So far, the 20-term incumbent faces two declared opponents and a growing list of prospective rivals who consider him vulnerable.
More than any of his prospective rivals so far, Mr. Kerry has built his early campaign on the foundation of his foreign policy views and credentials, as well as on the domestic issues typically associated with Democrats.
Still, Mr. Richardson arched an eyebrow when asked whether he had suddenly decided to fly in after learning that many of his prospective rivals for 2008 were here and that Mr. Warner, in particular, was giving a major address on Saturday.
Throughout his ruling, Judge Jackson referred to the market power Microsoft derives from the close linkage of Windows with its Office applications software as the "applications barrier to entry" for prospective rivals.
His carefully orchestrated rollout - weeks of openly flirting, followed by visits to the three states that open the party's nominating contest early next year - is being carefully watched by his prospective rivals.
While it is hardly unusual for sitting presidents to size up their prospective rivals, the White House began taking its engagement with Mr. Romney to another level, essentially becoming the ninth candidate in the Republican race.
Making the girl swear to be faithful during her summer trip to Europe, the boy, who is called Tenoch, rattles off an increasingly rude ethnic litany of prospective rivals, from "gringo backpackers" and effeminate Frenchmen to, joltingly, "a dirty Mexican selling necklaces on the street".
Yet even as Mr. Graham and other Democrats seized on the projection, it remained far from certain that the bad economic news would finally allow the president's prospective rivals to accomplish what has so stubbornly eluded the Democrats this campaign season: making the struggling economy a central issue in their drive to unseat Mr. Bush.
