The Kerry strategists have shrewdly discerned that porches are more than shady spots for sipping iced tea; they occupy a potent place in the American imagination.

And Joe Lockhart, a top Kerry strategist, told reporters in a conference call that Mr. Bush had seemed "agitated, annoyed and fidgety."

Another Kerry strategist said: "I think everybody's of two minds.

Kerry strategists say all of that is Republican bluster, intended to distract from Mr. Cheney's drag on the ticket.

During the Democratic National Convention, Kerry strategists scrubbed every speech, excising attacks on President Bush.

But a Kerry strategist said the idea, in the end, "distracts you from talking about national security, it distracts you from talking about a lot of things."

But ever since the Kerry strategists decided to omit Missouri from their major advertising purchase after the Republican convention, the intensity of combat has diminished.

"I expect we will hear Cheney continuing to attack Kerry relentlessly," a senior Kerry strategist, Tad Devine, said.

"We feel very good about what's happening in Florida," said Tad Devine, a senior Kerry strategist.

Robert Shrum, a top Kerry strategist, half-agreed: "We had a narrative, but in the end, I don't think it came through."