The Philadelphia Inquirer still isn't impressed by Kerry:
"The beleaguered presidential candidate had contended, on a New Hampshire radio show, that his nemesis Howard Dean would be a bad nominee; that the hero of antiwar Democrats would lose to President Bush in 2004.
"Kerry is trying to pump up his imperiled candidacy -- Dean seems poised to bury him in the New Hampshire primary -- and his task is to convince Bush-haters that Dean can't win.
"Yet by the pond the next morning, when a reporter asked the Massachusetts senator why he had assailed Dean's electability, he turned his craggy visage toward the questioner and insisted, 'I don't believe I said that' -- thereby demonstrating anew why this rich, articulate, experienced lawmaker and war hero has stumbled on the campaign trail, sagging like a bad souffle.
"His critics put it this way: At a time when Democrats crave straight talk, Kerry offers circumlocutions. At the pond Thursday morning, Kerry was quickly confronted with his own words. On the radio, he had said: 'Howard Dean will not be able to beat George Bush; I believe that very strongly.' Wasn't he saying that Dean was unelectable?
" 'Well, it's a synonym,' he replied. 'I'll accept that. I didn't say he was "unelectable." I just said he couldn't beat George Bush.' Moments later, he tried again: 'I wasn't trying to be cute. . . . I do remember saying it's hard to beat George Bush, that's all I'm saying.' "
"Kerry's penchant for wordy revisionism -- commonly known as "Senate-speak" -- has greased a downhill slide in New Hampshire, where defeat in the Jan. 27 primary could spell doom for his candidacy."
No wonder he has trouble explaining his position on the war.
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