Jonah, it may be true that Kerry is off-putting to liberal pundits and experts, as was Al Gore. That should be encouraging, but it makes me wince. The Gore-wuz-robbed crowd is exquisitely sensitive to these vibes (remember the story that journalists hissed at Gore watching a Gore-Bradley debate?) and will use that to assert some sort of anti-Dem media bias. But in fact, in 2000 Al Gore received very protective and even enthusiastic media coverage when compared to GWB, even on personal issues like the Kiss That Never Ends.