bush in 2000. the field is strewn with candidates like lamar alexander and phil gramm who tried to create the sensef inevitability and showing up first meant you failed first. a theory now you wait and what all of these candidates have done so far. >> final question for you. facing an incumbent is tough enough. can any of these candidates, should they emerge, do you think they can financially compete with president obama whose war chest is expected to be from $750 million to potentially a billion dollars as he moves forward? >> it will be very difficult. obama has the incumbency. as you point out, he had a very -- he has a very strong fund-raising operation from the last time around. there is worry in the democratic base about his policies, but what is happening now is a lot of those liberals are newly excited by the republicans in washington, what they are planning to do and also some of these efforts in the states. so to the extent the democratic base was depressed at all about obama's performance, they are now newly energized by the republicans and so it's not so much about barack obama any more