The Great Pretender: Apologies to the Platters, but what else to call John Kerry? He was, naturally, on Imus this morning, humping his "exploratory committee," which is no doubt now exploring John Kerry for a principle. In one breath, Kerry said that he opposed the Bush tax cuts because "we can't afford it." In the next breath, he criticized the Bush tax cuts for not taking full effect for another eight years. And he, Kerry, has a plan to give tax relief now: a payroll tax holiday. Now, agree with him or not, you have to admit that this is not exactly a far-sighted plan. It involves no reform, it offers no incentive to invest or save, or even to spend wisely. (C'mon now, really, what do you have to show for your tax "rebate" from the tax cut package last summer? I got a Lucinda Williams disc and a bunch of great bitter; so flush was I that I threw away the empties rather than go get my deposit back.)