[Dales]

I did not see any evidence to support that hypothesis. Kerry was not sinking. However, Bush had weathered the storm. The Dems had tried to create an aura of inevitability of a Kerry win, and that did not work.

[steveegg]

Thanks. Your thoughts on either of these possibilities (not necessarily mutually-exclusive, but not naturally together):

• The Kerry-Edwards ticket, flush with sources of cash from Edwards' trial lawyer friends, skips the $75 million in public financing and thus avoids having to make that money last 6 weeks longer than Bush does.
• Something politically happens to the Ketchup-Breck ticket (either later this month before the convention, or in October after Bush spent most of that $75 million), and Hillary shows up in the picture.