republicans ended up with alan keyes. mccain who had been a strong candidate faded in defending the bush record. and this year, while the numbers don't look good for the democrats. the g.o.p. could be split between the tea party candidates and the regular party. and that obama luck may hold when he runs again in 2012. modren persidents have one strike in terms unless they face a commanding opponent. john, he has been lucky? >> he has been lucky, but one exception, hillary clinton, who is a rival when he ran for the nomination. right now, it's fascinating. you think of obama's approval rating has fallen and yet over the course of the first 18 months, unlike in past presidential elections, you don't see republicans out there. there have been two, mitt romney and pawlenty. and the white house have said, couldn't we be lucky enough to end up with another opponent who is just as lame as the ones we faced in the past. chris: he may get a little bit of a break. i'm looking at some of these races. nevada, he thought he may have h