Matthew Dowd, Mike Donilon, and Michael Whouley

Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd and Kerry-for-President aides Mike Donilon and Michael Whouley were guests late last week. Here are excerpts from their remarks:

(Donilon) "You have to understand ... this election is [already] happening. It is not about to happen."

(Dowd) "The question we have is whether our operation is equal to their operation. I don't think we will know the answer until Election Day."

(Donilon) "In a country this polarized, it is extraordinarily difficult to open up margins [to] any significant degree."

(Dowd) "We are in an entirely different information-flow situation this year. This is the first incumbent reelection where [the Internet] really has been in place."

(Whouley) "This is a three- dimensional chessboard. Our resources are candidate time, television advertising, and on- the-ground operations."

(Dowd) "One of the most interesting things that has come out of this election is how much viewership has moved to cable and away from the nets. We didn't buy any cable in 2000. [This year] we didn't just buy Fox or ESPN, we bought CNN ... the Learning Channel, the History Channel."