WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the most perceptive insight into George W. Bush and the Republicans' robust victory over Sen. Jean-Francois Kerry and the Democrats, look to Tom Wolfe.

 As usual, America's finest living writer sees America with limpid clarity. In a pre-election interview with the British newspaper The Guardian Wolfe observes that the eastern media elite "do not have a clue about the rest of the United States. You are considered twisted and retarded if you support Bush in this election." Well, a record 59 million voters did support Bush.

 "I have never come across a candidate who is so reviled," Wolfe continues, "Reagan was sniggered at, but this is personal, real hatred."

 As always in matters where intellect should preside, the liberals became emotionally involved, losing what little political sense they still had. They diabolized a perfectly agreeable gentleman, whose major fault is that he disagrees with them. At the same time, they overlooked the glum fact that their latest political messiah is a perfectly dreadful candidate, whom they plucked from a field of perfectly dreadful candidates.

 If the Republicans ran such a ludicrous fantasist as the snooty football-throwing, bicycling Renaissance man, Kerry, everyone in the world would be made aware of his shortcomings. As it was, the Democrats and their secretarial staff at CBS, The New York Times and elsewhere in the media ignored Kerry's every botch and every flight into bizarre pretentiousness. Thus, they still cannot understand how the president won.

 Kerry's basic shortcoming was that, being a fantasist, he was forever taking implausible positions and saying things that were demonstrably untrue. That gave the American electorate an uneasy feeling about this boastful aspirant to the White House.

 His liberal supporters saw nothing amiss with his b.s.-ing. Apparently they did not think it mattered whether "foreign leaders," as Kerry bragged, "look at you and say 'You gotta beat this guy.'" Nor did it matter to liberals when in debate Kerry b.s.-ed that "I went to meet with the members of the Security Council in the week before we voted. I went to New York. I talked to all of them, to find out how serious they were about really holding Saddam Hussein accountable."

 Aloft in his egotistic fantasy, Kerry did not believe in anything real, not the war in Iraq or even the contrariness and corruption of the United Nation. This explains why Kerry made more fantastical statements about his opponent, his own policies and his own resume than any presidential candidate I can recall, including Bill Clinton. At some point, I think the American people caught on. They recognized this man as a fraud. Continued...