Beeb to Dems: 'We'll start your bandwagon'.

Well, they'll do what they can anyway.

After all, with Kerry sagging in the polls, it's up to the troopers at the BBC to point out that 'Respondents said they did not know enough about Mr Kerry's policies.'

When it comes to Kerry's supporting cast, such as Terese, the Beeb's supportiveness can be relied on:

'She has caused further embarrassment with an interview conducted in the 1970s, unearthed by her enemies, in which she said she did not trust Edward Kennedy, now her husband's chief backer, our correspondent says.'

Those pesky 'enemies', grubbing around in the dirt of history for irrelevant details when they could be doing something more useful, like investigating Bush's service record.

Alternatively, the supportiveness might merely mean euphemising awkward facts, such as this about Terese Heinz-Kerry:

'she is not the easiest person to sell to middle America'

Elsewhere we find the BBC on form (check the positive adjective count on this puff-piece for Clinton) with unattributed statements like the following:

'The Republicans and President George W Bush favour concentrated wealth and power, more unilateral action, pursuing a vision that is "far to the right of most Americans." '

or suggesting that the Republicans are really the nasty party:

'the Republican Party machinery continued working flat out to try to counter their opponents' message.'-

for which you might be anticipating some supporting evidence, but no.

Or, and this is my favourite circumlocution, trying to find a way of making Kerry seem a decent candidate while still praising his running mate Edwards:

'The senator for North Carolina is considered a charismatic speaker.

He is seen as a good vice-presidential choice for Mr Kerry, who has sometimes been considered as lacking in that department, correspondents say.' (heh- emboldenings and italics mine)

All in all a few good days shilling, I'd say.