Blame it on Arnold Schwarzenegger if you must, but a lot of people are questioning the macho-meter of Democrats in general, and Senator Kerry in particular.

It started back in July when the Democrat-controlled state legislature stalled the vote on a critical budget bill. The partisan foot-dragging prompted Gov. Schwarzenegger to chide the legislators for being �girlie-men.�

Despite howls of protest, Schwarzenegger refused to apologize. Then he repeated the charge in early August, this time tagging candidate John Kerry with the emasculating moniker.

By the time the Republican Convention rolled around, the California delegates � male and female -- had donned pins reading �Girlie Men� with a red slash through them. In his televised speech before millions, Schwarzenegger couldn�t resist repeating the now-famous phrase.

Worse, Kerry�s own supporters began to admit the truth of the charge. In his New York Times column, �How Kerry Became a Girlie-Man,� Frank Rich confessed, �It�s Mr. Kerry�s behavior now, not what he did 35 years ago, that has prevented his manliness from trumping the president.� (http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1207620/posts) And Michael Moore began accusing his fellow Democrats for being �a bunch of crybabies� for complaining �how lousy a candidate Kerry is and how he can�t win.�

It wasn�t for lack of trying that Senator Kerry couldn�t shake the caricature. Riding high after winning primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, he challenged President Bush to �Bring it on.� And when he rode that thundering Harley-Davidson onto Jay Leno�s set, the black-leather crowd was duly impressed.

Of course, Kerry didn�t help things when he admitted he intended to fight a �sensitive� war on terror. Or that he wanted to bring the terrorist threat down to the level of a mere �nuisance.�

But it�s the Teresa factor that really tests Senator Kerry�s cojones. As we all know, Teresa Heinz Kerry is worth more than $700 million, which prompted columnist Ann Coulter to deride Kerry as a �poodle to rich women.�

Let�s consider Teresa�s last name. Some political wives, such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, choose to retain their maiden names. That�s fine.

But Heinz is not Teresa�s maiden name � it�s her ex-husband�s name. By calling herself Teresa Heinz Kerry, Teresa is revealing her loyalty to former Republican Senator John Heinz.

Naomi Wolf had this to say in a recent New York magazine article: �Teresa is publicly, subliminally cuckolding Kerry with the power of a dead man.� Strong words, indeed.

Most revealing, though, were Senator Kerry�s comments during the third presidential debate. Referring to the wives of the two candidates, moderator Bob Schieffer posed this question: �What is the most important thing that you�ve learned from these strong women?�

After paying tribute to his now-deceased mother, Senator Kerry had this to say:

�And my daughters and my wife are people who just are filled with that sense of what�s right, what�s wrong.�

Feminists believe that women are morally superior to men, so that comment played well with one of Kerry�s key constituencies. But what does that say about Mr. Kerry�s own moral compass?

And then things fell apart. Kerry admitted:

�They also kick me around. They keep me honest. They don�t let me get away with anything. I can sometimes take myself too seriously. They surely don�t let me do that.�

�Kick me around�? Last I heard, kicking is a form of domestic violence. If a female candidate ever said that, the cops would have shown up at her doorstep with an arrest warrant in hand.

Maybe Mr. Kerry didn�t mean that kicking comment literally. But still, is this the voice of a self-confident male who is in a marital relationship with equal say and mutual respect? Or is this the whine of a hen-pecked husband?

If elected President, is this a man who will command respect from our allies and adversaries? Will they regard him as a man of his word?

This man John Kerry curtsies and bows to anyone wearing a skirt. And now he aspires to be the next leader of the most powerful nation on earth?

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