Memo to Dean, Edwards, and Clark: John Kerry Needs You to Stay in the Race!

Even though we'll probably not see all three remain in the race for very long, it's good for the Democrats to have someone nominally challenging John Kerry at least through Super Tuesday in March. First of all, Kerry has become the apparent nominee very quickly, and although he probably has been vetted enough that nothing will jump out of his past to bite him, he could still stumble by making a big campaign blunder. Not a likely scenario, but it doesn't hurt for the Democrats to have a potential alternative.

Secondly, and more relevant, by staying in the race, Clark, Dean, and/or Edwards serve the purpose of keeping the focus on the Democrats rather than moving it to the General Election. Assuming the three contenders continue to shadow-box Kerry while thrashing Bush, the Democrats get almost all good press out of a continued race. While the media focus primarily on Kerry, they will also cover the contenders, and when they cover the contenders, Clark, Dean, and Edwards will be seen and heard thrashing George Bush. And every Tuesday evening, the media focus will be on "Another Big Kerry Win" thereby continuing to fuel the Kerry momentum machine.

Finally, by staying in the race, the contenders put off the day when the Bush campaign's WMD are unleashed on John Kerry. In the meantime, Kerry can increasingly define himself to the broader electorate. If he can do that before the negative attacks begin, then it will be harder for them to stick. If, however, Kerry is still ill-defined to the electorate when the attacks begin, he will be defined just the way the Bushies want him to be: as an effete Massachusetts tax-and-spend liberal who flip-flopped on the war.