The polls look grim this week. Ohio is looking like Bush country, as is Pennsylvania. New Jersey may be in play for Dubya.
All this may change, of course. Dubya did undeniably receive some sort of bounce coming out of Hate-a-palooza.
But in my opinion, the Dems biggest problem is this: In order to unseat an incumbent, you have to offer an alternative.
Kerry does not seem like an alternative to most folks. Now those of us who frequent this site know how erroneous that perception is. Kerry's environmental policies alone are enough to make him as different as night and day from Dubya.
But people aren't thinking about the environment. Or Supreme Court nominations.
They're thinking about Iraq. And Kerry isn't seen as an alternative on Iraq. He voted for it, and he just reiterated his commitment to that vote.
Howard Dean would have been an alternative. Kucinich.
Kerry? People don't see a dime's worth of difference regarding Iraq.
They've decided not to change horsemen in mid-apocalypse.