Reply #3: Anyone who thinks Kerry 'threw the election' is deranged. Period.

[WilliamPitt]

There were some serious institutional flaws within the campaign - too many conflicting voices and a hesitancy to pull the trigger when an attack needed to be batted down - but to suggest Kerry was somehow bird-dogging this thing is nonsense of the purest ray serene.

I, for one, never believed we would win this thing. Never thought we'd come close, no matter who got nominated. I supported Kerry for a variety of reasons, but the obstacles to victory were daunting for any of the candidates to overcome.

We were fighting against a three-year terror campaign waged against the American people by this administration, aided and abetted by a news media that knows it profits when people are afraid. CNN's viewership went up 500% after 9/11, and if you think the marketing boys missed that, you're nuts.

We shouldn't have come as close as we did, and but for some bullshit in Ohio and elsewhere, we'd be having a different conversation. Kerry didn't 'throw the election,' nor did he concede the next day to complete that act. He believed what he was told about the results and the chances of success, but has since changed his mind.