Remember how confident Karl Rove and his pet George W. Bush were about the elections just a few weeks ago? It seemed that they were either ignoring the poll numbers or they were going to pull a bunny (Osama?) out of their hat on election eve.

Karl Rove had continually said the poll numbers were wrong, and he had the metrics to prove it. His numbers showed that the Republican voter base was stronger than ever, and the GOP would hold on to not only the Senate, but also the House. It turned out he was wrong on both.

Rove's numbers were based on early voting and voter outreach, and he had them made into pretty little bar charts, probably so he could explain them better to George. He even had George believing that some seats, like the one formerly held by Tom DeLay in Texas, would go to the GOP, even though poll numbers showed a race that wasn't even that close. Rove had everyone believing they had a chance there, and it was worth it for the president to make a stop to boost the campaign. The seat went to the Democratic candidate by a fairly wide margin (no recount necessary).

So what was wrong with Rove's numbers? Nothing, according to Rove. It was complacent GOP candidates who did not fight hard enough. Perhaps if they had just made a few more campaign stops they could have fooled a few more people into believing that scandal and corruption are good for America.
Karl Rove: The Architect's Faulty Specs - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com