than a year ago, the administration's obsession with discipline and detail was shaping the 2002 election. Under the leadership of White House senior adviser Karl Rove and political director Ken Mehlman, Republicans financed the most expensive and sophisticated get-out-the-vote and polling operations ever undertaken by the Grand Old Party.

"We tried to be very strategic, very methodical, very focused," Mehlman said. Bush, Cheney and Rove handpicked Chambliss for the Senate race in Georgia, Norm Coleman in Minnesota, and John Thune in South Dakota. (Coleman and Chambliss won, Thune narrowly lost.)

GOP congressional leaders decided to delay action on controversial domestic items until the elections were over, according to people familiar with the discussions. That would allow national security matters -- the Republicans' best issue -- to carry the day.

Democrats believed they had a chance in the campaign's closing weeks to turn the debate back to the economy in a way advantageous to their candidates. But the absence of a clear Democratic alternative, and Bush's emphasis on tax cuts and economic stimulus efforts, prevented Democratic nominees from gaining traction on the economy, despite public sentiment that the country was heading in the wrong direction. An RNC poll taken during the campaign's final weekend showed Republicans actually winning the economic argument by a narrow margin.

At the same time, Republicans pulled a page from former president Bill Clinton's playbook, co-opting issues such as Social Security and Medicare that typically favor Democrats. Using the bully pulpit of the presidency, they offered their own solutions that left many voters unsure which party would best serve their interests.

Several key races were decided in the final 72 hours. DeLay had rented 73 buses and 245 vans to move 8,000 volunteers to targeted districts.

Smart and focused, In Texas, Sanchez had a massive GOTV effort but at least in Houston it seemed disorganized.