Two separate stories in today’s Wall Street Journal inadvertently tell a a story of triumph and desperation.

An excerpt from the first:

Initially, Sen. McCain was supposed to tour a company in Columbia, Mo., with no crowd. Gov. Palin was to campaign on her own for the first time elsewhere. But after raucous crowds greeted the GOP ticket in the days following their convention, the campaign decided to keep them together through mid-week. The result: 3,000 cheering supporters inside, with another 3,000 or so unable to get in.

And the second:

Campaigning at a rally for several hundred in Kissimmee in a stronghold for her, Central Florida, Sen. Clinton also won an endorsement from a union for Sen. Obama.

Have you ever seen air come out of balloon faster?