Although John Kerry has been keeping a low profile following the unfavorable publicity after his standard line about George Bush getting us stuck in Iraq was twisted by the right wing noise machine to be a comment about the troops, there are signs he is still looking at a 2008 run. The Fix notes many additions to his staff in preparation for a possible run:
Kerry has recently begun to bolster his Senate and campaign staff in preparation for what some Kerry insiders insist is a likely run for president. Kerry has signed on Erik Smith to serve as a senior adviser to his Senate campaign committee and Vince Morris to be communications director in his Senate office.
Smith, who runs Blue Engine Message & Media, served as national press secretary for Dick Gephardt’s 2004 presidential bid and previously was communications director in Gephardt’s leadership office. He also served a stint as communications director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Kerry has also been firming up support in his home state for a possible run. Governor Patrick stated over the weekend, “I will tell you that if my home senator runs, I’ve got to be with him.” Senator Kennedy also repeated his support for Kerry when interviewed by Chris Matthews.
The negatives on a Kerry run are well known, but are all trumped by a single fact: none of the candidates now leading in the polls would make as good a President as John Kerry. Edwards and Obama lack the experience which we should have in the President faced with getting the country out of the mess George Bush has gotten us into. Hillary Clinton’s support for the war and “HillaryCare” make her undesirable as a President, and could also make her far less electable. While many oppose another run by Kerry after his loss in 2004, his loss to an incumbent President during a time of war is far less a negative than Hillary Clinton being largely responsible for the Democrats’ loss of Congress in 1994.
“According to a new poll, Democrats are favoring Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nominee for 2008. Democrats say they are looking for a fresh and exciting new way to get their asses handed to them.” –Tina Fey
Kerry has about as much chance to be our next president as Joe Biden does, meaning zero. I mean I think he’s a good guy and all, but if Dems nominate another effemite, Massachusetts politician to be their guy I think they are engaging in the true definition of insanity and deserve to lose over and over and over again. Al Gore will be our next president.
http://www.minor-ripper.blogspot.com
Gore or Kerry? Either would be vast improvement ove rthe present situation. Both would be highly preferable to frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Both are far more experienced than Edwards and Obama.
There are many similarities, both in strengths and weaknesses. Both wiould benefit tremendously from the personal experience of running a Presidential campaign. Gore, like Kerry, was commonly attacked for his campaign style. Both even did comparable against George Bush. Gore did a bit better in actually winning if not for Florida, as well as winning the popular vote, but he didn’t have to run against an incumbent President during war time. Gore should have been a heavy favorite, running on four years of peace and prosperity, while many do not acknowledge the obstacles Kerry faced in running against an incumbent.
In comparing Kerry and Gore, there are two big plusses for Kerry. Kerry, despite the manner in which his record has been distorted, has been consistent in his message whle Gore’s 2000 campaign was hurt by his indecision as to whether he wanted to run as a new Democrat or a populist. Even more relevant to a choice today is that Kerry appears to be running while Gore so far is staying out. I’ll consider Gore more seriously as a contender if he actually shows signs of getting into the race.
MinorRipper: If you call Kerry ‘effeninite’, you have obviously never met the man. He gives off definite alpha-male vibes in person.
I would be delighted with either Kerry or Gore as President. But Gore has given no signs that he’s running. Of all the people who have given signs that they are running, Kerry has the best foreign policy experience, the best record on the environment, small business and economic fairness. Edwards may talk a good game about poverty and social justice. But he has very little record of accomplishments on the subject, other than his campaign rhetoric.
The definition of insanity is to nominate someone who is not the most qualified to BE president. George Bush is the epitome of “likeable” and “attractive” to the electorate. Sadly, he has turned out to be the worst American president in history. Never again. 2008 will be about the issues and who can actually clean up the mess Bush made. I believe the top person is John Kerry.
MinorRipper – That’s the same thing they said about Al Gore too. If he runs, they’ll show clips of some of his more boisterous speeches, and label him wild-eyed loon as they’ve already been laying the groundwork for.
It is amazing to me that supporters of other candidates, particularly Gore, don’t see the smear tactics for what they are.
Ron
LOOOOVE the Tina Fey comment! It’s so accurate.
It looks like JK is gonna run again, thank god. Agreed about Gore and Kerry being a big step up over Hillary or Dubya. If I can’t have Kerry Gore would be a worthy alternative. But frankly, I’m confused as to why Gore’s name keeps coming up. I saw multiple interviews over the year of 2006 in which Gore said he had no plans to run for president. Furthermore, close Gore advisers like Carter Askew and Donna Brazile say that Gore is not running. If Gore is gonna run, that’s fine- power to him. But is there any evidence out there that Gore is thinking of running?
Nick,
There has been talk that Gore would run if sufficiently wooed. While he has said he is not running he often keeps the door open a little, which is understandable.