SHUFFLING DECK CHAIRS:

A Kerry-Worrying Trend: Is It Too Soon to Panic? Evidently Not. (Howard Kurtz, May 10, 2004, Washington Post)

"John Kerry Must Go."

That Village Voice headline may be a tad dramatic, but stories about disaffected Democrats are spreading like wildfire through the media forest.

Never mind that the Massachusetts senator is just about even with an incumbent president six months before the election. The naysayers are seizing the spotlight.

"There's definitely a Beltway maelstrom," says Democratic strategist Jenny Backus. "There are a whole bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks who live in Washington and feed a lot of these reporters. People use the press as a giant instant-message board."

No wonder Slate blogger Mickey Kaus has started a "Dem Panic Watch." Consider:

"Kerry Struggling to Find a Theme, Democrats Fear," says the New York Times.

"It's six months until the election, and Democrats are already having buyer's remorse," says John Fund of OpinionJournal.com.

"Democratic leaders fear he's getting 'Gored,' " says the Associated Press.

"The Trouble Is, So Far Kerry Stinks on TV," says the New York Observer.

Some Democrats are "pretty freaked out" by Kerry, says the New York Post. They see "a listless and message-less mishmash," says Newsweek. The man "has something of a gift for the toxic sound bite," says Time.

Kerry's spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter, scoffs at "all these unnamed sources griping," though some have expressed their reservations on the record. "We do know what we're doing, believe it or not," she says, recalling how the early obituaries for Kerry during the primaries gave way to stories that "we're geniuses." President Bush's campaign spokesman, Terry Holt, attributes the coverage to "John Kerry's own words and missteps."

Why all the downbeat stories?

He's a downbeat guy. That was the frustrating thing about Bill Clinton for Republicans--sure, he was a charlatan and in constant trouble, but he was seldom dour about it. He was always fundamentally optimistic about himself and about America. Of what Democrat is that true anymore, other than poor Joe Lieberman?

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 10, 2004 11:17 AM