Chowderheads Debate Baseball Allegiance

One unintended consequence of the climax to California's gubernatorial spectacle/reality TV pilot program: Without it deflecting attention from the Democratic presidential nomination race, it's becoming clear that the Dems have less going on than Gary Coleman, Mary Carey, etc.

Witness this edifying battle raging between John Kerry and Howard Dean:

Kerry last month accused Dean, the former Vermont governor and current front-runner for the Democratic nomination, of being a Yankees fan.

Dean, a New York native, called the accusation insulting, and insisted he backs Boston.

"Howard Dean has a relationship with the Yankees that goes way back so we hope he is willing to put some chowder behind his childhood team," Kerry spokeswoman Kelley Benander said.

Dr. Dean, forever the populist manque, channeled Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (who famously fretted over the fate of the proletarian Brooklyn Dodgers in a series of jailhouse letters), and responded by saying he wants to see a Cubs-Bosox series:

"I always root for the underdog," Dean said. "Those are the two biggest underdogs."