Posted on 04/15/2004 2:54:41 PM PDT by Libloather
Kerry Cuts Loose
NEW YORK, April 15, 2004
(CBS) By David Paul Kuhn,
CBSNews.com Chief Political Writer
John Kerry danced Wednesday night. For only a moment and somewhat awkwardly, but he couldn't help himself.
He had just raised a record $6.5 million in one day, more even than President Bush had on his best day, Sept. 30, when he collected $5.5 million in Chicago and Cincinnati.
Kerry had already exceeded that by a cool half-million before he came to Crobar, a club in Manhattan's trendy Chelsea district. Fresh from a gala at the midtown Sheraton, where serious men and women in serious garb handed over $6 million in serious cash, Kerry's $500,000 club fundraiser was icing on the cake.
Along with the 1,000 inside the club, there were hundreds outside waiting to get in. This was not the usual crowd of young revelers. Instead, there were yuppies. A sea of yuppies. There was scarcely a man in the room without his shirt tucked in and scarcely a woman without her hair pulled back.
One of the exceptions, a 20-ish woman in tight black pants and pink tube top, walked by a broad-shouldered, 6'5" Secret Service agent. The agent's head turned as she passed. His eyes widened. A patron saw him checking her out and he immediately stiffened.
Sen. Charles Schumer spoke first. The crowd cheered New York's senior senator as he introduced actress Natalie Portman.
Portman tried to rally her peers, but this wasn't her arena. She held the microphone too far from her face and was too girlishly nervous. Her soft voice lost in the noise. Dressed in a schoolgirl gray-plaid skirt and pink button-down shirt tied at her waist, she looked like Britney Spears going to a job interview.
"We use the right to drink as soon as we get it," she yelled, "use the right to vote."
Tom Delonge of Blink 182 followed Portman. He spoke fondly of the band's wartime performance on an aircraft carrier and the soldiers he met. He said he had pictures of Kerry posted all over his studio. A few in the crowd thought that strange.
The event was hosted by Kerry's stepson, Christopher Heinz, but it was his other stepson who stole the show.
As an almost giddy Kerry took the stage, he embraced his family, including wife Teresa Heinz Kerry. After a little cajoling, stepson Andre began doing impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Dressed in a suit and looking serious, Andre performed his hilarious imitations – and, at one point, a brief Irish jig – looking like an anchor for Comedy Central's Daily Show.
Christopher introduced his father like he was introducing a boxer. "Weighing in at 200 pounds and pushing it," he quipped, as Kerry took the stage. For about 15 minutes, he delivered his standard stump speech and joked about requests for Natalie Portman’s phone number.
"If we are going to win the legitimate war on terror the United States of America needs to win some friends and allies on this planet," Kerry told the diverse, cheering New York crowd.
After the speech, the usually staid Kerry worked the room with his jacket off and tie a little loose. Drum and bass blared on the speakers as the crowd packed the front of the club to meet the presumptive Democratic nominee.
"The people here are straight-laced, white bread and buttoned up," said waitress Tamara Melawitz, 32. She and her cocktailing colleague Rachel McGovern began to giggle when asked about the night's clientele.
"But after a couple of drinks everybody's the same," clarified McGovern, 26, giving a knowing smile as she yelled over the music.
Hollywood actors Steve Buscemi and Marisa Tomei, both Brooklyn natives, were cavorting in the elite section for elite Democrats.
Singer Moby was somewhere. Tennis star John McEnroe schmoozed backstage. Portman joked with the Heinz sons. Teresa kept a low profile, as she often does at these mass events.
Kerry had earlier visited Harlem with Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Charlie Rangel. He read books to children, did the big fundraiser – a fairly standard campaign day. But this Chelsea event was different. It was the stiff Kerry loosening up, if only because the crowd encouraged it.
The young people had Howard Dean-like energy. What Kerry lacked in charisma was made up for by the young Democrats' enthusiasm for beating President Bush.
"People here tonight came for a reason," said McGovern, in the tight club uniform of black, adding that the tips were better than usual.
So what's the reason they came?
"Because John Kerry's awesome," she replied excitedly. "He even gave props to Crobar, so he's pretty cool."
Dancing - before verifying certain RAT checks don't bounce? Maybe not such a smart move...
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1966 black-and-white file photo of Democratic presidential candiate, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites)'s from the Yale University yearbook. John Kerry, Young Republican? Or has the Democratic candidate for president been punk'd after nearly 40 years? Among the many activities listed under Kerry's photo in the Yale University yearbook of 1966 is membership in Yale Young Republicans. Both the Kerry campaign and the club's president at the time think the listing is a mistake, if not a prank. (AP Photo/Yale University) |
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