It's still 1984, or at best 1988, for the Democrats in terms of mindset. They don't think they lost in 2000, and they think they lost to an idiot (as opposed to 1980 when they just thought they lost to an idiot), so at this time, they see no reason to adjust their beliefs to regain power, even if the folks at the top and many in the media do know to try and run as fast and far as possible from the liberal label.

That's something Mondale didn't do in '84, and something Dukakis tried to do without success four years later. Kerry's pretty much in full Dukakis mode right now, but much of the party faithful wants some red meat thrown at them, the way Mondale did with hids tax hike pledge at the '84 convention. That would certainly take away some of the blandness factor from JFK, while at the same time taking away any chance he has at winning election.

That leaves Kerry only to mouth buzzwords and dance around the core liberal issues, while hoping the party's core voters will read the signals and conclude he's secretly on their side and hoodwinking everyone else about wht he'll do if elected. Jane Fonda in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" never had to dance as long as Kerry's going to have to in order to make this strategy work.

But that campaign was the last time any Democratic leader tried to get to the right of any significant Republican (even if only for a few minutes at a time).

It must be amusing for Bill Clinton to watch Kerry (and probably Al Gore) be so addled when it comes to electoral politics.

If Kerry knew in 1984 that he someday wanted to run for President, it seems he would have directed his career differently. He must be even more boorish than the Boston media says.