John Kerry's Sad Fade

It seems only the Boston Balker doesn't realize what a washed-up never-was he has so emphatically become.

As if on cue, here comes the proverbial salt in the wound:

Failed presidential candidate Senator John Kerry suffered another humiliation on Monday, when a poll was released showing that voters in his home state prefer New York Senator Hillary Clinton for president in 2008 by a wide margin.

Kerry has made no secret of his 2008 presidential ambitions, and was recently endorsed for a second try by his Massachusetts colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy.

But a survey conducted by KRC Communications Research for the State House News Service showed that 51% of Bay Staters now back Mrs. Clinton, with just 33% in Kerry's corner.

Angus Reid Consultants, which first reported the poll on Monday, noted that the results were quite a comedown for Kerry, who won 72% of the 2004 Democratic primary vote.

This ought not be surprising. It's what always happens to a presidential election runner-up. The psychology is, "He had his chance, now it's someone else's turn." The last time a major party renominated their defeated candidate from the previous election was Democrat Adlai Stevenson in 1956. He lost again. Before him it was Republican Thomas Dewey in 1948. He lost again. Before him it was William Jennings Bryan in 1900. He lost again.

Is anybody beginning to notice a pattern here? Everybody but Lurch, it seems. Now he's suddenly decided to become a full-time senator, and it's alienating even his own Donk colleagues (aside from Uncle Teddy, who just may be having fun with his protege). Or so one gathers from Kerry's recent attempted power play on Minority Leader "Dirty Harry" Reid, who basically told Brah-man to go to hell.

I predicted this, you know. Before last year's election I said (I'd dig for the link, but Sphincter-Mouth just isn't worth the effort...) that Kerry would be left in an empty auditorium, his campaign signs and buttons stewn on the floor, the stage crew shutting things down and turning out the lights, and he'd still be standing there, holding his microphone, droning softly, "But I served in Vietnam." And he'd keep droning, because his stupendous ego would never allow him to relinquish the political heights after having come so close to scaling the summit.

At the rate the junior senator from Massachusetts is going, he may end up with a stiff primary challenge for renomination to run for re-election to his senate seat. But he should look on the bright side - at least it would give him a lot more time to spend with Teraaaaaaayza....