Wonkette

Why is John Kerry so sad? Mark Leibovich — last seen devoting a couple hundred words to the terrible problem that is people talking about Paul Wolfowitz’s socks while there’s a war on — explores Senator Hangdog’s emotional state in the Times today, and comes to the revealing conclusion that it’s kinda depressing to be the biggest loser in a legislative body full of ‘em.Oh, also: John Kerry is funny looking. Here are some of the descriptions of his funny, funny face:

* droopy
* funereal
* “one of the most weary in American politics”
* “The grave Kerry face…”
* “forlorn loser”
* “solemn bearing ”
* “John Kerry walks into a bar,” goes the Washington version of the old joke. “Bartender says, ‘Hey, Senator Kerry, why the long face?’”
* “He still wears his burdens plainly”
* “He boarded an elevator with fellow senators and fixed his gaze straight ahead.”
* “helmet-haired, flip-flopping elitist”

Leibovich, of course, is just continuing the tradition of Times journalism started with the classic 1982 magazine profile, “Ted Kennedy: Stupid Fatty.”

A Presidential Also-Ran, Kerry Adjusts to What Passes for a Normal Life in the Senate [NYT]