Andrew Ferguson has a great column on what John Edwards has that John Kerry doesn't.

But if you want to see where they differ, try this: get hold of a transcript from the debate held earlier this month in Milwaukee. There you will find the difference in a nutshell -- a very roomy nutshell.

Midway through the debate, a reporter asked Kerry whether, having voted for the Iraq war, he felt any responsibility for ``its costs and casualties.''

Pull up a chair.

``This is one of the reasons why I am so intent on beating George Bush,'' Kerry replied, ``and why I believe I will beat George Bush, because one of the lessons that I learned when I was an instrument of American foreign policy, I was that cutting-edge instrument. I carried that M-16....''

Rinse and Repeat

A minute later, Kerry was still talking: ``There was a right way to do this and a wrong way to do it.'' Another minute passed and he was still putting the finishing touches on his answer, which, it turned out, wasn't really an answer.

``Let me repeat the question,'' the frustrated reporter said.

And Kerry was off again, for another 90 seconds. He mentioned Bill Clinton, the War Powers Act, and former Republican foreign policy bigwigs Jim Baker and Brent Scowcroft, yet never got around to saying whether he felt any responsibility for the consequences of his vote.

``There was a right way to do it,'' he said once more, ``and a wrong way to do it.''

The reporter gave up and asked the same question of Edwards, who shot a sly glance at Kerry.

``That's the longest answer I ever heard to a `yes' or `no' question,'' Edwards said. ``The answer to your question is, `Of course.' I did what I believed was right.''

Republicans must be crossing their fingers that the Democratic electorate doesn't wake up to this difference until it is too late.