Mr. Kerry gets it now.

Mr. Kerry got into the shot with the two women.

Did Mr. Kerry get his first Purple Heart for a self-inflicted wound?

Mr. Kerry himself contributed immeasurably to the foolishness by happily proclaiming that in addition to his team's grand vision and bold ideas, "We've got better hair."

Mr. Kerry, meanwhile, got a quick lesson in how to relate to children, courtesy of his fellow junior senator.

Mr. Kerry, who was sometimes criticized as stiff and dour during the 2004 campaign, got several laughs, Mr. Sharpton said.

Before the debate, several Fox News commentators remarked on the air about how Mr. Kerry had reportedly gotten a manicure that day.

Mr. Kerry himself ends the commercial by saying, "We've got to leave this earth in better shape than we were given it by our parents."

A somewhat more dour and patrician-voiced Mr. Kerry then gets to have his rejoinder: "You can't say nuclear.

But the Bush campaign's first order of business this month will be countering any benefits Mr. Kerry gets from his vice-presidential choice.