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Is it the hair? The dainty way that he eats a Philly cheesesteak? The perception that he's aloof and doesn't connect with people? His second wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, who can be a loose cannon at times? Kerry recently fired his campaign manager, Jim Jordan, in light of Howard Dean's lead in the polls.

Whatever it is, I don't get it.

I've been a staunch liberal-to-moderate Democrat for all of my 42 years (I would have voted for Hubert Humphrey in 1968 as a first grader, if I could have). I'm not involved in John Kerry's campaign in any way. However, I think that if the Democrats want to win in 2004, we had better consider
nominating Kerry for President. As a Democrat, I believe that the election will come down to one basic premise-"It's National Security, Stupid." The economy might be bouncing back, and Democrats can't rely on it as their primary issue.

Given this, I can't understand why Kerry has plummeted from the frontrunner for the Democratic Presidential nomination earlier this year to an also-ran in the polls. He served as a Naval officer in Vietnam and was awarded a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his military service.

Kerry spells out a specific six-point plan as to homeland security, and he has vowed to improve healthcare for military veterans. Kerry was a prosecutor, he likes to hunt, and he is a member of centrist Democratic groups. He has been critical of the reckless Bush foreign policy, and he has stated that his economic policies will be similar to those of President Clinton. He's pro-choice, supports the preservation of affirmative action, and promises to give tax relief to the middle class instead of the wealthiest Americans.

Don't get me wrong. I like frontrunner Howard Dean and his stances on most of the issues. I admire his spunk and the fact that he was among the first prominent Democrats to attack the Bush Administration and its misguided and arrogant policies on Iraq.

It's just that I don't think that Dean will play in Peoria, or in the South given his recent blunder on the Confederate Flag. Past history has shown that Democrats need some support in the South to win the Presidency. While I don't think Dean would be as big of a disaster as George McGovern, I'm concerned that it could be a repeat of Bush I vs. Michael Dukakis. Although Dean's stand against the Iraq war was the correct one, Bush is likely to portray Dean's positions as being soft on the war on terror. A recent poll shows that most Americans believe that the war in Iraq was the right idea.

While Dean has bragged that he represents the "Democratic wing of the Democratic party," the problem is that the liberal base isn't big enough to carry a national election. In order to win the swing states, the Democrats can't put forth a Presidential candidate who can be portrayed as a linguini-spined liberal. Dean is vulnerable for his tendency to make impulsive statements, and he has a lack of expertise and experience in national politics. Even though Dean has governed as a moderate, Bush will try to paint him as a radical liberal, and the 2004 version of Willie Horton is likely to be "Jim and John" commercials
that focus on Dean's support of domestic partnerships for gays.

A Kerry vs. Bush match-up would be the Democrats' best bet. It would be the Purple Heart vs. the Chicken Heart (Bush went AWOL from his National Guard Service for a year during the Vietnam era). Only Kerry (or Wesley Clark) could get away with showing Bush in his flight suit on the deck of the Abraham Lincoln and make him look like Michael Dukakis in a tank. Most of Kerry's positions are in tune with the liberal base, yet his military background would give him credibility on national security issues with independent voters.

I think that, like me, most Democrats would support any of the Democrat nominees in an election against President Bush. Shoot, we would even take a ticket of Homer Simpson and Jessica Simpson.

John Kerry may not be loveable, but we Democrats should learn to love him. There's no beating around the Bush without him.

“Larry Atkins larryLTatkins@aol.com is a lawyer and freelance writer who lives in Philadelphia. He has written over 175 Op-Eds and essays for major publications across the country, including the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, National Public Radio, and Philadelphia Inquirer.

Thhis article originally appeared in the Phila. Daily News.