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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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 Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 5:28 pm Post subject: Kerry Shows No Signs of Fading Away |
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He intends to run in 2008. Sounds like he's putting everything in place.
The question is if the Democratic Party will continue to look at him
as damaged, failed candidate. I think Dean will be working to torpedo him.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-kerry20feb20,0,5894834.story?coll=la-home-politics
| Quote: | Presidential Also-Ran Shows No Signs of Fading Away
Sen. Kerry goes against precedent, getting back in the political spotlight in a leadership role.
By Mark Z. Barabak, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — He has neither gained weight nor grown a beard, headed to Europe nor exiled himself to some distant ivory tower.
Instead, Sen. John F. Kerry is back on Capitol Hill, working hard to fashion himself into something rare in American politics: a presidential also-ran who isn't an afterthought.
Since losing in November, the Massachusetts Democrat has delivered a series of speeches on healthcare, electoral reform and military preparedness. He helped lead the unsuccessful opposition to Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's pick for secretary of State, and Alberto R. Gonzales, Bush's choice for attorney general.
Kerry has given more than $2 million in leftover campaign funds to various Democratic candidates and causes, and continues to tap his nationwide donor base to raise money for the party.
In short, the 61-year-old senator seems a lot more like a candidate preparing to seek the White House than one who just failed in his bid — though he insists "it's too early to even be thinking about talking about those things."
"I've got a lot of big issues on the table," he said in an interview last week. "I don't want them clouded by any politics."
The prospect of a repeat Kerry candidacy — perhaps facing his old running mate, former Sen. John Edwards, in the primaries — draws a decidedly mixed response. Republicans express delight.
"They won't be able to get out of the wilderness until they move beyond the Dean and Kerry party," scoffed Matt Dowd, a senior strategist for Bush's reelection campaign, referring to newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "I guess they have to get to the final stages of being sick before they get better."
Many Democrats are skeptical, if not adamantly opposed.
"The question for Sen. Kerry that he has to answer is: Why would he win this time in 2008 when he wasn't able to pull it off in 2004?" said Gordon Fischer, the recently departed head of the Iowa Democratic Party, who is reserving judgment on a possible comeback try by Kerry.
Dick Harpootlian, a longtime party leader in South Carolina, was more blunt. "I think John Kerry is a decent, thoughtful, heroic American," Harpootlian said. "I do not think he can win the presidency."
Still, the fact that Kerry has stayed so prominently engaged in Washington and seems at least a plausible contender in 2008 is a notable departure from the ritual shunning that often faces those who win their party's nomination, only to lose in November.
"Parties just don't renominate failed candidates," said Thomas Schaller, a University of Maryland expert on the modern presidential selection process. "Failed presidential candidates tend to fade into history."
Among the losing nominees of the last 20 years, former Vice President Walter F. Mondale went back to practicing law in Minnesota; Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis finished an unhappy third term before leaving politics for academia; and Bob Dole, the onetime Republican leader in the Senate, became a lobbyist and Viagra pitchman.
Kerry's most recent predecessor, former Vice President Al Gore, virtually disappeared for months after the 2000 race, traveling to Europe and surfacing as the butt of late-night jokes about his increased heft and facial hair. He eventually lost the weight and shaved his beard, but opted not to run again in 2004, much to the relief of the Democratic Party establishment.
"Gore had a built-in advantage and blew it," Schaller said of the peace and prosperity surrounding the 2000 contest, which Bush won after the lengthy dispute over Florida. "Kerry had a built-in disadvantage and kept it close."
Richard Nixon is the one candidate in the last 50 years who returned from the political dead to win not just his party's nomination but also the White House, though he skipped an election between tries. He did what Kerry has started doing, collecting scores of political IOUs by raising money and stumping for candidates across the country.
But Nixon also benefited in 1968 from a lack of strong primary opposition — something that is not likely if Kerry runs. Edwards and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York are among a pack of potential candidates already eyeing a 2008 bid.
"My belief is that John Edwards will decide about running … based on if he thinks that his skill set makes him ready to be president and if he's prepared to lead," said Ed Turlington, a close advisor to the former North Carolina senator, signaling that Edwards would not defer to Kerry. "I think he believes at this point it's way to early to make that decision."
Kerry would not discuss his former running mate, suggesting that would be premature.
That said, the senator has scarcely slowed down since winding up his last presidential run. He has created a political action committee to promote his agenda, and added about 70,000 people to his e-mail list since November, bringing the total to nearly 2.8 million names, according to aides. He also has stayed in touch with supporters in such key states as early-voting Iowa, where he drew about 200 people to a thank-you appearance in December.
"We're going to continue this fight," Kerry said then, speaking at the same Des Moines hotel where he celebrated the come-from-behind Iowa caucus win that launched him to the nomination.
In Washington, Kerry has sought to carve himself a high-profile role on issues such as defense, healthcare and Social Security — the latter two falling under the purview of the Senate Finance Committee, on which he serves.
"I'm not trying to claim some mantle. I'm not trying to assert myself in any special way," Kerry said in the interview. He noted that he introduced legislation to expand children's healthcare as the result of a campaign pledge. "I'm just trying to take the increased awareness of who I am that comes out of a campaign … and translate that into a structure that can fight for those things" discussed in 2004.
"This is not a competitive thing," he added. "There's room for a lot of voices."
Kerry infuriated many Democrats when it was revealed that he ended the presidential campaign with more than $14 million in the bank — funds that critics argued could have made a difference in Ohio, where Bush narrowly won reelection. While insisting money did not determine November's outcome, Kerry started making amends by donating $1 million apiece to the Democratic Party and its Senate campaign committee; $250,000 to help Democrats prevail in the extended gubernatorial recount in Washington state; and $100,000 to help the party win a Louisiana House seat in December. (Kerry also transferred $4 million to his Senate reelection committee, in case he decided to run again in 2008. Under Massachusetts law, he could seek both the presidency and a fifth term.)
He also began a round of attention-getting interviews, mixing mea culpas — he should have responded more quickly to attacks on his combat record from fellow Vietnam veterans, Kerry says — with observations on the difficulty of beating a wartime president.
"We did some amazing things," Kerry said last month on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"We raised more money than any Democratic campaign in history. We involved more volunteers than any campaign in history. I won more votes than any candidate on the Democratic side has ever won in history."
Which is why, some Democrats say, at the very least Kerry deserves to be considered again in 2008. "John Kerry came darn close," said Kathleen Sullivan, Democratic chairwoman in the lead primary state of New Hampshire. "Darn close. I think that makes a difference."
Kerry's advantages — near-universal name recognition, a vast fundraising base, a core of supporters in key states and the experience of having run before — may allow him to put off a decision on 2008 much longer than others. In last week's interview, he indicated he may not make up his mind much before 2007.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle Kerry faces is the feeling among many Democrats that he had his chance — that with all that money, all those volunteers and a shaky economy, he still could not beat a president waging a controversial war and saddled with middling approval ratings.
"He never connected," said Harpootlian, the South Carolina strategist, who suggested Kerry still had "a tremendous role to play" in national politics — from his seat in the Senate.
Kerry brusquely disagreed. "I heard some of those things … in Iowa, in New Hampshire," he said of the states he swept to capture the Democratic nomination after months of up-close campaigning. "I think the voters there put the lie to it. I'll stand by that." |
QUOTE:
"He also began a round of attention-getting interviews, mixing mea culpas — he should have responded more quickly to attacks on his combat record from fellow Vietnam veterans, Kerry says — with observations on the difficulty of beating a wartime president."
He knows this is his biggest obstacle, and is why he is busy scrubbing his
records, to neutralize the Swiftvet threat. |
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GM Strong
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 1579
Location: Penna
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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sKerry is fading away, but he doesn't realize it. Following factors are dead weight on him.
1. A re-election bid coming in MA.
2. Teresa has no stomach for another run at this.
3. Howard Dean
4. The Clintons
5. His record
6. No Persona, No Gravitas
7. John Edwards
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8th Army Korea 68-69 |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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From the article:
| Quote: | | (Kerry also transferred $4 million to his Senate reelection committee, in case he decided to run again in 2008. Under Massachusetts law, he could seek both the presidency and a fifth term.) |
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AMOS
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 558
Location: IOWA
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 5:54 pm Post subject: Glee. |
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| There would be glee for me if Skerry were to get zapped in the '06 senate election. Might he get the message then? |
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Leeman
PO3
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 265
Location: Connecticut
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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Stand at the ready men & woman supporters of the swiftvets for thruth. kerry is not going away !!!! regardless of what is stacked against him.
we need to be visual & active in our local community's. letters to the editors etc.
He's gonna clean up the records..If & when he signs 180 & to quote Winston Churchill "I expect history to treat me kindly since I wrote it"
I expect him to counter each & every claim written about him in "Unfit for Command" with a sanitized version of his service record. hey he might even find another medal & decoration due him.
Leeman
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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AMOS said:
| Quote: | | There would be glee for me if Skerry were to get zapped in the '06 senate election. Might he get the message then? |
Kerry was re-elected to the Senate in 2002, a six year term.
He doesn't face re-election til 2008.
Under Massachusetts law, he could seek both the presidency and a fifth term. |
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AMOS
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 558
Location: IOWA
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 6:56 pm Post subject: OK |
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| 2008 it is. I wasn't here in 2002. I stand connected. |
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1991932
Lance Corporal
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 381
Location: Massachusetts
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:09 pm Post subject: error? |
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I believe that article is incorrect in that Kerry cannot run for both offices at once.
But Massachusetts politics being what they are, that law could be changed easily. The Democrat-controlled state legislature changed the law before the 2004 election, stripping the power of the governor to appoint a replacement for Kerry in case he got elected. Our governor, Mitt Romney, is a Republican of course. Our Congressional delegation are all Democrats, and they all covet Kerry's seat. So the hacks in the state house complied with their wish.
I'll check out the law regarding Kerry being able to run for both President and Senator simultaneously. The Secretary of State's office will be open for business on Tuesday.
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kate
Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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Kerry thinks he may run again? He hasnt woken up from his sugar-plum faery dream as yet
reminiscent of that dream he described in his journal the night he spent Christmas Eve in Cambodia
adding to GM Strong's list
1. A re-election bid coming in MA.
2. Teresa has no stomach for another run at this.
3. Howard Dean
4. The Clintons
5. His record
6. No Persona, No Gravitas
7. John Edwards
8. He was the Anybody But Bush candidate, the Dems didnt even like him
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one of..... We The People |
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GM Strong
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 1579
Location: Penna
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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Recall that had sKerry been elected, one of the Libs that wanted to go for the Senate was "Bahhny Fwank". That would have been comical. I know there are sane and reasonable peple in Mass. He do these Nut Jobs keep getting elected??
Have to agree wholeheartedly, Dean was the guy the kook base wan't and Lurch just happed to be the "anybody but" after the Clintons torpedoed Howlin' Howie.
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8th Army Korea 68-69 |
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