November 1, 2006 [LINK / comment]

Let Kerry be Kerry!

When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Kerry's remarks were "inappropriate," there was no longer any choice: John Kerry had to apologize. His statement today could have been more direct, without complaints about Bush, but at least it's something. It would mean a lot more if he had not cancelled all his scheduled appearances. (See Washington Post.) Let's see if any Democrat senatorial candidates have enough guts to invite Kerry to join them at a campaign event before the November 7 election. Please come to Virginia on behalf of Jim Webb, Sen. Kerry!

UPDATE: On the ABC World News Tonight, I saw the U.S. troops in Iraq holding up a banner mocking John Kerry, and Glenn Reynolds provides a link to it: nashvilleistalking.com. Not only do our men and women in uniform have the finest technical training of any armed forces on Earth, they've got a damned good sense of humor!

Will on Campaign 2008

In today's Washington Post, George Will finds reason for conservatives to be encouraged by George Allen's unexpectedly tough reelection bid. It means that the conservative vote will not be divided among so many rival candidates in the 2008 GOP primaries, which is what moderate John McCain has been counting on. Will believes that Allen's recent "fumbles" (a pointed allusion to his father the Redskins coach) will end up boosting the prospects of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Rudy Giuliani has been out of sight lately, so there are only two major candidates at this point. The erudite, bow-tied pundit is evidently not impressed by Allen's "dabbling in literary criticism" regarding the sex scenes in Jim Webb's fictional works.