From here to the United States Supreme Court, the courtroom has also served as a backdrop (albeit a high-minded one) for what operatives on both sides say, in unguarded moments, remains very much a political duel.
Joe Biden got involved, as did a mob of operatives on both sides.
But he, like many operatives on both sides, said he was still navigating a postcampaign, pregoverning netherworld.
Altogether, operatives on both sides say, the Democrats are spending about twice as much as the Republicans on advertising in the final week.
Money is the only explanation for Trump's continued swing through deep red states, according to operatives on both the left and the right.
"The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor's minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me.
Amid new evidence that civilians lagged far behind soldiers in voting from abroad four years ago, political operatives on both sides of the presidential campaign raced this week to help Americans overseas cast their ballots in time for next month's election.
Privately, political operatives on both sides of the political divide said that the new Super PACs were likely to be the chief vehicle for negative advertisements against rivals, leaving each group's favored candidate free to campaign more positively.
Mr. Kelly offers shades of the astronaut John Glenn, who headed up the Emergency Committee for Gun Control after the shooting deaths of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Political operatives on both sides of the aisle in Arizona widely expect Mr. Kelly to eventually run for office himself, something he has waved off for now.
