Kerry promises to screw his base: He noted that Reagan Democrats were a critical faction in the 1980's but that Democrats like President Jimmy Carter had trouble attracting Republican votes. "Fear not," Mr. Kerry said. "I am not somebody who wants to go back and make the mistakes of the Democratic Party of 20, 25 years ago. Nor am I somebody who believes that Washington has all the answers." Some would take from history that Reagan offered a coherent alternative vision, while Carter failed to. But Kerry apparently has learned from history that Democrats are just secretly looking for Republicans to vote for.