John Kerry is toast. I seriously don't believe that he will still be running by the end of April. Even if he wants to continue, I believe he will be forced out. The recent revelations about his activities in the early 1970's are that serious. Debating the assassination of US Senators? Incredible.

That he apparently argued and voted against it is little defense. He had a duty as a citizen, to say nothing of being a naval officer or future office holder to report his fellow travellers. Of course, he can't even make that defense because he has already claimed that "he wasn't there", though in the face of pretty concrete evidence that he was, he has had to fall back on just not having any recollection of being there.

Obviously it is inconceivable (and unlike Wallace Shawn's character in The Princess Bride, I do know what that word means) that Kerry would just "forget" debating whether or not to attempt assassinations of American leaders. In time of war. Especially as that debate seems to have been the impetus behind his quitting the VVAW.

Oh, and did I mention that the originator of the plot says that he has recently accepted an offer to work for the Kerry campaign in Florida?

UPDATE: I think that I may have been a little too hasty. I can see Kerry surviving this, though (if it is ever actually reported widely instead of being pointedly ignored) it will damage him.

I can envision this being a possible scenario: The VVAW was composed of a bunch of fringe types, one of which was Camil. He came up with his plan, presented it, and was laughed out of the room. Kerry was already realizing that the group probably wasn't very good for his long term future, and listening to some hair-brained scheme for killing senators was the final straw. He took off to distance himself, but didn't do anything about the "Pheonix Project" because he didn't take it seriously. Looking back on this episode much later with likely Presidential aspirations, Kerry again realizes what a political handgrenade this could be, and again tries to distance himself - this time completely - by claiming that he wasn't there, and that he even resigned a convenient two days prior to the meeting.