21.   But he faced a formidable primary opponent in Gary Locke, then the King County executive.

22.   But he said that Dole was also responsible, because he failed to develop a strategy that recognized Clinton would be a formidable opponent.

23.   But his most formidable opponent has been himself.

24.   But in the very graphic here and now, the reality is that the Bruins are up against a very formidable opponent.

25.   But Mannesmann could become a formidable opponent.

26.   But many Democratic officials suggest that Lopez would be the more formidable opponent.

27.   But Schiff, with the advantage of being an incumbent state senator, is considered a much more formidable opponent.

28.   But Shaw, moderate in temperament and skilled as a lawmaker, is a formidable opponent.

29.   But some of his Republican colleagues, speaking on condition of anonymity, say he has managed the gambit shrewdly, making him a more formidable opponent.

30.   But those skeptics have not watched the NBA this season, when gaps between formidable opponents can stretch in time measured only in Star Trek movies.