The inestimable Pandagon kids point me to The Rude Pundit:

Kerry's done a fuck of a lot more than pull a guy out of a river. And the fact that America doesn't know that says a great deal about how we negotiate our desolate political landscape.

The whole thing is worth a read. It's still painful to watch Kerry on the stump; he's just not my style, and he's obviously not lovin' being out there. But fuck that. What does it have to do with being president? His record is clearly exemplary. He went up against Nixon, Reagan, and Bush Sr, all quite admirably. That these facts aren't a part of this race says a lot about how timid the Democrats have become -- which leads back to the qualms I have with Kerry. I'll still be voting for the man, and you should too, but also still wish he'd gone the whole hog ala Howard Dean.

But for anyone out there who really thinks Kerry "blows with the political wind," and is "spineless," you're missing the point. He's a Senator. He's voted stragetically. That's what you do if you're a Senator. He's also a serious big-league politician who wants to win an election in America. Just like Bush -- or any candidate -- he's made a few choices that seem calibrated toward the end of winning the election.

Personally I think he could have taken more of a stand in the past few years, but if I were working out of DC and had only media reports and polling data to go on, and I wanted very badly to believe that there's real good to be accomplished through the political process, I could see why he'd do what he did.

Kerry got played by Bush on the war vote, but that doesn't make him weak-willed. He took on Nixon when he was fucking 27 (which cost him his first Congressional race), and Reagan when he was still wet behind the ears as a Senator. That's not "spineless." That's displaying remarkable political courage; and it's still in there.

One of the reasons I'm liking Kerry is that the more I see him the more I realize he hates campaigning. And I'd hate campaigning too if I had to do it in the early 21st Century stye. So believe, and don't let anyone vote for Bush for stupid ass reasons. If we finish strong here, we win.