Who are you and what did you do with John Kerry?

Like more than a few Democrats, I've been kinda down on John Kerry in the four years since he lost to George W. Bush. My attitude towards him can basically be described by my saying, as I have at least a couple of times, "Thanks, John. We'll call you when we need somebody to rescue a fucking hamster."

I've also observed that given his knack for giving unimpressive speeches, I would've bet real money that after his concession his speechwriting staff was waiting for him with a baseball bat. I would've been.

Oh yes, and I also like to quote a line from The Daily Show, back in the day:

John Kerry couldn't inspire an ice cube to melt in the small of Halle Berry's back.

I do give him credit, however, for refusing (reportedly) to take the advice of Bill Clinton and sell out gays for votes. But for the most part...well, you can understand why I'm flabbergasted to read these quotes from a recent appearance:

STEPHANOPOULOS: … Howard Wolfson, Senator Clinton’s former communications director, said that this pick [Palin] might just work to draw women to the Republican ticket. Are you worried about that?

KERRY: Well, with all due respect to Howard, you know, I have much more respect for the Clinton supporters than that sort of quick- blush take with — I mean, how stupid do they think the Clinton supporters are, for Heaven sakes?

Do they think Clinton supporters supported Hillary only because she was a woman. For Heaven sakes, they supported Hillary because of all the things she’s fought for, because she fights for health care, which John McCain doesn’t support; she fights for children and children’s health care, which John McCain voted against; she fights for a windfall profits tax on the oil company, which John McCain opposes.

Where in the hell was this man four years ago?