Are you sure that was Kerry?
The WashPost reported (click here for the article):
Dean, who during his presidential campaign once declared, "If Bill Clinton can be the first 'black president,' I can be our first 'gay president.' "
Maybe Gannon wrote a story about Dean saying that and you are misremembering? Or maybe Gannon was inspired to write a story suggesting Kerry as the "first gay president" based on his recollection of the Dean remark (possible, but seems unlikely to me)?
Here's the Gannon aritlce that makes that reference:
By Jeff Gannon
October 12, 2004
Inasmuch as Bill Clinton is considered by some members of the African-American community to be "the first black president" because of their perception of his positions with regard to minority issues, Democratic Sen. John Kerry might someday be known as "the first gay president" were he to win the White House in November.
The Massachusetts liberal has enjoyed a 100% rating from the homosexual advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), since 1995 in recognition of his support for the pro-gay agenda.
Despite his stated opposition to gay marriage, Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), who also boasts a 100% rating from the HRC, can expect to receive a high percentage of the gay vote, estimated to be around 4 million. Kerry voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996 and both candidates oppose the constitutional amendment to protect marriage sought by President Bush.
The Kerry-Edwards web site features a recitation of support for an extensive pro-homosexual platform. The Democrats have pledged to expand homosexual rights in domestic partnerships and add sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal employment non-discrimination regulations.
In an interview with a leading national gay magazine, "The Advocate," Kerry touted his support for homosexuals, pointing to what he calls "a 35-year lifetime record of fighting for equality."
Kerry contrasted his positions with those of the man he wants to replace, saying, "The difference between me and George Bush will be the difference to gay and lesbian couples and individuals across this country -- whether rights are afforded them or whether or not they are discriminated against."
Kerry said that he might change his position on gay marriage.
"I can't tell you in 20 years or whenever, if someone made a persuasive argument, the world changes," Kerry said.
Kerry differs with Bush on an issue that hasn't been mentioned in the 2004 campaign: gays in the military. The Massachusetts senator's web site points out that in 1992, he opposed the Clinton administration's "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy." He was one of the few senators to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee and call on the president to rescind the ban on gay and lesbian service members.
The 2004 Democratic National Platform, declares that "all patriotic Americans should be allowed to serve our country" in a paragraph addressing civil rights.
Lifting the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military is one of the issues where Kerry can't be accused of flip-flopping. While his campaign soft-pedals his position, the senator has never reversed himself.
During his 1992 testimony, Kerry said, "Let me be very clear about my own views. I think it is fundamentally wrong to continue to deny gay and lesbian Americans the right to participate in the armed forces of the United States."
In a January 27, 1993, floor speech, Kerry said that codifying the ban would "be forever unfaithful, literally semper infidelis, to what this country is all about." Kerry suggested that permitting gays to serve openly would help the United States to "win respect as a nation."