Sen. John Kerry's (D.-Mass.) decision to go on TV this afternoon and refuse to apologize for his insult of American troops is the moment Republicans have been waiting for. GOP offices on Capitol Hill are again buzzing with excitement and one top Republican has already dubbed it the "Wellstone funeral moment" of the 2006 campaign.

It was four years ago when Democrats turned Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone's funeral into a full-fledged campaign rally. The anger and political message emanating from Wellstone's funeral backfired on the party -- not only in Minnesota, where Democrat Walter Mondale lost to Republican Norm Coleman for U.S. Senate, but also across America.

Coming less than a week before the 2002 midterm elections, the tenor of the Wellstone funeral did more to inspire Republicans than anything else leading up to Election Day. The GOP ended up gaining eight seats in the House and picked up two seats in Senate, which Democrats had controlled at the time.

Will the same fate come of Kerry's press conference today? Republicans better hope so. Down in the polls and struggling for something to rally the base, John Kerry just made the perfect blunder. Instead of keeping his mouth shut and letting the story die, Kerry handed Republicans material to use as they try to fire up the base in this critical last week.