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Democrats have misgivings as Kerry tests waters for '08
Philadelphia Daily News ^ | 3/20/05 | By Dick Polman

Posted on 03/20/2005 6:29:03 AM PST by bitt

Some backers won't count him out. Others don't want a "shopworn" candidate.

WASHINGTON - John Kerry had come so close; on election night, before the dream died, his chief strategist had even said, "Let me be the first to call you Mr. President." Yet there he was on Inauguration Day, a mere spectator wearing a wan smile in the cold wind.

And when President Bush took the oath of office, Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa seated beside Kerry, placed his gloved right hand on the vanquished candidate's spine. He rubbed up and down, repeatedly. And as Bush intoned, "... so help me God," Harkin finished with a pair of gentle pats.

Those gestures spoke volumes about Kerry's sense of loss. And Kerry would not have the luxury of recuperating in private. He couldn't grow a beard and vanish, as Al Gore did; he couldn't go to Hawaii and teach college, as Mike Dukakis finally did. No, Kerry had to go back to his day job - becoming the first losing presidential candidate to return to the Senate since George McGovern in 1973.

But unlike McGovern, who stayed low-profile after a landslide defeat, John Kerry is already working hard on a resurrection. In a rudderless, leaderless Democratic Party, he is determined to fill the vacuum.

And don't be shocked if he launches another presidential candidacy in 2008, despite the fact that no U.S. senator has ever run, lost, and won a subsequent nomination. History notwithstanding, however, it may not be easy for Kerry to simply walk away, not after winning 59 million votes - although there are plenty of Democrats who wish that he would.

There he was Thursday, for example, in a Washington hotel, with that familiar ramrod posture, and the familiar portentous voice projecting...

(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; kerry; kerry2008; unfit
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To: bitt
And Kerry would not have the luxury of recuperating in private.

Duh, why not? Kerry could have quit his day job. Who would have missed him?

21 posted on 03/20/2005 6:42:36 AM PST by BARLF
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To: Thebaddog
"Now push forward and try to visualize Hillary on the same kind of stage with Gore, Edwards, Kerry,Kucinich,and your name here. Methinks that the boys might just take Hillary down a notch and it could be fun to watch."

Oooh! Interesting...

22 posted on 03/20/2005 6:42:47 AM PST by redhead
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To: bitt

Can the Democratic party be so ignorant that they don't realize the magnitude of their loss? While the election might seem to have been close, the constant stream of misinformation conveyed by books, provided by a willing MSM, facilitated by a disgruntled Hungarian billionaire, and marked by some of the most outrageous pandering by a presidential candidate STILL FAILED to place Kerry in the oval office.

The losses in traditional Democratic voting blocks are telling. Kerry is a deeply flawed candidate who has a history of mixing fantasy with reality when reality isn't good enough to salve his ego. A warmed over Kerry in 2008 is as appealing as a piece of rotting meat.

Even Hillary; a pig trying on new lipstick, yet still a pig, has a better chance.


23 posted on 03/20/2005 6:44:02 AM PST by meatloaf
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To: Thebaddog
Now push forward and try to visualize Hillary on the same kind of stage with Gore, Edwards, Kerry,Kucinich,and your name here. Methinks that the boys might just take Hillary down a notch and it could be fun to watch.

I see a different picture, more like New York in 2000.

Spineless Dems roll over for Hillary and have no contested primaries.

Copies of those secret files are still in her posession and her agents are hard at work digging up dirt and prying open closets.

24 posted on 03/20/2005 6:44:18 AM PST by CROSSHIGHWAYMAN (NO PRISONERS!!)
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To: bitt
"No, Kerry had to go back to his day job - becoming the first losing presidential candidate to return to the Senate since George McGovern in 1973."

That goes back a bit. Dole would've done the same had he not first given into the pressure to retire.
25 posted on 03/20/2005 6:44:20 AM PST by AlGone2001 (You will never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you've got-Mother Theresa)
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To: bitt
...Indeed, in focus groups conducted this winter by Democratic strategists, he was still seen as indecisive; one participant said, "He's the guy that holds up the line at McDonald's."

And he's been dogged by bloggers who want him to authorize the release of all his military records, to clear up questions raised in 2004. He told NBC on Jan. 30 that he would sign military form SF-180 to do so, but he hasn't yet. Most of the heat has come from conservatives, but Democratic blogger Mickey Kaus also is on the case, urging party brethren to "remove this increasingly pathetic figure from our national stage." (The word in Washington is that Kerry will sign the form soon.)

26 posted on 03/20/2005 6:44:27 AM PST by bitt (RUSSERT: So they should sign Form 180s for themselves as well? KERRY: You Bet)
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To: Piquaboy
The voters of Iowa should send Tom Harkin back where he came from next election. Then he and Kerry can lovey dovey each other until their hearts are content.

I guess the honeymoon is really over for Kerry-Edwards..

27 posted on 03/20/2005 6:45:07 AM PST by cardinal4 (George W Bush-Bringing a new democracy every term..)
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To: bitt

Kerry, it wasn't you. Nobody voted for you.


28 posted on 03/20/2005 6:46:39 AM PST by AmericanChef
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To: silent_jonny

***Failed presidential candidates are like toilet paper--they're not reusable.***

Oh, GEEEEEEE! I should have know that was you, jonny, without looking at your signature. LOL!


29 posted on 03/20/2005 6:51:41 AM PST by kitkat
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To: bitt
And when President Bush took the oath of office, Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa seated beside Kerry, placed his gloved right hand on the vanquished candidate's spine. He rubbed up and down, repeatedly. And as Bush intoned, "... so help me God," Harkin finished with a pair of gentle pats.

"Precious and few are the moments we two can share..."

30 posted on 03/20/2005 6:51:59 AM PST by niteowl77
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To: kitkat

:-D


31 posted on 03/20/2005 6:52:57 AM PST by silent_jonny (Pro-Life, Pro-Terri)
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To: cardinal4

He probably meant to say "he'd be president today if only 60,000 Ohioans had switched votes SO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER TO CHEAT"


32 posted on 03/20/2005 6:54:14 AM PST by Bigh4u2
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To: bitt

"Let me be the first to call you . . .LOOOOOOOOOOOOSER!"


33 posted on 03/20/2005 6:54:58 AM PST by bastantebueno55 (Viva Jorge W Arbusto!)
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To: bitt
Some backers won't count him out. Others don't want a "shopworn" candidate.

If the Democrats run a candidate from The People's Republic of Massashootme they have 2 possibilities for a candidate "Shopworn" or "Hopsworn".

34 posted on 03/20/2005 6:55:30 AM PST by hflynn
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To: silent_jonny

Reagan came back, too.


35 posted on 03/20/2005 6:56:17 AM PST by krb (ad hominem arguments are for stupid people)
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To: bitt
"(The word in Washington is that Kerry will sign the form soon.)"

That is utter BS!

36 posted on 03/20/2005 6:56:21 AM PST by Radix (How does one get get rid of of Tag Line Line hiccups?)
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To: krb
I should've been more specific: "Failed presidential nominees ...
37 posted on 03/20/2005 6:57:04 AM PST by silent_jonny (Pro-Life, Pro-Terri)
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To: CROSSHIGHWAYMAN
Kerry has a spine? Go back to bed!LOL!


38 posted on 03/20/2005 6:57:34 AM PST by smoothsailing (Eagles Up !!)
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To: Piquaboy

amen to that. Some of my favorite people are Iowans and they deserve a lot better that Tom Harkin.
May God bless the state of Iowa with sound leadership.


39 posted on 03/20/2005 6:58:40 AM PST by GrannyAnnie (as right as I can be)
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To: bitt

Where does this 60,000 Ohioans number come from? Bush took the state by about 118,000, right?


40 posted on 03/20/2005 7:01:04 AM PST by floridavoter2
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