Middle Relief

Rooting for the Democrats is a bit like rooting for the Mets: you maintain a strong allegiance to the uniform, to the years of struggle, to the great heroes of the past. But despite some early promise, this year's team now looks weak, a sad repetition of previous campaigns. So who's running in 2008? Is Terry McAuliffe the Fred Wilpon of national politics? Is John Kerry a senatorial Art Howe? Sure, KE04 looked like the feel-good hit of the season a month or so ago, but so did the Metties. Now they're both sinking like stones. Yeah, this is just a weak, little rant - it's not a great week for Mets fans and Democrats. And Kerry still has a terrific shot if he takes the gloves off, slims down the message, and gets to slugging - much like he did last winter. The Bush negatives remain high, and the issues are still there. But like the Mets, Kerry's gone 0-for-August. He needs to come out hitting - and hitting hard, just like the Yankees, er, Republicans do. It ain't the ninth, but the early innings are over...