Get your snake oil right here

John Kerry is one phony bastard. Granted, he's our phony bastard and if he gets the nomination I'll support him over the phony bastard the Repugs are peddling, but still, anyone who has watched this campaign knows that Kerry has watched the other candidates and stolen what has worked for them. Of course, there is a degree of that in any campaign, but Kerry has taken it to a disgusting level. When I hear him decry the economics of the "privileged" I almost lose it every time. Most recently, after 20 years in the Senate, Kerry has decided to bash "special interests" as if he's Paul Wellstone. He's not.

Between the media annointment, bandwagon effect and truncated primary schedule, Dem voters could easily be sold a bill of goods long before most of them can vote and well before a media focused on the "horse race" can sort through the facts. Here is a beginning, though.

CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 30 — The Democratic presidential hopefuls have been crossing the country this week promising to drive "special interests" and "influence peddlers" out of the White House.

But campaign finance reports show some contenders benefit significantly from the lobbyists and special interests that they attack.

While Senator John Kerry regularly promises to stand up to "big corporations," his campaign has taken money from executives on Wall Street and those representing the telecommunications industry, which is under his purview in Congress. Mr. Kerry denounces President Bush for catering to the rich, but he has depended more heavily on affluent donors than the other leading Democrats except for another populist, Senator John Edwards. Mr. Kerry's spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter, said the contributions had no effect on his votes.