"Grueling primary campaign" my butt. Besides being the shortest primary season in recent memory thanks to McAwful's front-loading, the whole primary was nothing more than a months-long chorus of all the Rats chanting "I hate Bush!" in unison. And when in recent memory has the challenger, regardless of party, gone on vacation right after clinching the nomination?
If Bush wins in November (I only say "if" because ANYTHING can happen in seven months), I think the post mortems will all point to Kerry's vacation as his undoing. By running off to his multi-million dollar ski bungalow in Idaho to play in the snow, not only did he not hit back at Bush during the so-critical "first impressions" part of the general campaign, he sent the message that he's not taking the campaign seriously, that he thinks he can beat Bush without even trying very hard. That smacks of an arrogance that has NEVER gone over well with the public.
His campaign has already hit a snag. His trip to Idaho was but just one snag. At the Unity Dinner he was begging Clinton and Carter to help do some fundraising for him. This tells me he's having trouble raising money. The atmosphere at that DUD told me the Democrats aren't excited about Kerry.