For those of you who came up with Wes Clark as your presidential dream date based on yesterday's link, you may want to check who came in second. Turns out the general is fading away from the Democratic primaries. He shall not return.

I had my brief interest in Clark, but got turned off early when he started bringing in the Clinton folks.

Howard Dean is now trying to save his campaign by assailing soft money ads that targeted him during his front-running days. On the one hand, it's further example of how money (be it individual, corporate, or union) can shape things. On the other hand, if the figures I've seen are correct, Dean's spent a lot more money over time than was spent trying to cut him out at the knees. True, a big bunch of that money had to be spent to get Dean noticed, but $41 million's worth?

Not surprisingly, the names linked to this story are Gephardt and Kerry, but what makes it worse is the appearance of former Senator Bob Torricelli, the New Jersey Democrat who is as crooked as the day is long. Just as with my feelings about Wes Clark, you often get judged by the company you keep.