Perhaps, in this age of post-modern politics, a television advertisement says it all.

"You'll be my fighter," an enthusiastic supporter of environmentalist John O'Connor says to him.

"I'll be your fighter," the candidate replies, affirms half-heartedly.

That, in a nut-shell, is exactly the problem plaguing the 10 Democrats running to replace Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II as the U.S. representative from Massachusetts' eighth congressional district.

With four of the candidates in a dead heat according to a poll taken last week, there's no telling who will prevail tomorrow.

But whoever becomes the Democratic nominee will probably win the general election, and will almost certainly end up on a Republican-occupied Capitol Hill fighting the establishment, not establishing policy.

Meet the Best

The candidates themselves are diverse in every way, except ideologically.

But that's no surprise in a district which, according to the Almanac of American Politics, gave Ronald Reagan his lowest vote percentages in the country.

Much has been made of this: candidates fighting for the prize of uber-liberal.

George Bachrach, 45, a former state representative from Watertown, went so far as to call himself "unreconstructed," putting him squarely at odds with the Democratic caucus in Congress he seeks to join.

But not all the candidates fit the progressive bill. A handful, including front-runner Michael E. Capuano, the mayor of Somerville, support a strong, national defense. Others support charter schools and vouchers. One candidate has called health maintenance organizations the "future" of efficient and effective health care.

And Raymond L. Flynn, the former ambassador to the Vatican and mayor of Boston, is pro-life.

Top Dogs

Flynn is neck and neck with Capuano, according to the latest Boston Globe tracking poll.