Diane beat me to the punch...

...with the Kennedy endorsement of Kerry '08, but those are her home boys, so she's entitled. The other big bit of buzz around Kerry has been the weakly sourced reports of a face off between the Junior Senator from Massacheusetts and the Minority Leader of the Senate during a caucus policy debate. The upshot seems to be that Sen. Reid asserted his prerogatives as leader, which is fine, but I think it would also be wise for him to give more than customary consideration to Kerry's counsel.

After all, Kerry's mailing list is one of the more formidable tools in the Democratic organizing arsenal. He won more votes and raised more dollars than any Democrat in history. He's fresh off an extended period of direct contact with voters from every region, in every circumstance, a process which visibly affected and energized him.

And he's as likely as anyone, and more likely than most, to be our nominee in 2008. Reporting on the organization of his new PAC, Keeping America's Promise, the Boston Herald offers...

Unlike most defeated nominees, Kerry has barely broken stride since the November election.

He's been busy pushing legislation on kid's health care, traveling overseas, raising money and expanding his political network.

Kerry's PAC will raise money for other candidates, parties and issues - helping Kerry build political chits.

He will also use his PAC for staff, travel and more fund-raising.

He's acting smart, and forging new partnerships. The Washington Governor's race, for instance, may have had a much different outcome without Kerry's substantial and timely contribution to the Party's deposit on recount costs. Apparent slips, like his absence from the Senate during the Electoral College challenge, turn out to well-considered, in that case the product of an arrangement engineered in cooperation with the Congressional Black Caucus. Perhaps most significantly in raw political terms, he seems to be holding the core of his fund-raising team together.

He's coming atcha, folks, and the last time he rolled that train it rolled over everybody in sight.

For all those who insist "never again," the first question is who ya' got?

I mean, I'm willing to listen, but the fact is that everything that made me an early and enthusiastic supporter of Kerry '04 is still true. I still think he has the potential to become one of our greatest Presidents. And the fact is, he's still one of our most progressive, most principled, most popular leaders.