Kerry is doing so bad because he knows he is not suppose to run. By running, he can tell all of the lies he wants about President Bush, he can muddy the water, and if he is good enough at it he can force the Republican to go negative. So as you can see, any of the Democrats on the far left could have done this, the brilliance in this plan is they had three different people running, with each ready to take over when the others slipped.
Why you ask? Simple, Hillary is running for President, this year.
She is percieved as a far left Democrat, but notice she is moving herself to the middle, and compared to Dean and Kerry she appears to be a moderate.
If they can get the Republicans to go negative, (notice how the media is trying to paint the picture that the Republicans have already gone negative and it is the results of their ads that Kerry is not doing well), when Hillary steps in to save the Democrats she will make a plea for a "clean campaign" which is Democrat speak for don't you dare bring up my past record, while I question the facts over your birth, were your parents married when you were born.
Why is Hillary running now and not in four years? She is getting old. She has a senate race between now and 2008, and she believes President Bush is vulnerable.
I would also add that the old main stream media is losing its power. In four years, they will have even less influence over the population.
This is her year, and she is going for it, and that is why Kerry is doing so bad, he wants to be bad so he can pull out at some point, and Hillary can step in. The only question is timing. When is this going to happen? For Hillary late October will be best, but there will be problems if they wait that long.
Amen.
Personally, I find little comfort in how JFnK is performing - for exactly the idea you posit.
I'm holding my breath all the way till that Tuesday nite in November...