In his article on Rudy Giuliani, uploaded early--very early--this morning, Richard Brookhiser writes:

Giuliani won a smashing reelection in 1997. Higher things seemed to beckon. Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s Senate seat became vacant in 2000, and Giuliani, the most unsenatorial person in the world, sought it.

Suddenly, everything went wrong. Giuliani’s second marriage, to Donna Hanover, an ambitious harridan, blew up. Giuliani paraded his mistress, Judith Nathan (now his third wife). Hillary began her Anschluss. Giuliani got prostate cancer, the disease that felled his father. He pulled the plug on his own race.

Then there is the personal baggage. The last presidential candidate to have had cancer was Paul Tsongas, who lied about being cancer-free in 1992, and who has since died. We know the worst about Giuliani, but how much better is that?

On Wednesday, Kerry will undergo elective shoulder surgery for a slight tear, marking the second time the Democratic candidate has missed time on the hustings for an operation. In 2003, shortly after announcing his campaign, Kerry had his prostate removed to cure early-stage cancer.

Update: Welcome Kerry Spot readers from National Review Online.