Boston ? Sen. John Kerry had nearly all the ingredients to mount a successful challenge to President Bush: a tepid economy, an unpopular war plagued by setbacks and a fiercely motivated Democratic base.

But, in the end, the Massachusetts senator was missing one key element, political analysts and party strategists agree: a boldly rendered portrayal of himself and his vision for the country.

Counseled by aides who believed Bush would be done in by his unpopularity and who advised the Democrat to run an upbeat campaign of reassurance, Kerry failed to fend off the Republicans’ relentless assault on his character. Nor was he able to overcome the Bush campaign juggernaut.

“Their great failure early on — from the day the primaries ended through the summer — is that they allowed Bush to define them,” Democratic communications consultant Jon Haber said.

By the time Kerry developed a unifying frame for his critique of the president — that all of Bush’s choices were marked by bad judgment — it already was mid-September.

“We didn’t have a consistent attack strategy on Bush until pretty late in the campaign,” said Democratic strategist Bill Carrick, who did not work on Kerry’s bid.

The president’s re-election campaign was unhesitating, and it methodically built its case against Kerry with unrelenting, biting attacks. From the moment the Republicans hit the airwaves last spring, they pressed the argument that the Democratic candidate would be too irresolute as president to keep the country safe.

Time after time, they spotlighted his often-confusing statements about the Iraq war and portrayed the senator as someone who swayed in the political winds.

The line of attack dominated the GOP’s $183 million television ad spending. Coming at a time of war, it proved a devastating critique.

“At the base of it, it really was a fear campaign,” Democratic pollster Paul Maslin said.

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