Couldn't have put it better myself. But I'd add that his campaign from day one had no energy. The best day of Kerry's campaign among his faithful was naming Edwards as his VP -- many of them had been fawning over Edwards for over a year. Their convention didn't motivate -- and their rallies have fallen short.
Rule #1 is energize the base. 9/11 went miles for Bush among the silent majority. By failing to energize their own base, the dims have set themselves up for a calamity on Nov. 2. In turn this will probably have the undesirable effect of motivating the opposition for '08.
Have you ever seen the degradation of a profession like journalism this last two years?
It'd be funny if our enabling American institutions didn't rely on a vibrant "Fourth Estate".
The Fourth Estate has become the Fifth Column.
We beat that November 2.