A few years ago, New Jersey's current governor came extremely close to taking a U.S. Senate seat from Bill Bradley. That was then, this is now, and Bradley has thrown himself formally into the Democratic presidential picture - while his near-conqueror has dropped out of a bid for the Senate seat Democrat Frank Lautenberg will give up next year.
Moreover, a poll result issued today shows Texas governor George W. Bush would make mincemeat of Vice President Gore if both men had locked up their parties' nominations and the 2000 election was held now.
Bradley announced his formal candidacy in his childhood home of Crystal City, Missouri, promising to run as a candidate dedicated to strengthening the weak in order to restore the nation's greatness.
But New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman - a fiscal conservative who's considered a social moderate - has said she won't make a play for the Lautenberg seat. That is considered a potential big break for Democrats hoping to keep the seat and a blow to Republicans hoping a Whitman race would help them take the White House back.
And since Whitman can't run for a third term as New Jersey's governor by state law, that also leaves that critical statehouse up for grabs in 2001, too.
Whitman has been calling GOP leaders around the country explaining her withdrawal, saying that she wasn't enthusiastic about having to raise millions to compete with businessman Jon Corzine, a likely Democratic contender. Former New Jersey governor Jim Florio - a one-time Congressman whom Whitman dumped from the statehouse after only one term - and former state Democratic chairman Thomas Byrne are also planning to run, according to the AP.
Whitman's exit from the races means Democrats have one less headache in luring strong challengers, protecting seats, or even trying to recapture Congress, says the Associated Press. They're trying to lure strong candidates to challenge longtime Republican Senate incumbents in Vermont and Delaware.
But Bradley's formal announcement could amplify a certain division in the Democratic Party. He hasn't picked up nearly as many endorsements as Gore, but those he has picked up have said they think they're hitching a ride on a star who can win credibly. The biggest factor they cite in backing Bradley: he doesn't have to carry even a fraction of the baggage Vice President Gore is addled with, whether the vice president likes it or not.
Many other observers also feel that Gore may still be the Democratic front-runner, but he's a) handicapped by the lack of credit he receives for any of Clinton's successes, and b) a likely drag, as the Wall Street Journal puts it, on local Democrats making races in 2000.
And they have a few poll numbers to back that trepidation - the Washington Post says that, if the 2000 election were held today, Republican front-runner George W. Bush would smother Gore. A Post-ABC News poll put it at 56 percent for Bush, 37 percent for the vice president.
On the other hand, Bradley still has one considerable problem - except for presenting himself as the champion of the weak, he has not defined his candidacy fully, say many following his campaign.
Whitman was considered one of the best lights of the GOP from the moment she nearly defeated Bradley on an anti-tax platform which included her hammering then-Gov. Florio's tax hikes. Three years later, those tax hikes sent Florio packing and Whitman to the statehouse as the first woman to govern New Jersey.
Making a national reputation with her own New Jersey tax cuts and her survival in a surprising close race two years ago, Whitman also was often speculated upon as a potential vice presidential nominee. And some think that, depending upon which way Republican winds blow as the campaign progresses, she could still be on a short list or three as a White House running mate next year.
