Now, I have to admit right off the bad, I don't really like Don Imus, so I can't say that I was watching his morning deal on MSNBC and happened across Kerry. I actually caught that one on purpose, because I wanted to see what he would have to say to the faux questions that Imus tosses just over the plate for these types of guests. Unfortunately, Imus chose to comment after the call was over, rather than directly to Imus, which just goes to show it was basically canned.

I also watch Letterman on occasion, but I have to say I'm more of a Kimmel fan. If Kerry shows up sitting next to Uncle Frank, he might just get my attention. The fact that Jon Stewart went so easy on JK, though, means that even the most cynical are softened up before the questions are handed to them. The Letterman interview was about as scripted as it could be... I didn't even stick around for the Top 10 List as I flipped over to catch the last part of the Kimmel Monologue.

The universal after-show comments from the pundits always seem to be that Kerry isn't answering questions. I don't agree. He's just answering the same questions over and over again-- between hitting the talking points-- and he isn't leaving me with that urgent desire to hit the polls on 2 November. Not to say that I won't... if the Dems did one thing right in my lifetime, it was doing whatever they want to lay claim to that made Silicon Valley a very, very interesting place to spend 8 years after I got my engineering degree. As has been said, there cannot possibly be a President in our lifetime moving forward that will be soft on homeland security and defense and all that, so I'm going to buy that and think along the lines of my own personal economy.

Is Kerry leaving any changed minds after he shows up on the lighter-hearted shows (even Imus, given that weak interview) ? Is he doing any good, or is he just following the script? I happen to think it's the latter, and I would be amazed if anyone didn't agree. At least Clinton had his sax to play on Arsenio, and you know he was there to get some phone numbers. Now, everything is staged... to me, it will all come down to getting the right answers from those staged debates. Even then, I can't help but feel I'll be disappointed...