"It's become a referendum on the challenger" says Sen. Bob Graham -- Pre-Labor Day Assessment of the race for the White House from the N.Y. Times

Not must reading by any means, but this N.Y. Times article shares the thoughts of many politicians and political experts on where Kerry's campaign is now and what it must do. The theme is summarized in retiring Florida Sen. Bob Graham's comment and by the following comment from Harold Ickes:

"He's got to become more engaged,'' said Harold Ickes, a former political lieutenant to President Bill Clinton who is now running an independent Democratic organization that has spent millions of dollars on advertisements attacking President Bush. "Kerry is by nature a cautious politician, but he's got to throw caution to the wind."