It just keeps getting better

Ole Lurch was running his mouth on NPR this morning:

In an interview broadcast Wednesday morning, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry defended terrorist Shiite imam Muqtada al-Sadr as a "legitimate voice" in Iraq, despite that fact that he's led an uprising that has killed nearly 20 American GIs in the last two days.

Not to mention the other Iraqis his thugs have offed.

Speaking of al-Sadr's newspaper, which was shut down by coalition forces last week after it urged violence against U.S. troops, Kerry complained to National Public Radio, "They shut a newspaper that belongs to a legitimate voice in Iraq."

In the next breath, however, the White House hopeful caught himself and quickly changed direction. "Well, let me ... change the term 'legitimate.' It belongs to a voice — because he has clearly taken on a far more radical tone in recent days and aligned himself with both Hamas and Hezbollah, which is a sort of terrorist alignment."

"Sort of," Waffle Boy?

But Kerry again seemed to voice sympathy for the Shiite terrorist when asked whether he supported al-Sadr's arrest. "Not if it’s an isolated act without the other kinds of steps necessary to change the dynamics on the ground in Iraq," Kerry told NPR, in quotes first reported by the New York Sun.

Dontcha just love the nuance?

But wait there's more - Kerry and the 2006 Chevette:

If John Kerry wins the presidency, most of us will be driving Chevettes -- or the modern-day equivalent, at any rate. The Massachusetts senator has proposed jacking up federal fuel economy requirements for new cars to as much as 36 miles-per-gallon as part of his plan to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The problem is that only subcompact economy cars are capable of achieving nearly 40-mpg. If the government put such a requirement into place, if would in effect be outlawing mid-size and larger passenger cars -- and all SUVs and pick-up trucks.

There is not a single 2004 model year pick-up or SUV that comes close to achieving 36-mpg. Mid-size family cars like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry don't make the cut, either -- even in four-cylinder form. Equipped with V-6 engines, they're not even in the ballpark.

Better get your V-8, before it's too late…

Not to worry, folks! I'm sure there will be an exemption for bigwigs and ketchup heiresses.

And finally, it's deja vu - Where are those tax returns, Senator Kerry?. Over the years, Lurch's tax returns have been almost as scarce as his medical records. But here's some good news:

According to published reports, Kerry reported an income of $144,091 in 2002. He paid $29,946 in federal taxes and $7,286 in Massachusetts state taxes, and gave $18,600 to charity.

Nothing terribly surprising there, although it does show the extent to which Kerry’s lifestyle is subsidized by his wife; his income would not be enough to pay the property taxes on the houses they own.

The 2002 figures also show that Kerry has learned his lesson on the issue of charitable giving.

That was a problem several years ago, the last time Kerry released his tax returns.

In 1995, Kerry reportedly had a taxable income of $126,179 and made charitable contributions of $0.

In 1994, he gave $2,039 to charity. In 1993, the figure was $175. In 1992, it was $820, and in 1991, it was $0.

Look for his 2003 figure to be far better than that, perhaps exceeding his better-than-tithing 2002 contributions.

For reporters, however, the first order of business should be to break through the Kerry scam. If he has in fact “released” his tax returns for the past five years, journalists should ask, then where are they?

Kerry should do a mass handout of returns for those five years, or, better yet, post them on his website. Then he can make the “I have never not released my tax returns” claim, and actually be telling the truth.

I'm not holding my breath.