for those who don't subscribe he's a
summary:
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has become the strongest Democratic presidential challenger in the past two decades as the formerly fractious political party rallies around his candidacy, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing pollsters and party officials.
Kerry now enjoys the backing of a united party, a positive public image and a narrow national lead over President George W. Bush, the newspaper said.
Fueling the party's renewed discipline and willingness of Kerry's former rivals for the candidacy is intense animosity among Democratic regulars to Bush and the party's desire to regain congressional power in Washington from Republicans , the Journal said.
Now if he only had any money...
Bushs's money is going towards ads to throw some soma to his base:
I know the first round of Bush ads won't hurt Kerry because they're mainly devoted to how the president has had to cope with tough times, like, oh, 9/11 for example -- a pretty modest storyline in that Bush doesn't really boast of his accomplishments.
says Howie Kurtz, who is the most respected pseudo-journalist employed by both CNN and WaPo we have in the country (according to his wife).
more from the WSJ:
Democrat Begins Big Race With Party Unity,
A Positive Image and Lead Over Bush in Polls
By JOHN HARWOOD and JACOB M. SCHLESINGER
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON -- It's the biggest man-bites-dog story of the 2004 campaign: This time, the Democratic Party couldn't have handled the selection of its presidential candidate any better.
After vanquishing John Edwards to secure his party's nomination, John Kerry woke up Wednesday in stronger political condition at this stage of the campaign than any Democratic challenger of the past two decades. His surprising array of assets includes unity within a normally fractious party, a positive introduction to the American public and a narrow national lead over President Bush.
"I don't think there's ever been anyone healthier," says Democratic pollster Paul Maslin, who advised Howard Dean's campaign. Adds nonpartisan opinion analyst Karlyn Bowman: "It is rare that a primary campaign strengthens the nominee. This campaign has clearly done that."
Good to know what the repubs think.