Bring out your dea....

...but wait! He's not dead yet, and Atrios wisely reminds us that it's not our job to kill him off...

Whatever one thinks of Kerry or the campaign that was run, it's only the fragile egos of the terminally pathetic which are served by trying to kill the candidate a second time. I'm all for learning from mistakes, but the greater cause isn't served by throwing feces at the guy you were supposed to be working for. Anyone remember a thing called "loyalty?" And, right now Kerry is the effective leader of the Democratic party, though how long that will last and how much he makes of it remains to be seen. We've heard noises about him taking a prominent role - we'll see what he chooses to do - but at least for now he's the only one in the position to do so.

As I've said, John Kerry still possesses all the qualities that made me an early and enthusiastic supporter of his Presidential campaign. He has the opportunity to build on that campaign by establishing himself as a more forceful advocate for Democratic issues in the Senate, and we need him to take on that role. Harry Reid is a skilled parlimentarian and is likely to secure every advantage that the Senate rules provide for the Democratic caucus, but he's unlikely to be an aggressive spokesman for anything like a liberal agenda, a job he's not inclined toward by either temperment nor ideology.

If John Kerry wants another run at the White House, his ability to rise to the challenge of assuming informal Senate leadership, that is, leadership earned through advocacy and action rather than caucus office, will be and should be, a major determining factor in his ability to regain the nomination. He deserves support in any effort he makes to fill that role, because if he is successful, we all win.