From an article in the Washington Post, dated Sunday, June 1, 2003, on Page A01: John Kerry: Hunter, Dreamer, Realist. (Hat tip: Power Line and Hugh Hewitt.)

And who is he, really?

A close associate hints: There’s a secret compartment in Kerry’s briefcase. He carries the black attach� everywhere. Asked about it on several occasions, Kerry brushed it aside. Finally, trapped in an interview, he exhaled and clicked open his case.

“Who told you?” he demanded as he reached inside. “My friends don’t know about this.”

The hat was a little mildewy. The green camouflage was fading, the seams fraying.

“My good luck hat,” Kerry said, happy to see it. “Given to me by a CIA guy as we went in for a special mission in Cambodia.”

Kerry put on the hat, pulling the brim over his forehead. His blue button-down shirt and tie clashed with the camouflage. He pointed his finger and raised his thumb, creating an imaginary gun. He looked silly, yet suddenly his campaign message was clear: Citizen-soldier. Linking patriotism to public service. It wasn’t complex after all; it was Kerry.

He smiled and aimed his finger: “Pow.”

Wow.

On Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, his producer said that the reporter who wrote this story, Laura Blumenfeld, denied writing the passage quoted above—then hung up.

UPDATE at 8/10/04 3:18:23 pm:

And now, the Washington Post page linked above will not come up. (It seems flaky, coming up sometimes but not others.)

I saved a copy.