Time to lay off Kerry

As readers of this blog know, I have a beef with John Kerry; not least of which is that as my Senator he doesn't do much to earn his $150,000+ paycheck. But I digress....

Tonight, I was flipping around and caught Kerry on C-Span at a "rally" in New Hampshire. Sweet mercy, it was pitiful. It appeared to be in somebody's living room with all the furniture pushed up against a wall so Kerry had a space to move, microphone in hand. There couldn't have been more than 30 people there, including children. Kerry gave a speech (mostly Bush-bashing) then announced he would stick around for questions.

And here's where it got just so sad: Kerry got cornered by a 10-year-old who asked him what his favorite childrens' book was. Kerry gamely answered "Sam I Am" (presumably "Green Eggs and Ham.") Then the precocious and chatty kid asked him what his favorite book of all time was. I don't know what was flying through Kerry's head at this point but my guesses are either 1.) "this wasn't covered in my talking points script" or 2.) "I'm running for President and the only person who wants to talk is this kid. Better make it look good for the cameras."

So I'm going to turn over all the cards and officially declare: Kerry is toast. He's done. He'll hold on until after New Hampshire but I don't think he'll even wait until South Carolina (where he's beating only Dennis Kucinich in the polls) before he quits. He's just a walking shadow now.

So: no more "Kerry Vote Watch" updates. Instead, I'm going to turn my attention on Howard Dean who, with the recent union endorsements, is looking most likely to gain the nomination. Then, in the general election, he's sure to gain twice as many states as George McGovern and Walter Mondale, combined. Wow.