Louisiana Congressman Rodney Alexander says he is thinking about leaving the Democratic party for the GOP because "Kerry is too liberal". This is not the sort of publicity Kerry needs if he hope to win anywhere in the South. He needs a running mate sooner rather than later.
I'm not worried about this. The only 2 states in the South that Kerry is thinking about are Florida and Arkansas. Privately he knows he has no chance in any other Southern state. Bill Clinton will stump very heavily for Kerry in Arkansas in October, and Kerry will pour a lot of time and money into Florida. He may even choose Graham or Nelson as a running mate. Nothing is guaranteed for Kerry, of course, but these are the 2 southern states that give him the best shot. He really needs to repair the bad relationship between the Democratic party and Cuban americans. If he can make a dent in that, it's going to be another wild finish in Florida. If he can't, then Bush will win Florida by about 2-3 points.
