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Democrat Bob Shrum quitting politics NEW YORK, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Democrat Bob Shrum, who for 30 years has been one of his party's most influential strategists and was a top Kerry campaign adviser, is quitting politics. The New York Times reported Thursday that Shrum, who is moving to New York to be a senior fellow at New York University, was through with political consulting. "I wanted to reflect on what I've done, not just keep doing it," he said in an interview. Shrum played key roles in eight losing Democrat presidential campaigns and two-dozen winning Senate races. In his...

Here it is, boys and girls... the 5 biggest losers of 2004 4th runner up - The UN & Kofi Annan: With the insurgency still going strong in Iraq this probably could have been a good year for the UN in terms of American bashing. Annan and gang would have loved to have been in complete smug 'we told you so' mode, but instead they find themselves knee deep in the food for oil scandal. (top for at the website)

Fine Gael has hired a leading US political consultant and pollster, who has worked for Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela, to assist in its preparations for the next general election. Consultant Stanley Greenberg has also advised former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on election strategy. A Fine Gael spokesman confirmed that the party had retained Greenberg - who has offices in Washington, London and Tel Aviv - since just after the local elections in June. It is understood that Fine Gael has had a relationship with Greenberg's firm for even longer. This year...

The election of 2004 will be remembered for many things, some of which may play out for years to come. The GOP has broadened its base among minorities and women, and has strengthened its ties to Catholic and Jewish groups. The party has also energized and turned out the Christian base en masse, which all leads to the exit-polling sleeper that reflected the number-one issue concerning the country today, moral values. This came as quite a shock for the old media elites, as most among them believed that the issues of terrorism, Iraq, and the economy would decide voters. Perhaps...

Each day at the Democratic convention in Boston, a team of 10 speechwriters would convene in a windowless office behind the Fleet Center podium to help compose and polish that night's speeches. In the spirit of camaraderie, the speechwriters discussed making T-shirts for themselves. One suggested a design featuring the slogan "Reverse the Curse" over a picture of Bob Shrum, the Democratic strategist whom many perceived to be presidential candidate John Kerry's closest adviser. "The Curse" referred to Shrum's career-long slump in presidential campaigns, a well-catalogued losing streak that runs from George McGovern to Al Gore. The shirts were never...

I'm sorry to post such a simple question instead of a news report, but it seems to me that Karl Rove is drawn as Dracula by Dems, but since all political leaders have a political advisor, I'd like to find out who John Kerry's political advisor is. I know Rand Beers is his sr NSA, but political advisor (ie, the Democrats Dracula-esque version of Karl Rove) remains a mystery to me. Thanks Sam Pender author of Iraq's Smoking Gun

 There may be copyright problems so I'm posting just the link

www.bostonmagazine.com ArchivesThe Guy Behind the Guyby Jon Keller Copyright July 2004.Political guru Bob Shrum has more influence than anyone on what comes out of John Kerry's mouth. Even now, he's crafting the most important document of the convention: Kerry's acceptance speech. Considering Shrum's track re-cord, the Republicans couldn't be happier. "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." -- 1980 Democratic National Convention concession speech written for Senator Edward Kennedy by Bob Shrum On the evening of Thursday, July 29, a...

Political guru Bob Shrum has more influence than anyone on what comes out of John Kerry's mouth. Even now, he's crafting the most important document of the convention: Kerry's acceptance speech. Considering Shrum's track re-cord, the Republicans couldn't be happier. "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." -- 1980 Democratic National Convention concession speech written for Senator Edward Kennedy by Bob Shrum On the evening of Thursday, July 29, a limousine escorted by police will glide past the hapless working-class Bostonians...

I never thought I'd lose to John Kerry in 1996. Although Kerry was the incumbent senator and had been in public life longer than I had, his style seemed to me out of touch with the voters. In fact, Kerry succeeded in making me—often subjected to the charge of being patrician—look like a lunch-pail Democrat: of the people as well as for the people. A lunch-pail Democrat is the best thing you can look like in Massachusetts, and I had received 71 percent of the vote in my re-election campaign for governor just two years earlier. I believed I was...

As he prepares for the most ambitious and defining phase of his presidential candidacy, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) is relying on image-makers schooled in traditional Kennedy liberalism to sell himself anew to voters as a 21st-century centrist Democrat, a muscular hawk on national defense and deficits. Bob Shrum, longtime confidant of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), is emerging as the most influential shaper of Kerry's image and words. Shrum, a purveyor of populism who has a reputation for angling for control of campaigns and sometimes alienating colleagues in the process, helped elbow out Kerry's campaign manager last year and...

Word is inside the Kerry camp is that wife Teresa Heinz Kerry wants hubby advisor Bob Shrum off the campaign. 'She's p*ssed that Senator Kerry wasnt more offensive minded earlier in the race and ceded control to Howard Dean,' says a Kerry Staffer in Washington.Shrum, youll recall was an earlier advisor to Senator Edwards, before jumping to Kerry's camp because Kerry was willing to give him a level of control that Edwards wasn't willing to surrender.MNow that Edwards is buried in the back of the polls, and Kerry folks are blaming Shrum for their problems, perhaps Shrum will find solace...