You Won't Have John Kerry to Kick Around Anymore

IS THIS THING ON? Kerry It's official: John Kerry will not be running for president in 2008. The Boston Globe reports that the senator had intended to run, but his plans "changed dramatically in the fallout of his election-eve 'botched joke' about the education levels of U.S. troops."

Back in November, RadarOnline.com's John Cook said of the attention paid to Kerry's missed punch line:

No one could argue that Kerry's gaffe isn't news. But the networks' desperation to turn the upcoming midterm elections into a horse race has transformed it into the most important news you needed to know about this week exclamation point, a preposterous and perverse inversion of the definition of news. The mere fact that he said something stupid doesn't mean we have to cover it, shriek about it, and draw up special graphics for it. He says stupid things every day of his life.

PREVIOUSLY

• We Like to Botch