Last night, I mentioned that John Kerry, contrary to statements he supposedly made to the press late last week, did not march onto the floor of the Senate bright and early Monday morning and demand that Bush explain The Downing Street Memo. No, in the words of the folks at the Bella Ciao news site, he “wimped out.” In his absence, however, the story hasn’t died. (As the Washington Post says today, it “refuses to die.”) Today, Senator Ted Kennedy issued a statement concerning the incriminating document, and, in doing so, became the first US Senator in the month since the memo’s surfacing to have brought it up, thereby joining the chorus of 89 House members who have already publicly asked Bush for an explanation. (Whitehouse spokesman Scott McLellan has, until now, stated that it didn’t warrant a response.) And, as if that weren’t enough for poor Mr. Bush to deal with, he was asked about the memo today during a rare appearance before a real reporter… One last note… While many of us on the left have given up on Kerry, the folks at Common Dreams have not. Earlier today, they posted a passionate plea for him to lead the charge against Bush. We’ll just have to wait and see what, if anything, that accomplishes though. Maybe he’ll surprise us yet.