By Molly Ivins, Working For Change
"Not saying I necessarily agree with the conclusions reached by the Iowa caucus-goers, but I do love it when voters make fools of the pundits, including me. My biggest reservation about the result is John Kerry, who could take the excitement out of a soccer riot.
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The pundits all thought Kerry was a lead-pipe cinch when this started (until, of course, the pack turned on him and pronounced him dead meat). He looks presidential, people in Washington know him, he knows how the game is played, he's got the war record and quite a few bright people find him mega-impressive at close range. But he's got no Elvis. You can't win without Elvis.
Kerry got some lucky breaks. A guy whose life Kerry had saved in Vietnam -- for which he got the Bronze Star -- turned up two days before the Iowa caucuses and, of course, burst into tears after endorsing Kerry. Who could make up stuff that good? All that bio, and Kerry still comes across as a tall Dukakis.
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The trouble with Dean dropping back is that the D's then largely lose Iraq as an issue (unless Kerry is smart enough to use "I was fooled, too" without looking foolish). I think losing Iraq would be a mistake. In the first place, because it was so egregious, if not criminal. We were, in fact, lied into a war we didn't have to fight. And the results are not happy. In case you hadn't noticed, 100,000 Iraqi Shiites were protesting in the streets Tuesday."
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=15070She's funny as always. But I share her concerns.