Department of Borrowed Charisma

U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry stood with Democrat Phil Angelides this morning at a rally in liberal West Hollywood. He's the latest in a long line of prominent Democrats lending themselves to Angelides' struggling campaign. Kerry received 54.4% of the vote in California compared to 44.4% for President Bush in the 2004 presidential race.

Kerry opened with a now-stale joke about Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident:

"Anyway, I bring you great news out of Washington. It’s been about seven months and the vice president hasn’t shot anybody."

And then another:

"You don’t have to vote against Arnold. You don’t have to go out there and tell your neighbors to vote against him. A vote for Phil Angelides is a vote to make certain they make 'Terminator 4.' This is a positive."

And then he tried to link Schwarzenegger with Bush.

"It was not Saddam Hussein who attacked America. It was Osama bin Laden, and we need a governor, a president and leaders who understand where America’s efforts ought to be placed."

His larger message was that Angelides will protect the middle class. He said Schwarzenegger, in contrast, has morphed into a Democrat for only a few months in order to win the election.

Other Democrats who have appeared for Angelides include former President Bill Clinton, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, DNC chair Howard Dean, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards.