During a debate between the two on "Meet the Press," when Gore made his dramatic offer to yank all TV and radio ads in favor of twice-weekly debates only to be rebuffed by Bradley, media members were convinced they knew who won. PBS's Gwen Ifill assured her "Washington Week in Review" audience, "every reporter I talked to thought Gore looked desperate." Slate's Jacob Weisberg, who thought "Bradley made Gore look like a complete ass," was sure the exchange, delivered before the New Hampshire primary, represented "a pivotal moment in the Democratic campaign."

It did prove pivotal: Bradley's run for president all but ended that day in December on "Meet the Press." Why? At least in part because "seven in 10 New Hampshire voters say they support a proposal first made by Gore to end political advertising on television and instead have the presidential candidates participate in twice-weekly debates." That, according to the Washington Post one week after the "Meet the Press" joint appearance. Gore won in New Hampshire, a primary Bradley had been predicted to win.

Throughout the winter, journalists dutifully tried to prop up Bradley at Gore's expense. The Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold wrote about a moving encounter the senator had with Cathy Perry, a mother in Pelham, N.H., struggling to meet healthcare costs, who had moved Bradley to tears: "The audience, including reporters and campaign staff, was hushed as the candidate stood before the lectern trying to gather himself." Dramatic stuff.

But Gold -- a reporter, not a columnist -- couldn't resist a jab at Gore: "Unlike Gore's use of human props to illustrate his policies in recent debates, Bradley's exchange with Perry appeared genuine and unscripted." But guess what? Days later, the Washington Post reported: "The campaign had staged the event and knew what Perry was going to say." Gold never corrected the record for Los Angeles Times readers, and certainly never apologized for the sloppy, gratuitous slap at Gore.

Not surprisingly, the media's overly optimistic predictions for Bradley fell woefully short. "Hardball" host and columnist Chris Matthews, playing an odd game of "What if?" envisioned how Bradley, "the thoughtful NBA veteran," could win the nomination: "By licking Gore in New Hampshire on Feb. 1, then delivering victories in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and California on March 7, big-state triumphs that Gore can neither explain nor answer."

And here's one Newsweek's Fineman would probably like to have back: "The news from the Iowa front: Bradley is moving in for what he hopes is the kill. Having already secured his ground in New Hampshire, Bradley thinks he has a chance to devastate Gore with a preliminary victory in Iowa. By the time the campaign gets to New York and California on Super Tuesday (March 7), Gore may have spent a month twisting in the wind."

Bradley spent nearly $40 million and didn't win a single contest . The boys and girls on the bus, though, loved Bradley to the end. "Reaching into an oversized baby-blue shopping bag from Tiffany's, Bradley presented members of his traveling press corps with carefully wrapped commemorative key chains, a token of their shared journey," wrote USA Today columnist Walter Shapiro, documenting Bradley's fond farewell. Despite Bradley's dreadful instincts on the campaign trail, for Shapiro, the senator remained "a visionary a little ahead of [his] time." And Gore? "A hyperactive fifth grader."

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