Handing a nice midterm bon-bon to the GOP, John Kerry steps in it. But then, he's an old hand at this stuff.

Over the weekend, I noted that Lynne Cheney and Bill O'Reilly each asked their interviewer the question; Kerry's major gaffe allows every Republican up for reelection a chance to ask it of the person he's running against.

Update: Charlie Rangel also lost it recently, but then that's nothing new, either.

Meanwhile, Dean Barnett puts all the pieces together:

Democrats must be cursing that damn Karl Rove. How does he do it? From where in the black depths of his soul did he conjure the idea of putting a microphone in front of John Kerry’s mouth during the last week of a campaign season? We all know the truth now, and it is incontrovertible: Karl Rove is one magnificent bastard!

John Kerry thinks his service in Vietnam four decades ago means his every comment and action should be beyond reproach. It doesn’t work like that. Ask Duke Cunningham.

Update: Not surprisingly, retired Col. Austin Bay, whose weekly podcast I produce, isn't very happy with Kerry's remarks; read the whole thing.