The wind blows leftward

John Kerry knows what he wants: the Democratic nomination for president. What he doesn't know is how to get it. Clearly, the only way to get noticed now is to attack President Bush, a tactic that's working wonders for "near-frontrunner" Howard Dean. So Kerry gets his ink today by complaining about the post-invasion process.

While he probably has a point - that the Bush team was not well enough prepared for this phase - the coveted Washington Post story smells like a low quality whine. Kerry says the U.S. needs to get other countries' troops involved. Isn't that what the administration has been saying it's trying to do for the past week?

Kerry is in the uncomfortable position of trying to keep part of the pro-military vote with his Vietnam creds. However, when President Bush's main initiatives are military, how do you distinguish yourself from the President without attacking his military goals? Kerry probably knows that arguing details makes for lousy politics, but can't see a way around it right now. And while his current doldrums (c.f. Lieberman, Graham, Edwards) don't preclude a surge when it begins to matter (and when Dean's novelty wears off), I think there are a lot of fundamental flaws with Kerry's candidacy and I doubt he'll carry any states outside of New England in the primary.