Maybe he really is "the comeback Kerry"

God, remember that one? Yet another remarkably awful John Kerry witticism. The good news is that not only is Kerry surprisingly winning the spin after last week's debate, he is also doing a pretty good job of damage control over his supposed "global test" gaffe.

HAMPTON, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry on Monday lambasted as "pathetic" scaremongering, Republican criticism of his comments during last Thursday's debate in which he said the president's decision to go to war should pass a "global test" of legitimacy.

Asked during a town hall meeting in Hampton to explain what he meant, the Massachusetts senator said, "It's almost sad; it's certainly pathetic, because all they can do is grab a little phrase and try to play a game and scare Americans."

Now thems is fightin' words. Maybe he just needed a little confidence. To be honest, I am as surprised as I am tickled to see that the consensus spin went the way it did. I was not surprised to see Bush smirk and shrug and generally act as though he was pissed off that he had to be there at all. This is how the guy handles himself. I am surprised to see the degree to which this has at last been remarked upon significantly in the mainstream press. I am also surprised to see that consensus opinion holds that Kerry gave a good showing. As I watched, and actively rooted for Kerry, I found myself cringing nearly often enough to equal the experience of one Saints game. After it was over, I immediately called Dad and told him I thought Kerry lost. I won't go into it too much, but two things come to mind. First, one of Kerry's advisors told him it was a good idea to use the word "kill" as many times as possible as in "I will hunt down and kill the terrorists." It's a striking image. Kerry said "I will kill" three or four times during the debate. I cringed. Surely this will either look like a hollow pose or, worse, frighten people, I thought. Second, Kerry missed a golden opportunity to slam Bush during this exchange:

KERRY: Jim, the president just said something extraordinarily revealing and frankly very important in this debate. In answer to your question about Iraq and sending people into Iraq, he just said, "The enemy attacked us." Saddam Hussein didn't attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. al Qaeda attacked us. And when we had Osama bin Laden cornered in the mountains of Tora Bora, 1,000 of his cohorts with him in those mountains. With the American military forces nearby and in the field, we didn't use the best trained troops in the world to go kill the world's number one criminal and terrorist.

Skip Kerry droning on. Move to Bush's response

BUSH: First of all, of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. I know that.

And secondly, to think that another round of resolutions would have caused Saddam Hussein to disarm, disclose, is ludicrous, in my judgment. It just shows a significant difference of opinion.

We tried diplomacy. We did our best. He was hoping to turn a blind eye. And, yes, he would have been stronger had we not dealt with him. He had the capability of making weapons, and he would have made weapons

Kerry's response should have been something like, "Well if he knows the difference between Saddam and Bin Laden, it's all the more telling that he seems to have no qualms about intentionally conflating the two in order to promote his war." Or I would have personally preferred, "Oh yeah, Mr. 'I know that'? Why then are you such a lying asshole?" But I guess you can't have everything.

Personally, I find Kerry's position on the war in Iraq not only untenable but also immoral. Bush's murderous war of conquest is a crime against humanity and an embarrassment to the nation. Kerry did not stand against it when it counted and he does not stand against it now. What's worse is he openly panders to the "undecided/leaning Bush" vote by promising to "succeed" in Iraq where Bush has failed. Kerry implies that there is still something in Iraq to be won. In truth there is no success to be had in Iraq now, only much much more blood before we manage to disentangle ourselves from Bush's colossal blunder.

Kerry's apparent lack of backbone is what makes me so nervous about the outcome of this election. In politics, evil has a way of trumping milquetoast. But then, if I can be as surprised as I am at the outcome of this first debate, then maybe I can be surprised next month as well.