Incoming!

(This), in fact, is exactly what a lot of Europeans think is needed: for America to capitulate.

It's the same old refrain, endlessly repeated. So they're pinning their hopes on a Kerry Presidency.

Which is a problem, for them. Kerry has emerged from the primary process saddled with political burdens which will cost him. With emergence of a clear winner in the contest for the Democratic nomination, Bush gave him a call and congratulated him, and let him know Bush was thinking about him.

Translation: 'INCOMING!'.

The Republicans have started campaigning against Kerry, and he's getting hurt.

A fair amount of that has been self-inflicted. He bragged about getting private endorsements from foreign leaders, got hammered, and then publicly picked up the endorsements of Malaysia's Mahathir and Spain's Zapatero, neither of which are particularly held in high regard in the US. Kerry's campaign then decided that foreign endorsements were not a good thing.