IT’S NOT JUST PEOPLE AT TOWN MEETINGS WHO ARE CHALLENGING KERRY TO BACK UP HIS CLAIM about foreign leaders preferring him to Bush:

BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 14 — Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) ran into some tough questioning Sunday — from, among others, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell — about his assertion last week that he had met with foreign leaders who support his candidacy over President Bush.

Powell, who rarely makes overtly partisan comments, challenged Kerry to name one such official.

“I don’t know what foreign leaders Senator Kerry is talking about,” Powell said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s an easy charge, an easy assertion to make. But if he feels it is that important an assertion to make, he ought to list some names. If he can’t list names, then perhaps he should find something else to talk about.”

The story seems to have legs. Here’s an interesting tidbit from the Los Angeles Times report:

“Were they people like the president of North Korea?” Cedric Brown, 52, shouted at Kerry during an eight-minute exchange Sunday afternoon. “I need to know that.”

Ouch. If Kerry doesn’t want to talk about this, why did he bring it up in the first place? I’ve got more thoughts on Kerry’s temperament over at GlennReynolds.com.