Usual disclaimer: (like most kossacks) I'm a Dean guy.
Even more: I really, really don't like Kerry. I think he is a phony effete, blue-blood, wholly uninspiring. (Still, I'm going to campaign feverishly for the guy.)
Back in November, when he fired his campaign manager, I was sure he was dead. He seemed like such a perfect loser. He had everything (money, name recognition, early momentum) and his lack of leadership had squandered it all.
And then he turned it around. That was the most shocking resurrection I can recall in recent political history. That's the only thing that gives me some hope on this guy. He fought back hard, and he won it all (yeah, he did - give it up already).
There has been no account of how has this happened. Until now. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a must read account of that turnaround. I had somewhat assumed that his surrogates saved Kerry's ass for him. To his credit, that is not so. Kerry gets all the kudos.
One note of caution. He seems to thrive on adversity, and flounder under otherwise propitious conditions. Right now, he seems to have quite favorable circumstances.
Hope that the past is not a sure predictor of the future.
One more thing. I want to see this ad:
Shot of W at his creepiest.
Headline superimposed: "Bush wants to outsource your job".
Voice over: "Bush thinks that losing your job to India is good. Maybe it's good for his fatcat friends who are sending all these factories and jobs abroad.
Let's send Bush a message. Let's outsource HIS job to the Democratic Party. Kerry has fought special interests to KEEP jobs in America. Vote Kerry in 2004."
I know, the "Kerry fighting special interests" might be over the top. Gotta fight that anyway.