CAMPAIGN MASTERY. It would seem that things have been going George Bush's way of late. The economy is now inarguably in a state of rapid growth, including the job market. The announcement of a prime minister, president, and ministers of Iraq is beginning to make it look as if the occupation really is in a state of transition to self-rule. And the recent death of Ronald Reagan has served to remind Americans that there's been more than one cowboy president who chopped wood on his ranch and stood up to a firestorm of domestic criticism about his bold and highly aggressive foreign policy. Yet the latest published results of polling appear to show Kerry opening up a lead just as all these developments are breaking Bush's way. What gives? The answer is easy. The smartest thing Kerry has done in months was proclaim the suspension of his campaign efforts during the Reagan funeral drama. We haven't seen or heard from him in days. Voila. He starts shooting up in the voters' estimation.

Anything we can do about it? Maybe not much in the macro sense. We don't have the clout to drag him back into the public eye where he would no doubt resume damaging his own presidential prospects. For the sake of our own morale, we should remember that this will happen. Before we know it, he'll be out there again, droning his absolute eternal support for all sides of every issue. Until then, we can improve his visibility to ourselves at least. That's why we're providing access to a fun little game that allows you to box with Kerry on the White House lawn. It's even possible to knock him out. We did. Just click on this link, (wait for the game to load -- it will) read the instructions, and when the game starts, wait for the bell to ring (!!!) before throwing any punches. Then have at it. It's easy, it's all in good fun, and you just might feel better...

A NIGHT OF CALM. Perhaps it's not even worth writing about, but an odd thing happened on Fox News Channel's prime time lineup last night. No shouting. No blustering. No ranting or raving. And no vicious political attacks from left or right. How come? Both the O'Reilly Factor and the Hannity and Colmes show devoted almost every segment to remembering Ronald Reagan.

O'Reilly interviewed Newt Gingrich, Jerry Brown, and others about their memories and assessments of Reagan. In particular, he was pursuing similarities and differences between Reagan and G. W. Bush, as well as lessons Bush might take from Reagan. All real partisanship seemed to be on hold. Gingrich, obviously positive about Reagan, nevertheless highlighted some foreign policy errors, and he was serious in his critique of Bush, observing that the President would do well to follow Reagan's example in avoiding negative campaigning. Jerry Brown, whose father lost the governorship of California to Reagan, evinced very much the same tone, acknowledging his respect and affection for Reagan and pointing out that liberals have been too monolithic in their characterization of his policies. Brown noted that Reagan was a strong environmentalist while governor of California and lamented that he had chosen James Watt as his interior secretary. The next guest was Ellis Henican, usually the sneermaster among opinion columnists, and even though his segment concerned the G8 summit rather than Reagan, the moderate mood established previously seemed to continue. Henican and O'Reilly were both reasonable about their differences, neither raised his voice, and the sense of exceptionalism persisted.

Hannity and Colmes did not succeed so well as O'Reilly in mixing real analysis with reverence, but their guests -- principally, Alexander Haig, George Schultz, and Ed Meese -- related anecdotes that were more intimately revealing than worshipful. Schultz recalled the careful setup of the first meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan, the two of them seated alone in front of a drawing room fireplace. The schedule called for a 10-minute face to face, but the 10 minutes became an hour and then the two leaders went to another location in Geneva, where they spent the entire afternoon alone together, talking. Schultz recalled that Gorbachev seemed astonished and pleased to discover that he genuinely liked his erstwhile adversary. For once, Hannity was not cocky but respectful and restrained. Colmes took no potshots. Each segment began and ended with a clip of Reagan: scenes from his movies, excerpts of his speeches, and key moments in his presidential debates. His sunny spirit really seemed to pervade the evening, which somehow resulted in a feeling of sadness. The usual political fare of our day -- hateful charges, repetitious cant, angry crosstalk, and unending resentment -- contrasts so miserably with the intermission brought about by Reagan's death that it's impossible not to wonder how far we've fallen in 20 short years.

DAVE 14.41. The lighter side of both programs was provided by show business guests with personal recollections of Reagan. On Hannity and Colmes, actor Robert Conrad, now on the cusp of 70, recalled receiving a phone call from the President to praise him for a movie the first couple had just seen in the White House. On O'Reilly, Mickey Rooney told of meeting Reagan for the first time. Rooney was just fifteen and remembered the two of them saving a dog who had just been run down in the street. The third show business guest was the voice via telephone of Doris Day, who also received a presidential phone call after she had criticized the Reagans for leaving their dog in Santa Barbara instead of taking it home to the White House. Her criticism appeared in a print interview, and about a month later, Reagan called her to explain that the dog was miserable at the White House -- no room to run, no time off the leash -- and really preferred Santa Barbara where he had wide open spaces, plenty of other dogs to pal around with, and other human friends as well.

The story was charming, but equally so was the voice of Doris Day, long gone from the public ear. It is still musical, breathy, and lilting, still somehow young. It made me remember what a phenomenal talent she was: the very best female vocalist to come out of the Big Band era, her voice surpisingly powerful and utterly at ease throughout its range. For those who don't remember, and for those who do, here's a sample of what singing was, once upon a time. (Wait for it to load; it's worth it.)