KERRY TV CLICKING IN?

Two polls in two days from the battleground states of Fla and OH show Kerry in the lead. The seven point spread in Ohio is esp. notable since this state went GOP by four last round.

Very little from the wise guys in the press about the Kerry spots because they don't fit the Dems are stumblebums story line they're so enamored with. But the Kerry Campaign's decision to "go positive" may have been strategically very wise.

After all, the race is really about who's the better commander-in-chief, isn't it?

To the extent that it is, the race for vice-president may be the same. Clark is the standout in this category. John McCain is getting a lot of talk, but I can't help but see this as "what if Joe Dimaggio had played in Fenway Park"-style idle speculation.

Still, IF he McCain were the nominee, it would be game over, man. AZ's ten electoral votes--which are ordinarily safe GOP--would deliver the race to Kerry if all the other states voted as they did in 2000. But McCain's across the board appeal to independents and disaffected Republicans in every battleground state is just as important. Above all, I think the choice would reflect enormous credit upon Kerry, esp. when contrasted to the mean-spirited-working-on-toxic partisanship of today's GOP. The issue of international terrorism, which could become far more dangerous than even it is today, is really too important to be left to Karl Rove's next visual event or Tom Delay's next fundraising letter to the hate-blinded "base."

Like Kerry, McCain campaigns on his character rather than any particular issue. Looking at the latest Ohio poll, it's hard to fault that strategy.