''Stop him before he kills (the Democrats' chances) again."

The reaction to John Kerry's announcement that he may run again in 2008 has been underwhelming (at least here). In today's Boston Globe, columnist Ellen Goodman puts into words what I think many of us are feeling about Kerry's recent announcement.

Don't run, John Kerry

By Ellen Goodman | April 28, 2006

I HAVE LONG believed that any columnist who writes about a presidential election more than two years before Election Day should have her fingers peeled from her keyboard and be taken off to a rehab clinic for political junkies. The only reason I risk that fate now is to soothe an escalating series of anxiety attacks that range from "Uh-oh" to "Oh, no" to a shrieking "YIPES!"

The signs that John Kerry is going to run for president in 2008 are rising faster than the pollen count. There was the requisite New York Times op-ed -- How many days late? How many dollars short? -- on getting out of Iraq. There was the Globe op-ed that preceded the speech supporting war dissenters at Faneuil Hall to an audience of groupies yelling "Run" and "2008." There was Ted Kennedy's remark, "If he runs, I'm supporting him."

And then there was his op-ed in The Manchester Union-Leader defending New Hampshire's place as first-in-the-nation primary. A true profile in courage.

All of this leads me to blurt out: "Stop him before he kills (the Democrats' chances) again."

Yup, that about sums it up for me. We didn't end up with the candidate we wanted --Howard Dean -- we nominated a candidate based on the abstract concept of "electability." Says Goodman: "It wasn't a presidential primary, it was a presidential casting call."

There were a lot of things that annoyed me about the Kerry campaign. On March 25, 2004 Howard officially threw his support behind Kerry and the live webchat with Howard that day took place at the Kerry website. Bad move. It should have been John Kerry at DFA chatting with us. It was not an auspicious start to a campaign that fumbled so badly on the road to Election Day 2004.

Kerry's major flaw, in my opinion, is he's too cautious. Ask a question and the response you'll get leaves you wondering just exactly where he stands. Kerry couldn't even articulate a clear critique of the war in Iraq, which Bush used successfully to attack not only Kerry's credibility but also his character, tagging him a "flip-flopper." Kerry, who didn't want the campaign to descend into personal attacks, wouldn't hit back.

According to Goodman, "He ran a cautious campaign against a reckless commander in chief. And while caution is not a moral failing, Kerry's gut seems to have a surgical bypass through his cranium."

How bad was it? As Goodman observes, "In the end, a majority of likely voters thought we were on the wrong track and voted for the conductor anyway. In the end, the president who lied to us about war and weapons of mass destruction looked like the straight talker. That's how bad it was."

Once was enough. Sit 2008 out John.

NB: Julia Thorne, an author and the former wife of U.S. Sen. John Kerry, died of cancer yesterday at a friend's home in Concord. She was 61. (Boston Globe)


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