YOU KNOW WHO I HAVE NO SYMPATHY FOR? Howard Dean. We're talking about a man who called the Democratic Leadership Council "the Republican wing of the Democratic Party", and now he's crying foul because other candidates for the Democratic nomination have the temerity to attack him.

It would be one thing if this were next May, and Dean had wrapped up the nomination, and Lieberman and Kerry were still going around saying he couldn't beat Bush. Then, of course, McAuliffe should step in, slap them upside the head and say "Shaddap, knuckleheads!" But Dean hasn't won anything yet. These guys aren't attacking Dean out of pique; they're doing it because they still think they can win, and they see their "electibility" as their big advantage over Dean.

If Dean wants to call of the primaries and declare himself the winner right now, he should say so. Otherwise, he shouldn't go crying to the party chairman every time one of the other kids on the playground pushes back.