Why is there never a GOP couple parked at a Waffle House, innocently listening into cell phone conversations among Democrat political leaders in order to capture some history for their grandchildren? Actually we know the answer to that question, and it tells us a lot about the differences between the two parties.

Still it would be a ton of fun to hear what Nancy Pelosi, currently starring in her own production of The Invisible Woman, might have said to John F. Kerry about his now infamous remarks about uneducated and unprepared people getting stuck in Iraq. He has blown her cover and nationalized the off year elections, bringing attention to the Democrats' Achilles Heel: their weakness on national security.

Kerry can back pedal and claim he was talking about President Bush all he wants. The words speak for themselves. If there was a botched joke, on what was the humor based? George Bush getting stuck because of a supposed lack of  study must be seen in relation to something else in order to be ironic and funny. Surely there is no alternative to the presumption that losers get stuck in the Army as employment of last resort. The media, led by the New York Times, has been peddling this notion for a number of years. That's what would make Kerry's intended joke funny. Sort of. If you are a Democrat who hates the military and thinks soldiers are dupes.

Although he has not been openly condemned by the Democrat leadership, Kerry is being asked to stay away  from previously scheduled campaign appearances with a number of Democrats. This denies the sort of opportunity conservative bloggers salivated over. For example, Powerline reported

At noon [today], he will be in Mankato with Democrat Tim Wal[z] at a "veterans' rally." 

and remarked

That should be something to see! It would be nice if some protesters, veterans and others, turn up at these events.

But Walz wised up and cancelled. So far as I know, however, he is not denouncing Kerry, only hoping that he will join Nancy Pelosi in a witness protection program.

At  bare minimum, Kerry's blunder, and especially his compounding of it with his blustery press conference refusal to apologize and over—the—top rhetoric against the GOP, will help the GOP retain control of the Senate.  The tight Southern Senate races in Tennessee, Virginia and Missouri are all in states where respect for the military is higher than the national average.

But if the GOP or some 527s start running ads featuring Kerry's words and asking voters to ask their Democrat candidates to denounce Kerry, the damage could spread.

Of course, with 6 more days until the polls, the whole thing could quiet down. But unless Kerry changes his mind and suddenly reverses course (also known as flip flopping) today, demands that candidates take a position could well continue to grab attention through Election Day.

The fundamental problem for Kerry and the Democrats (whose nominee he was, after all, in the most recent presidential race)  is that his botch played right into the existing stereotypes of the Democrats as effete elitists who are not to be trusted with the national defense.

Kerry's bomb will almost certainly destroy his chances for another run at president, not that they were ever realistic. But his peculiar psychology, where the need to defend himself from suspicions of being a wimp apparently dominate common sense, suggests that he will continue to damage his party for a few days more.

If only Nancy Pelosi were in the habit of visiting Waffle Houses, and GOP operatives were in the habit of intercepting and recording rivals' phone calls, we might know a lot more about what lies ahead. 

Thomas Lifson is the editor and publisher of American Thinker.