Now approaching the halfway mark, the presidential campaign is still drawing mixed reviews. The critics say the candidates are sheep dressed in sheep's clothing, with most of their gear borrowed from Mary Robinson. But political pundits know an intriguing election when they see one. The unprecedented volatility of the electorate and the amount of cross-party support for the candidates is making this one of the most difficult contests in recent times to read.
Of course, the Government candidate Mary McAleese is well ahead, and galloping strongly. But who is to say she won't be overhauled in the last furlong by Adi Roche or Mary Banotti, or even by the dark horse and late entrant, Derek Nally?
This was the week when the huggy-wuggy language went out the window. McAleese packed away her Celtic tea-towel phrases about reaching out and embracing, though her posters still promise to "build bridges".
Roche put in a solid performance on Questions and Answers without once feeling the need to promise a "fun" presidency. Maybe it was the entry into the race of Nally, with his gentle gravitas, that brought the others back to reality.
Consistent with the new, more serious tone of debate, some candidates came up with original ideas. In a thoughtful speech in Cork, McAleese promised to open up Aras an Uachtarain at set times to the public.
And with her references to the president as the representative of the "forgotten Irish" abroad, she clearly staked her claim as the natural successor to Mary Robinson. It didn't take long for that claim to stick in Dick Spring's craw.
At the start of his campaign, Nally set out his concept of the President as the head of civic society, as opposed to political society. His belief is that a president should lead by example, rather than by any specific deed.
It was a bad week for Mary Banotti. She began it on a high, with a Sunday newspaper poll putting her in second place, clearly ahead of Roche. But on Questions and Answers she was uncharacterically nervous, and was badly caught out on the question of McAleese's Northern origins. Saying that Fianna Fail had to go to the North to find a candidate made her look partitionist.
Then there was the horrific crash on Wednesday, when a car driven by an elderly man and the Banotti convoy collided on a road in Co Tipperary. The accident left one local woman dead and the candidate severely shaken.
Not surprisingly, Banotti took a break from canvassing to recover. But even in this most tragic of situations, the adage that "there is no such thing as bad publicity" applies.
For those who heard his interview with Pat Kenny on RTE, Derek Nally made the biggest impact of the week. His personal testimony of life as a Garda leader during the Heavy Gang era and after made for compelling listening.
His tales of gardai beating confessions out of prisoners, politicians leaning on gardai and widespread phone-tapping were frightening reminders of a time when the State clearly exceeded its powers.
Nally's brave opposition to those excesses makes him well qualified for the Aras. After all, the president is the last line of defence for the citizen when such abuses arise.
And what of Dana? Reports from around the country confirm the opinion findings. Severely hampered by the lack of a political network and the churlishness of the traditional Catholic groups about her candidacy, she is doomed to play a supporting role in this contest.
However, the dignified manner in which she has conducted her campaign has given the lie to the sneers heard in many quarters when she first announced her interest in the job. The benefits of her work in marking out a Catholic, pro-life constituency may be reaped by others in future elections.
Up to now, Fianna Fail has successfully managed to keep the presidential campaign separate from its internal problems. But with the traumatic departure of Ray Burke this week, will this remain possible?
It has been claimed that as an act of revenge the Reynolds faction precipitated Burke's downfall by leaking the report on the passports inquiry to The Irish Times. If this is so, is this the end of the bloodletting? Or could McAleese be the next target?
Either way, the Opposition candidates are likely to try to link McAleese to the present intrigues. They will also continue to contest her claim to be the most qualified candidate for the job, or what Adi Roche called the "elitism" which led people to believe that legal expertise was a prerequisite for the post.
With 20 days to polling day, the presidential election remains as volatile as the rest of politics these days.