As a result, the process is less secret than campaign strategists might like.

"It's a difficult transition to make," said one top campaign strategist.

The average, campaign strategists say, is about $1 a signature.

A senior campaign strategist, who is a top member of the Bush finance team, said about $20 million remained.

But for the moment, at least, he has yielded to the counsel of campaign strategists.

But his campaign strategists would be happy if he achieved a more modest goal.

Still, campaign strategists from both parties agreed that there are other, better ways of appealing to white men, without turning off everyone else.

Yet in the end, the format seemed less influential than the campaign strategists' orders.

Nothing bothers campaign strategists more than candidates who cannot keep calm.

Campaign strategists of both parties will set up their dissembly lines.