After rebounding early on in the primaries, Kerry referred to himself as "Comeback Kerry". I noted that "Switchback Kerry" (switchback: adj. resembling something that zig-zags all over the goddamn place).

Well, Slate has a feature detailing Kerry's, um, inconsistencies on everything from trade to gas taxation to the death penalty.

But I think most reasonable people understand that through a career in politics, a person's opinions are bound to evolve over time. So if Kerry's changed his mind on the death penalty from what it was 20 years ago, fine.

He has no leg to stand on when it comes to much more recent policy, which is why this section from the Slate article is the most damning:

Kerry did vote for the Patriot Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, and the war in Iraq, even though he constantly trashes the Patriot Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, and the war in Iraq. He voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which limited marriage to a man and a woman, but he now says marriage should be limited to a man and a woman.

These are all issues from the very recent past, from the last year or two. His excuse for his vote for the war was that he didn't really think Bush would follow through with it. Uh-huh.

So what's his excuse on all the other stuff? Gosh, I voted for the Patriot Act, but who would have actually expected Ashcroft to use its powers?

If this guy regularly votes for policies that just a few months later he thinks are horrible, is this really the guy who should be sitting in the big chair, making the decisions?