Posted on 04/03/2004 8:22:02 PM PST by MegaSilver
WASHINGTON, April 3 — Senator John Kerry has told associates that he wants to select a running mate within eight weeks, an accelerated schedule intended to help him raise money and respond to a bombardment of attacks from President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney that worries party leaders, Democratic officials say.
Mr. Kerry has turned to an old friend and Washington hand, James A. Johnson, who has set up a shadow organization to help Mr. Kerry make what aides say will be his most important decision before the convention. Mr. Johnson has begun interviewing Democrats to see whether they would be interested in being the running mate, party officials say, and he has organized teams of lawyers to begin scrutinizing candidates' backgrounds as they move to make what would be one of the earliest vice-presidential selections in modern history.
Mr. Johnson has had conversations with at least four contenders for the nomination, Democratic officials said. They are Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Gov. Thomas J. Vilsack of Iowa.
Iowa, Missouri and New Mexico are all at the top of the list of states that both parties view as being in contention in the fall.
Senator Bob Graham of Florida, who has signaled his interest in being Mr. Kerry's running mate, had not, as of Friday, been contacted by Mr. Johnson, his aides said, though Democrats close to the selection cautioned against reading too much into that. Other Democrats being considered, though not as intensely, include former Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, though Mr. Kerrey said in an interview that he would probably not take the position if offered it.
Democrats close to Mr. Kerry, including some advisers, said Senator John S. McCain, Republican of Arizona, remained a highly alluring choice. One adviser said that choice would almost guarantee Mr. Kerry's election. Mr. McCain, who like Mr. Kerry is a Vietnam veteran, has said he does not want to cross party lines to join a Kerry ticket, though some of Mr. Kerry's aides held out the hope of a personal entreaty by Mr. Kerry, outside Mr. Johnson's network.
Mr. Johnson vacations with Mr. Kerry and his wife, Teresa, in Sun Valley, Idaho, where the two families have adjoining houses in the Sawtooth Mountains. He has been a fund-raiser and behind-the-scenes adviser to Mr. Kerry through much of the past year.
One associate of Mr. Kerry, describing the unusually close relationship, predicted that Mr. Johnson would be the chief of staff in a Kerry White House.
But Mr. Johnson was also chairman of Walter F. Mondale's presidential campaign in 1984 and still ruefully recalls to friends how his campaign flubbed what became one of the most famous vice-presidential vettings, by inadequately examining the financial dealings of Geraldine A. Ferraro's husband, John A. Zaccaro.
It was an experience, associates said, that has informed what Democrats called the exhaustive approach that Mr. Johnson has followed on behalf of Mr. Kerry, whom he described as a frequent dinner, breakfast, hiking and tennis companion.
Mr. Johnson, who like Mr. Kerry is 60, is a taciturn Minnesota native who does not use e-mail; just recently acquired a cellphone, which he said he carried but kept turned off; and has approached this task with extraordinary secrecy. Mr. Kerry's aides said that they had never seen him at the candidate's headquarters in downtown Washington and that he worked from the office of Perseus L.L.C., a merchant bank and private equity manager where he is a vice chairman, a mile away on Pennsylvania Avenue.
"I would discreetly characterize myself as discreet," Mr. Johnson said on Friday in an interview in which he discussed his ties to Mr. Kerry but declined to answer detailed questions about the selection.
"My portfolio is totally devoted to the process of the running-mate selection," he said. "My approach is John's approach. He made it very clear to me in our first conversation with Democratic leaders. And that is what I'm doing."
The secrecy, some of Mr. Kerry's advisers said, reflects the senator's lingering irritation with the way his name, along with other prospective vice-presidential candidates', was released and ultimately discarded in 2000, when Al Gore was looking for a running mate. Mr. Kerry's advisers said he was intent on making sure that did not occur on his watch.
Underlining the extent to which he is setting up a shadow organization, Mr. Kerry's aides said that Mr. Johnson was not using any of the campaign staff members to help him, relying instead on volunteers, and that he had had contacts on this subject with just two of Mr. Kerry's campaign advisers. Those are Mary Beth Cahill, his campaign manager, and Bob Shrum, a senior adviser to Mr. Kerry who is also a longtime friend of Mr. Johnson and his wife, Maxine Isaacs, who was Mr. Mondale's press secretary in 1984 and now teaches at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Mr. Shrum and Ms. Cahill declined to comment on the selection process.
Chuck Campion, a public affairs consultant in Boston who worked with Mr. Johnson in Mr. Mondale's campaign, said: "I just spent three days with Jim and our sons playing golf in California. Every morning I would read the papers to find out what was going on, because you get nothing out of Jim."
Mr. Johnson is filling the role that Warren Christopher, the former secretary of state, served for Bill Clinton and Al Gore when they ran for president. But while they are similar in ways — old-time Washington lions — Mr. Johnson is different from Mr. Christopher because he has extensive experience in politics, as well as in business and philanthropy. Mr. Johnson said he began in politics as a college student, as a volunteer for Eugene McCarthy in 1968.
The impetus to move quickly and chose a nominee now, some Democrats said, developed after Mr. Kerry took note of Mr. Cheney's role in firing attacks on him and in raising money for Mr. Bush's campaign. Mr. Kerry's advisers argued that Mr. Cheney's attacks would be diminished if they were answered by a Democratic vice-presidential candidate rather than Mr. Kerry, as is now the case.
A number of members of Congress, including Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader, urged Mr. Johnson in meetings to tell Mr. Kerry to act quickly.
Ms. Pelosi advised Mr. Johnson to make the selection by May 1, an aide said. Representative Robert Menendez of New Jersey said he had told Mr. Johnson, in a 45-minute meeting where, he said, Mr. Johnson had sought his opinions on Messrs. Edwards, Gephardt, Richardson and Vilsack, to "take whatever time it takes" to find the best candidate, but then to move as quickly as possible.
"It seems to me the sooner the better," Mr. Menendez said. "To have another voice on the campaign trail doing your message is something that you want to do sooner rather than later."
Asked what Mr. Johnson's reaction was at their meeting, Mr. Menendez said, "Great poker face."
The other question before Mr. Kerry and Mr. Johnson is whether Mr. Kerry should pick a member of Congress or a governor. Mr. Kerry's aides said that there was intense pressure on Mr. Kerry by Democrats in the capital to choose a primary rival — Mr. Edwards or Mr. Gephardt — and they argued that the two politicians bring a wealth of knowledge, national experience and fund-raising contacts to a Kerry ticket.
Mr. Kerry was described by some Democrats who have talked to him as not sharing the enthusiasm that some Democrats have voiced for a Kerry-Edwards ticket. Some Democrats have argued that Mr. Edwards is a stronger campaigner, as was evident when watching the two on the primary trail.
Other Democrats have argued that Mr. Kerry and Mr. Johnson should chose a governor, in particular Mr. Vilsack or Mr. Richardson.
The argument for choosing a governor has gained weight, some Democrats argued, as Mr. Kerry has confronted the extent to which the White House intends to use his Senate votes to attack him. Some of his advisers expressed concern that adding another member of Congress would only make those attacks easier.
Although Mr. McCain has repeatedly said he would not be Mr. Kerry's running mate, he has also repeatedly offered warm words about Mr. Kerry and tart comments about Mr. Bush, whom he challenged for the 2000 nomination. Last week, Mr. McCain told The Boston Herald that the Republican Party "has gone astray" on issues that deal with the environment and minority groups and that the Democratic Party was "a fine party."
Democratic officials said that in addition to the main list, other candidates being debated as running mates include Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana; Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, another swing state; and Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia. Inevitably, some Democrats have been pushing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for the spot.
Gah, one sentence in and the bias is ALREADY evident.
The media seems to be slipping down the slimy hill even faster lately. Maybe I'm just more sensitive than I used to be, but the bias has been especially rampant these last few months. Anyone else notice this? If I'm right, it's one more indicator of just how much partisan Democrats hate Bush, and why we must relentlessly throw their garbage back at them like there's no tomorrow--because there isn't.
| Rank | Location | Receipts | Donors/Avg | Freepers/Avg | Monthlies | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Nevada | 25.00 |
1 |
25.00 |
|
|
60.00 |
3 |
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I am still predicting she'll be on the ticket--by hook or by crook. Pres or V.P.?...
Whoever has her as his V.P. better keep a food taster and make scrupulous inspections of Air Force One.
--Boris
Kerry doesn't strike me as the type to harbor suicidal tendencies...
• She keeps her promise not to run for president in '04
• The Veep is the president of the Senate, so she's still technically a senator
• Two years and one day into her term the first slotter gets arkincided
• Under Article XXII, she can still run for two full terms as the incumbent
• The Hillary!™ Decade begins
• Hillary uses the Patriot Act to it's fullest extent, and beyond
• At the end of the Hillary!™ Decade there is a National Emergency "temporarily" delaying the elections
• Under the pressure of the National Emergency, the 2nd and 22nd amendments are repealed
• By the time the National Emergency is over all the 'improved' source code for the touch screen electronic balloting will be in place......
Just as an aside, with the Clinton's love of all things Military - War Hero Kerry is VERY expendable, isn't he?
We're more focused on mdia bias now and able to call a spade a spade.
This guy's as dumb as a democRAT, and like a 'Rat, no doubt has someone else picking up the bill for a cellphone that's useless.
Which is why it doesn't matter if we repeal that thing. You know she doesn't need a stinking law to abuse her power.
But he's already thrown everybody's name around already. Some people are going to be very disappointed if it isn't Hillary (or Edwards, Dean, McCain, Richardson, etc...)
What are they smoking?
At election time? Ron Fournier has been carrying clinton's water all the way from Little Rock, and he's been writing leftist tripe for 4 long years since the last election.
She has to go for it this time.
She knows an incumbent VP Rice would kick her butt in 2008.
Oh it's not Kerry who would stop it, it's Ter RAY zah who would kill that nomination. She's already been widowed once and she doesn't intend to do that one again.
They are already working on a new Presidential campaign songs here.
http://www.williamhung.net/clips.cfm
If you think so, go ahead and do it.
Right you are!
Why does the NYT's describe this as a "shadow organization"? Is that so that Kerry can say in the future that he picked someone else after this "shadow" picked someone for him?
1. The selectee will be Southern. Mr Heinz is a Massachusetts Liberal (tm), and he MUST pull at least SOME Southern and Western votes to be competetive. In any case, without a Southern accent on the ticket, he risks losing plenty of votes from Middle America, as he is widely seen (properly) as a Boston Blue-Blood, ands such types do not play well in Peoria. Look for a Southerner, and thus narrow the choices.
2. It will be someone with dynamism and energy. Mr. Heinz has all the enthusiasm of a three-toed sloth; someone with a pulse will have to help rally the troops, someone with a proven record of doing so. Adjust the list accordingly.
3. It will not be a "radical" choice. His campaign manager has NO wish to repeat the Ferraro fiasco. By this, I calculate that the veep will be male, and protestant to offset Mr. Heinz's (alleged) Catholicism.
4. It will be someone Mr. Heinz can trust not to backstab him. He may be a dumb gigolo, but he ain't that stupid.
5. It WILL NOT be someone carrying too much "negative baggage". Mr. Heinz can be relatively sure of getting all the Dim votes...he now needs the undecideds, and he will do nothing which might drive them away. He also needs a few crossover RINO votes as well. Someone with a negative influence here will lose those for him.
6. It will be a Dim who does NOT have as Leftist a record as he does. Again, he must placate the moderates, and his record is already hurting him.
7. For reasons 4, 5, and 6 above, it will NOT be the Hildebeast. As much as the hardcore Dim base loves her, the rest of the country, especially the undecideds and the Middle Americans, do not. I feel comfortable striking her from the list, even though she'd grab the job with both hands, if offered.
Conclusion: This leaves us with only a few remaining choices. They are Edwards, Richardson, and Graham, with McCain as a wildcard, although a distant one. Which it will be for sure cannot be known, although I'd bet on Edwards: the Breck Girl satisfies all the above criteria.
I AM certain that it will be one of those four, however.
But isn't it especially bad this year? Or am I just noticing more?
One thing is for certain: partisan Democrats have been far, far more hateful and angry this year than in any previous election I can remember. But then, I'm only 19.
Regardless of what we all like to believe, a politician in his position, at this juncture, must play by certain rules.
He must secure a part of the country instinctively hostile to him, and that is the PRIMARY criteria in selection of a running mate. He also doesn't want to upset too many apple carts by stepping too far outside a predictable box.
All one has to do is study the history of Dim party politics in this area, and the search narrows considerably.
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