Following the legion of happily defeated "moderates" before him, Torn Kean Jr. has succumbed to the delusion that the key to win ning New Jersey elections lies in pandering to Democrats and liberals. He snubbed Vice President Dick Cheney while using him to raise thousands for his campaign, and he has now joined the chorus calling for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign. Kean's eagerness to undermine the administration during wartime has nothing to do with any objective assessment of what is happening in the field but has very much to do with the cynical calculus of his pollsters. Like Bob Franks and Doug Forrester before him, Kean will soon learn that he has alienated the conservative base at his peril. Many of us will stay home on Election Day, and Kean will suffer a well-earned loss.