Using the tracking date a hypothetical race was staged between the turtles, with the winner being the turtle who reached the Galapagos Islands first.

"I am not going to focus on a hypothetical race like that and the questions that I would ask or not ask," he said.

As recently as last week, there was a poll that showed McCain, in a hypothetical three-way race, with more than 20 percent.

Surveys also show that Mr. Specter, when paired in a hypothetical race with an unnamed Democratic opponent, has been steadily losing ground.

Now let us imagine a hypothetical race whose entire mentation is conscious.

"I have no idea what problems there would be in a hypothetical race that hasn't taken place yet except in your imaginations," Mr. Giuliani said.

The voter survey also included hypothetical three-way races.

The differences between those two hypothetical races are not statistically significant in this poll of 1,162 adults, of whom 953 said they were registered voters.

Polls, of course, are hypothetical races - and hypothetical means unreal.

A poll this week gave her 44 per cent in a hypothetical presidential race against President Barack Obama, and put him on 49 per cent.