"Forgotten but Not Gone."

That's what playwright George S. Kaufman once said regarding someone, but in this day and age it is appropriate to Howard Kurtz. As we all know from reading MWO, we know why Kurtz left for about the past month.

He did return last week, but the articles weren't worth bothering with. Today he's back writing about the "conundrum" or whatever the hell the word is about candidate John Kerry. Kerry is all over the news now that he's announced for the presidency. The media, in the pockets of the Republican media, are dismissing Kerry's chances since they really want Dean to get the nomination.

Dean makes good copy. After all, he shoots his mouth without thinking, he has rabid fans who will defend him at every turn regardless of the truth, and he's the easiest of the candidates for our dictator to beat. The media and the Bush mob want him desperately, and it's small wonder the media are trying to write John Kerry off.

Kerry is a fine man who would make an excellent president, but he does have some liabilities which the Bush mob could and would exploit. The Vietnam record, the fact he's from Massachusetts, his wife, that sort of thing. He's fairly easy for them to assassinate his character, and Kerry has the same regional problem Dean has.

But what is truly mysterious is after a brief infatuation with John Edwards in the beginning of the year, the media have virtually ignored him. This is the man the Bush mob fears because he has everything the other candidates lack, and he has the likes of Bill Clinton advising him. It's so obvious this man should be the nominee and has been since the South Carolina forum in May. Edwards would win--if he could get a fair shake in the media. Honestly, he's the only one of the candidates who can defeat Bush big time.

The fact the media have largely written him off, the fact that many Democrats have written him off because of the media's deliberate refusal of covering him (or trying to get him to withdraw because the "people" of North Carolina want him to run for re-election to the Senate instead), speaks volumes.

I strongly recommend readers of this blog to pay close attention to how Edwards is covered by the media--IF he is covered. And watch closely when Edwards makes his formal announcement on September 16.

Kurtz Kount: Kurtz 21, C&P 35.