Kerry hopes that Americans (and Bay Staters) are idiots

I cringe at the breathtaking cynicism of this defensive justification every time Kerry offers it (from U.S. & WR story, hat tip to BushBlog)

"The special-interest senator." Kerry has indeed taken money from an array of lobbyists. "John Kerry has left himself open to a charge of hypocrisy because he says one thing and does another," argues Bush chief strategist Matthew Dowd. But Kerry responds that he doesn't take money from political action committees, which, he says, shows him to be a reformer.

Oh! Mr. Clean takes money from noble lobbyists but not from those dirty, dirty PACs. Stand back, wicked special interests!

Does Kerry seriously believe that this argument inoculates him from charges that he’s taken more money from special interests than any other Senator? Does he truly believe Americans can differentiate between PACs and lobbyists? I doubt it and I think he offers this up as the only defense he can make.

But if your intelligence was only moderately insulted by that mendacity, check out this howler from MSNBC: “Candidate Kerry won’t quit Senate”

Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Kerry, who has won 14 of the 16 Democratic primaries and caucuses to date, “will continue to fight for the issues important to the people of Massachusetts and all Americans” as he makes his bid for the White House.

Steven the Poliblogger notes: “It never occurred to me that he would quit, although in many ways quitting to devote his full time to running would 1) show confidence that he will win the White House, and 2) give the people of Massachusetts an actual Senator for the rest of this year, because goodness knows that Kerry won't have time to actually serve while he is campaigning.”

No kidding.