Miscalculation, not gaffe

Perhaps the most significant effect of Sen. Kerry's outrageous remark about Mary Cheney will be something that the media have not yet considered.

Most Democrats do not like Kerry much, and never did. They have only tolerated him because he was the only vehicle available to defeat Pres. Bush. It appears increasingly unlikely that he will do so.

But the Mary Cheney miscalculation--it was not a gaffe, because it was deliberate and planned--exposed Kerry as the amoral opportunist that he is. And he just pushed precisely the wrong button on a Democratic white-hot-button issue. Now, if it appears that Kerry is going to lose, all those Democrats who were going to drag themselves to the polls out of party loyalty will have a pretext to stay home.

Better than to vote for that.

How would a lower Democratic turnout affect all those close Senate races? It will be interesting to watch.