Mr. Ickes said it was far too early to describe the campaign as a two-man race.
The Republican primary for governor will be a two-man race after all.
A two-man race to the finish, when other golfers have fallen away, is a challenge to any network.
But it is not that bad; your candidate, in a two-man race, will get 10,000 votes just for having his name on the ballot.
And if it was a two-man race, what could Gephardt do to win over Kerry's supporters?
One of the three dropped out after becoming chairman of a collective farm, and so it came down to a two-man race.
"This brings it into focus as a two-man race."
And he has made the Presidential campaign a two-man race again - two of them, in fact.
Today, everyone wearing a pair of skis was a bit player in a two-man race.
It is a two-man race that has come down to the season's final official event.