God Help Us

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) will file papers this week with the Federal Election Commission, a pro forma step on the way to a declaration of candidacy for the 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination.

I wrote a lot about Senator Kerry as a columnist for The Boston Globe. He's an able, smart fellow. But he's a bummer. He wears the burdens he bears on his sleeve. This is disconcerting because -- on paper, at least -- his life could hardly be better. He's married to the terrific Theresa Heinz. His children (from his first marriage) are great. He has more money than he can count (Theresa Heinz is one of the richest women in the world). Every advantage God could bestow upon someone has been bestowed on John Kerry.

Yet the tone of his campaigns is always funereal. In John Kerry's view, the glass is always half-empty. After a while, this disconnect between the facts of his life and the woebegone-ness of his rhetoric begins to grate.

I doubt he'll be able to wrest the nomination away from Gore. I doubt anyone can. But Kerry surely won't win a single state primary until he cheers up and walks his campaign down the sunny side of the street.