"Giuliani did her a big favor by backing out," said Sharon Sawyer, 43, a Democrat, adding that she would have considered voting for Mr. Giuliani but cannot imagine supporting Mr. Lazio.
And investors are slowly backing out, said Derek Oie, an agent who has done many investor deals in the Inland Empire.
To underscore their predisposition, many suspects are "warned about the seriousness of their plots and given opportunities to back out," said Dean Boyd, a Justice Department spokesman.
"We were told not to expect it to come back out," said Richard Seager, the university's business development manager.
"It went down and came back out," said Houston, who made 13 of 24 shots, including 5 of 8 3-pointers.
"Well, first, I think Doug is a good candidate and it's a shame that he has to back out," said Forest Blanton, 47, who is running for the council.
The auction winner thought that the $90,301 was the total price of the car -- not just the cost for the right to buy the car -- and backed out, said Don Hesher, a sales manager at Palmetto Ford.
Barrett-Jackson, a company in Scottsdale, Ariz., that was going to auction one of Mr. Jackson's Bentleys for charity, backed out, said a former Jackson adviser who requested anonymity to protect other business interests.
"That was over a year ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if that comes back out," said Hibbard.
"She jumps in and attempts to back out," said Lacey, but the owner reached in to stop her.
A Campbell's soup heir initially said yes but then backed out, saying his parents disapproved.
