Ronald Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times writes on the GOP lock on the South. The South is now a GOP fortress. It begins: "The generation-long political retreat of Democrats across the South is disintegrating into a rout." Across the thirteen states of the South, Bush carried nearly 85% of all the counties; Bush won 1,124 counties, to Kerry’s 216 (Clinton won more than 650 counties in each of his presidential victories). Bush has become the first candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944 to carry more than 1,000 Southern counties twice.

"Kerry won fewer Southern counties than any Democratic nominee since the Depression except Walter F. Mondale in 1984 and George S. McGovern in 1972."

The GOP now holds 22 of the 26 Senate seats in 13 Southern states; before Bush took office in 2000 the GOP had 18; the GOP has now won the last 10 open-seat Senate races in the South. In the House, the GOP had 27 seats before Ush took office in 2000, now they have 40. There is more. Also note a couple of good lines from Karl Rove.