Kerry Can Still Taste It

John Kerry has never stopped running for president, so suggests the AP.

Borrowing a page from Republican Sen. John McCain's 2000 postelection playbook, Kerry has kept much of his presidential political organization intact. He has also used his fundraising prowess to aid Democrats across the country, collecting chits that could be called if he seeks the party's White House nomination.

There was a lot I liked about John Kerry in 2004. Though I was a Dean supporter long before most people had heard his name, when Kerry became the eventual nominee, I found plenty to support, and didn’t consider myself among those who had to hold my nose to vote for him. Particularly as an alternative to Bush, I loved him.

Some of his advisers—the usual “Democratic strategist” suspects, including the useless, loathsome Shrum—were a huge disappointment. Advising him to not fight back against the Swift Boat wankers was perhaps the worst recommendation in the history of presidential campaigns (running a close second to whomever set up that shot of Dukakis in a bloody tank). But I thought Kerry was a good man, and I was happy to cast my vote for both him and John Edwards—and I even argued immediately after the election that we shouldn’t be too quick to write him off for 2008. Losing an election is not, in my opinion, grounds for dismissing someone out of hand. The experience of having been well vetted and going through the campaigning process can actually be beneficial, helping one avoid the mistakes of a first-time candidate. I thought if he positioned himself as the leader of a shadow administration, and rebutted every bad Bush decision with a detailed Democratic plan, he’d set up himself—and the Dems—for a strong 2008 campaign.

But he didn’t do that.

And since then, he’s given me plenty of reason to write him off besides. And even if he hadn’t, I don’t think he can win. Someone needs to sit him down and reason with him. It’s over.