After a strong start on Thursday afternoon, the John Kerry intern scandal has fizzled somewhat. The whole thing seemed a little half-hearted, with Wes Clarking outing Kerry initially, then flipping completely and endorsing him. Now, the woman at the heart of the scandal is laying low in Africa, denying the scandal altogether. In the meantime, Kerry has denied everything and is doing his best Clinton impression.

The bottom line is that unless this thing really has legs, which it doesn’t seem to, it’s not worth dwelling on. I know the Republicans, Howard Dean, and John Edwards would all like to see this thing materialize, but I think Kerry has more liabilities than this. A lot of time and energy will be spent dealing with this when, in the end, it won’t mean much — just like Bush’s National Guard record. Move on, nothing to see here …