If Kerry Didn't Exist, Rove Would Invent Him

John Kerry remains the gift that keeps on giving. He drove Imus crazy this morning, because he would not give a simple apology for what he said. He kept saying that he botched a joke, and then he tried to turn back to an attack on Bush. Finally Imus hung up on him, but not before Kerry mentioned that he was returning to DC and had cancelled his remaining campaign appearances.

By the way, have you noticed how John Kerry's favorite phrase seems to be 'I won't let them?' He said he wouldn't let the Swift Boat attacks damage his campaign. He wouldn't let the Bush campaign portray him as weak on terrorism. Now he's saying that he won't let the GOP make him an issue in this campaign.

When Kerry starts a sentence with "I won't let..." pull out your wallet and bet on it to happen.

(By the way, can we get a John Kerry drinking game going? Every time he says 'I won't let,' take a drink. The good news is, you wouldn't be sober for more than the first three minutes or so of his speech.)

The wonderful thing about Kerry injecting himself into the race at this point is that it gives the GOP something to run against. This election has been a referendum on GOP leadership, without much consideration about what the Democrats offer instead. It's been hard for Republicans to force voters to actually choose whose agenda they prefer, because neither Pelosi nor Reid is very well-known nationally. John Kerry is however. And the good thing for the GOP is, America has already rejected him once.

The further good news is that Kerry is choosing to keep himself in the spotlight. After all, it would be easy to say 'I'm sorry I misspoke. I never intended to criticize our troops, for whom I have the highest regard.' But Kerry refuses to do that. He would rather stay front-and-center, to the detriment of his Democratic colleagues. Is he doing it because he's stupid, or because he thinks it endears him to the Nutroots? After all, they seem to love left-wing 'martyrs' much more than they like to win. Perhaps Kerry wants to portray himself as nailed to the cross of right-wing smear attacks. It is a surefire political loser nationally, but maybe he thinks it'll get him some love from the Fever Swamp.

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