Nerb-

At some point you'll likely have to admit the Dean Campaign has tanked. You can then asign blame to a media, the other candidates and their less scrupulous surrogates, the campaign manager, and of course the voters who were taken in by the whole thing. Money does not seem to have been the problem. Dean, however, bears the the ultimate responsibility because he is supposed to be bright enough to navigate successfully through this political morass.

In the aftermath I recommend chocolate as solace, the company of other true believers if they're available, and campaign work for the surviving candidate if you've got the stomach for it. Bush does need to be defeated. And it looks like John Kerry is the Democratic nominee.

Maybe I'll vote for Sharpton in the Maine caucus on Sunday.

Charley Noble