KERRY'S ODIOUS BEDFELLOWS . . .
March 27, 2004 -- John Kerry this week staged a huge media event to receive the official endorsement of his erstwhile Democratic rival, Howard Dean. Forgotten, apparently, are the months of bickering in which Kerry accused Dean of lacking principles and Dean, in turn, derided Kerry as "Bush lite."
That's how these things go once the nomination has been decided.
But something else has also been forgotten - and it's something the voters need to remember.
Earlier this month, Kerry had to beat a hasty retreat after his campaign arranged a conference call with reporters in which Dean - outrageously - blamed President Bush for helping to instigate the recent Madrid terrorist massacre.
Rest assured, this won't be the last time Kerry is forced to run away from his supporters before November - given the bevy of bizzaros now gravitating to his campaign.
And let's not forget that Kerry from time to time manages to step sharply on his own tongue (see below).
But just when the Dems thought they were rid of the impudent upstart for whom the White House was rooting in the primaries, back comes Howard Dean - with more of the contemptible accusations that made him the darling of the anti-war loons.
"The president was the one who dragged our troops to Iraq, which apparently has been a factor in the death of 200 Spaniards," declared Dean.
That gem came in a conference call in which the man from Ben & Jerry Land was drafted to counter a Bush campaign ad.
Confronted by reporters, Kerry issued a terse statement: "That is not our position," he said.
Whew!
That's a relief.
Though it's hardly the forceful repudiation such a baseless accusation deserves.
Even Dean ultimately seemed to understand the political dangers of his remarks - if not their odious nature.
In a "clarification," he insisted he was merely referring to the claim of responsibility by an al Qaeda operative: "That was what they said in the tape. They made that connection; I'm simply repeating it."
So Howard Dean concedes that he voluntarily chose to uncritically spread the propaganda spouted by those responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Americans on 9/11.
And this is the man that John Kerry chooses to defend his own honor - and whose endorsement he trumpets in a media extravaganza.
This could be a long seven months for the Democrats.
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