For giggles, I looked through the TKS archives, to the same time period, two years back.

 

At this time in 2004:

 

Newsweek was telling us that Kerry was leading among men.

 

Mickey Kaus was reminding us that

Flail Watch: When Bush and his adviser Karl Rove take the unusual step of making themselves accessible to reporters, it's a sign of "anxiety" and "jitters." But when Kerry adviser Bob Shrum takes the unusual step of making himself accessible to reporters, it's a sign of confidence—a "victory lap"! ... Those two things could both be true, of course. But you'd want more evidence than the LAT's forced quote from Newt Gingrich that

"If you don't have some anxiety you are not in touch with reality."

[But the Times also had a "senior Republican strategist not affiliated with the campaign" saying he thinks "the Bush camp might be nervous"!-ed Well there you go! Case closed!]

We were being told that Bush had a lead in New Jersey.

 

And the Bush campaign had admitted, “the debates energized the Democratic base and closed the race to dead even.”

 

Good to see the state of the polls and mainstream media campaign coverage have gotten a lot better in the past two years, huh?

 

And a thought regarding the recent sudden surge of enthusiasm for Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger among liberal bloggers....

 

Matt Stoller at MyDD: "There is just no question that Alan Schlesinger won this debate, Lamont pretty much held his own, and Lieberman lost. Alan Schlesinger was funny, interesting, and passionate."

The unofficial Lamont Blog: "General emerging consensus... Ned hit Joe on the issues, Ned looked the most Senatorial of the three, Schlesinger will rise in the polls after this performance."

 

firedoglake's Jane Hamsher: "Finally. A Republican with the stones to tell Joe Lieberman to get off his damn lawn. Alan Schlesinger kicked Lieberman's ass for the GOP vote he so critically needs to win, and Lamont gave him no quarter on the Democratic side (and looked very senatorial in the process)."

 

Guys, everyone can see what you're doing. Everyone. And really, before you came up with this brilliant strategem, you might have asked yourselves - how many Lieberman-supporting Connecticut Republicans take their voting cues from MyDD, Jane Hamsher, or Daily Kos?