Is it just me, or does it seem like someone struck a nerve where John Kerry is concerned? I swear, if I were a Democrat, all the feelings of frustration that I developed for the Senator in 2004 because of his maladroit campaigning style would have resurfaced and intensified the past 24 hours.

I always use the lefty blogs as my leading indicator on these things. Allah thought Kerry’s very butch press release would put the Nutroots into a state of orgiastic pleasure that they usually reserve for one of Keith Olbermann “Special Comments”. Alas, to date we have only radio silence on the matter from the progressive blogging aristocracy including Markos Moulitsas, Glenn Greenwald (and his various alter egos), John Aravosis and that very gentlemanly blogger who calls himself Atrios.

This isn’t particularly surprising. A few months ago I noted that as the nutroots matured, its leaders anyway were developing message discipline. These guys know when to starve a story of oxygen. If I were a partisan Democrat, I’d want this story to just go away. Every day we argue about this story adds another day that it doesn’t go anywhere.

THE NUTROOTS ALSO SENSE what a serious issue this is, even if the most recent Democratic standard bearer does not. For the longest time, it’s been obvious that many members of the far left don’t want America to prevail in Iraq. While they try to square the circle by saying they hate the mission but still support the troops, that dog has never hunted. The fact that the left has gleefully seized upon every piece of bad news that’s come out of Iraq since 2003 has made the sale tougher still.

Then there’s the further matter that the left’s attitude towards the troops (that they so enthusiastically support) has often been marked by condescension. On the Daily Kos front page this morning, DemFromCT (if that’s his real name) titled a post, “103 of Our Children Died in Iraq This Month.” Somehow I doubt the men and women who defend our country would be thrilled with the characterization “children.”

DemFromCT acknowledges that it might indeed be offensive to call our military members “children,” but defends this stylistic decision by saying, “For those who are offended by referring to the military as children, remember that every soldier, airman and Marine has a parent.” Even by Daily Kos standards, that’s some weak stuff. The point is that when John Kerry offers the opinion that the soldiers in Iraq are dim bulbs, it’s part of a larger mosaic.

And then of course there’s the hostility towards the troops. John Kerry’s history of animus towards the troops hardly needs recounting. It’s also worth noting that when a politician refers to the troops as baby-killers or offers some similar slander, the politician doing the slandering is almost invariably a member of the Democratic Party.

While I was writing this post, I noticed that Markos Moulitsas has ended his silence on the matter, perhaps acknowledging that like the Foley matter it has to be dealt with and won’t have the courtesy to just go away. Markos writes:

“So John Kerry mangles a sentence in a public appearance, and the right-wing smear machine and its traditional media enablers are apoplectic… Kerry has nothing to apologize for.”

This has become the strange logic behind the Kerry defense. A) He misspoke and obviously caused offense; but B) He has nothing to apologize for. I wish I could remember where that Greenwald post on basic logic was so I could see if this formulation makes the cut.

Of course, John Kerry never apologizes. And Markos Moulitsas only knows one political tactic – charge straight ahead into the opponent’s and the public’s face. This was an opportunity to have done something a bit more subtle and a lot more effective.

Alas, it is just another missed opportunity for Kerry, the Democrats and the Nutroots. In other words, just another day at the office.

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