Your motives may indeed be rational. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. This is probably true for many liberals. However, the Democratic Party, and many who support it, including much of the media, and a few people here, are powered right now by a single, monomaniacal obsession: the destruction of George W. Bush.

The news, for example, is often driven by this motive. It used to be "if it bleeds, it leads." Lately it's been "if it makes Bush bleed, it leads." It's quite obvious, for example, that the interest in the prison scandal is relevant to them only insofar as they can use it as a political weapon. If the damage doesn't go up to the leaders of the Bush administration, the interest will rapidly fade. Watch and see.

Kerry is actually almost irrelevant in this argument. In the current Democratic Party climate, it wouldn't really matter right now if the Democratic candidate was a potted geranium if it looked like it could win. Most Democrats don't care about Kerry, or even know squat about him, other than as a lever to get Bush out of office.

The only reason we're stuck with Kerry as an alternative right now is that power instead of ideology drives the Republican party.

The reason the Democrats are stuck with Kerry is that the entire primary was driven by hatred of Bush, not a desire to find the best President. Most primary voters listed as their reason for voting for a particular candidate, "can beat Bush." Principles? Policies? Who gives a rat's ass? Now they're stuck with him.

It is fascinating that you can project the raw powerlust that has been the most significant feature of the modern Democratic Party for the past ten years onto the Republicans.