Did John Kerry really blow it in 2004?

[President Johnson]

Ohio 2004 was also like Florida 2016 where Kerry got the votes he needed in the Democratic Parts of the state(NE OH) where he even outperformed Clinton 96 in raw% but ended up losing as he got swamped in the rest of the state

However, it would have been so ironic if Kerry won Ohio by a razor thin margin and subsequently the presidency, while losing the popular vote. Four years after the opposite happened.

[President Johnson]

I still think the VP choices of the two Democrats who ran against W in 2000 and 2004 could have made all the difference. Not often is it the case that a VP pick is that decisive but those were the years where it certainly mattered most as they were both close elections. Gore/Graham & Kerry/Gephardt might have made all the difference in those years.

For 2000, I would certainly agree. Especially if Al Gore chose Bob Graham. I'm not so sure it would have made enough of a difference in 2004 given that election was nearly as close. Still close, but Dubya won by more than a hair this time around.

Both Lieberman and Edwards were weak choices though. No question about that.

[President Johnson]

Other than the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice it's hard to see the benefits of a Democrat winning in 2004 compared to the electoral benefits of the 2006 & 2008 waves that helped Obama get such a large majority.

In a similar vein to how Clinton winning in 2016 would have risked the GOP getting 60 senate seats by 2020.

Definitely, 2004 in a sense was poisoned chalice. And Dubya lucky that he was already in office for two terms. I guess any president running for reelection in actual 2008 would have lost.