John Kerry's Epitaph: "It's Over"

He's finished. John Kerry will never recover politically from his elitist Freudian-slip/slap at America's military as a dumping ground for "uneducated" young men and women. Nor will Kerry's slapdash "botched joke" cover story work, because the setup makes no sense. If Bush's alleged failed Iraq policy reflects his lack of education, Senator, please explain how that squares with Bush's earning a master's degree from Harvard. Kerry's comment is obviously a political field day for the Republicans as they try to drive their base to the polls next week. But it's also a bonanza for Democrats eager to see Kerry's ongoing presidential locomotive get derailed. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Barak Obama: none wants to go into 2008's primaries against Kerry, who's got plenty of money left over from 2004, along with a belief that he won Ohio but got cheated by the state's secretary of state. Hence the other contenders are only too happy to let Kerry twist in the wind until his national irrelevance is beyond dispute. Meanwhile, don't be surprised to hear 2006 Democratic congressional candidates around the nation take issue with Kerry's snide remark, and in no uncertain terms. Expressing shock at Kerry's remarks is an easy way to score points with voting veterans, and besides: there aren't many Democratic congressional candidates out there eager to see the fumbling, bumbling Bay State narcissist take another shot at their party's presidential nomination. Kerry is one of the least admired members of the Democrat's Senate caucus. No, that's too generous. He's one of the most disliked senators among fellow Democrats. He's cold, aloof, and imperious; and if there's showboating to be done on an issue, Kerry is known for his willingness to elbow his way toward the microphone and TV camera, past colleagues who actually do their homework. Trust me, having worked as a staffer for one of his former colleagues (Howard Metzenbaum), there's a lot of behind-the-scenes glee among his Democratic Senate today. Pay attention to how few actively come to his defense. Notice how many of them won't be anywhere to be seen on this issue, and when they're asked about Kerry's comment most Democratic senators will wink and walk away. They all want the Massachusetts senator to go away, like that state's former governor, Michael Dukakis, did after his miserable 1988 presidential campaign. No need to put the fork in Mr. Kerry. The dude is so done.