[Prime Choice]

Then again, they may be the opportunity for Mr Kerry to fulfil the Dukakis analogy completely. It was the 1988 debates, and in particular a mind-numbingly passionless answer from the Democrat to a hypothetical question about the rape and murder of his wife, that finished him.

Then this one's in the bag. Last I heard, John Kerry doesn't answer "hypothetical questions." He said so in a softball interview with the New York Times over the weekend. No fooling.

[Mr. Silverback]

Last I heard, John Kerry doesn't answer "hypothetical questions." He said so in a softball interview with the New York Times over the weekend. No fooling.

Yeah, I saw Brit Hume's report on that. And the hypothetical was some version of "How will you handle Kim Jong Il," specifically what he would do in Dubya's place now that they've detonated this huge explosive. It's not as if the NYT asked how he'd handle an emergency on the starship Enterprise, they asked how he'd handle a situation he has to handle starting in January if he wins. The guy's a tool, and the debates are a perfect forum to show off just how much of a tool he is.