Kerry: "As the Next President of These Thirty-or-So United States. . . "

 
 Raves -- from their producers -- for Kerry's new campaign spots.

1. Kerry speaks directly to the camera in his ads, in what [Tad] Devine said is an effort to help the candidate pass a certain "threshold" with voters. He "will look and sound very much like a president of the United States," said Devine, whose consulting firm, with partners Bob Shrum and Mike Donilon, is producing the spots.

And it's true: He does look and sound like a president of the United States. . . before, you know, we had so many of them. I keep expecting him to inveigh against Demon Rum or go out on a limb for women's suffrage.

 Campaign Ads Heating Up [WP]

[ Joe Skipper/Reuters ]