A Bush-Cheney campaign official just expressed genuine surprise that John Kerry didn’t enjoy more of a bounce following Boston. It was pointed out that the Dem ticket is not statistically ahead in any of the recent polling and I was reminded that no successful challenger has ever not been leading at this point in the campaign. Republicans had expected to be down in the polls going into their own convention late this month. This campaign veteran points out that the last presidential candidate who ran a campaign based on the notion that he was an acceptable alternative to the other guy was Richard Nixon, who barely pulled it off and who didn’t face an incumbent.