Yes, my hope is to be able to find this thread again on November 3rd, 2004, and renew our conversation, regardless! Of course any number of things could occur that would prevent me from doing so, or prevent you from responding to a bump...!
In the same vein, any number of misadventures could happen on the election front between now and November. I chose the word "interesting" in my post to you not to be flippant, but honest. It will be interesting not only to tally the results on the state scoreboard (and decide the winner in our little side bet here), but to discuss the D candidate - Dean, I surmise - in conjunction with the person he will have chosen as his running mate. I do not foresee this being Hillary. It will be interesting to discuss the running mate's flip-flops on issues and in personality in order to step in time with Dean. It will being fascinating to surmise what might of happened had a different candidate or running mate been chosen.
We have no guarantees that W. or Cheney, Dean or any other D primary contender, or you or I will remain on this earth until November 3rd, for that is in the Lord's hands, and all by itself makes the prospect of hind-sight discussion appealing. All we can do is intuit and surmise, and that serves to keep it all conjectural, unreliable, and therefore interesting.
My intuition at first told me Dean would not be allowed to lose to W. in '04, but that Clark would be chosen as the fall guy. I've changed my mind on this, mainly because Dean is setting himself up as a fighter, and that image will post well in '08 when Dean is dressed up to be the Comeback Kid, and Hillary makes her move for the oval office.
The Clinton-Dean ticket will be a powerhouse in '08, precisely because Dean will be trounced so badly by W. in '04. That's just my take. I find the difference in opinions now delectable contemplation for discussion after the fact, whether I am right or wrong, because neither of us are kool-aid drinkers and both of us know a great deal about what is at stake.