During the 2004 presidential election, there was more at stake than the United States presidency. There was also the issue of the Supreme Court.
With the passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Bush had the chance to appoint 2 justices to the highest court in the land. This will leave a lasting impression on civil liberties and policy in the United States. In doing so, Bush has also scored a victory in the war on terror for him, and a serious blow to civil liberties that are guaranteed to citizens in the United States Constitution.
This victory has to do with the United States's policy of detaining American citizens captured in the United States without any criminal charges or a trial.
By a 6-3 vote, the court sided with the Bush administration and refused to hear an appeal by Jose Padilla, who was confined in a military brig in South Carolina for more than three years after Bush designated him an "enemy combatant".
The Justice Department apparently had urged the Supreme Court to reject Padilla's appeal after the DOJ moved to bring criminal charges against him in November. Padilla is now accused of being part of a cell that provided financial aid and recruits for terrorists overseas. Padilla's appeal was one vote short of getting the four vote approval needed to hear the case.
My prediction, the Supreme Court will reject the proposal to hear the case of Bush's domestic spying program due to "national security concerns."