It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

THE NEW YORK TIMES' TODD PURDUM ON JOHN KERRY:

But unlike some of his colleagues with long records to defend, Mr. Kerry has never been especially popular with other Democrats in Congress and the party establishment. They have accused him of being too eager to be in the majority, too quick to position his vote for political advantage.

The rap on Mr. Kerry's Senate career, fellow senators and Congressional aides say, has been that he is more interested in high-profile investigations — like those into the Bank of Credit and Commerce International and Gen. Manuel Noriega of Panama — than in the grinding details of legislative procedure. He has deferred to Mr. Kennedy on most bills involving health and education and has few major bills to his name; when asked to summarize his legislative accomplishments, he often seems to struggle.

But among the details of his legislative record, there is fertile ground for his rivals' attacks. Mr. Kerry voted for the USA Patriot Act, Mr. Bush's No Child Left Behind education bill and the Congressional resolution authorizing the president to use force in Iraq, only to sharply criticize all three once he became a presidential candidate. Mr. Kerry counters that his quarrel is with Mr. Bush's execution of the policies, but he struggled for months to explain his shifting stance on the Iraq war.

I haven't made up my mind yet but my biggest strike against Kerry is this: I lived in Massachusetts for five years while Kerry was senator and I cannot recall a single thing that Kerry did or stood for during that time. I can tell you about Teddy and Joe Kennedy, about Governor Bill Weld, about Boston Mayor Tom Menino, about Scott Harshbarger, Mitt Romney, and Ed Markey. So it is not as if I was completely out of the political loop. But Kerry? I don't recall a single significant piece of legislation he sponsored. Nor do I recall a single significant stand he took. Heck, I couldn't have told you what he stood for (was he a moderate Democrat? A liberal?) Aside from marrying ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz, I don't remember a single thing he did. And it is this "experience" that should be the basis of a run for the White House?

UPDATE: An interesting analysis of the Kerry campaign in the last days of the New Hampshire primary can be found here.