Kerry to pick up campaign pace in fall

[Nicholas_J]

Kerry campaign opts to pick up pace in fall

Plans key speech at Old Ironsides

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff, 7/9/2003

ANTUCKET -- Senator John F. Kerry is planning a burst of campaign activity this fall, including a formal announcement speech possibly set against a backdrop of the USS Constitution, in a concerted effort to elevate his presidential candidacy among the Democratic contenders and cast himself as the party's most credible alternative to President Bush.


At the conclusion of two days of meetings with 21 top political aides, the Massachusetts Democrat pronounced himself satisfied with the state of his campaign and eager to get to the voting that begins in January.

''If someone would have told me two years ago we would be in the strong position we're in today for my first national campaign, I would not have believed it,'' Kerry said in an interview on the seaside lawn of a summer vacation home on Nantucket. ''We're ahead of schedule in terms of raising money -- we have more cash on hand than any of the other candidates -- and we have very strong ground operations in the early states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina. . . . Obviously there are sort of some message challenges, but they are normal.''

Kerry refused to provide details about the outcome of his staff meetings, but he confirmed that he will make a public declaration of his presidential candidacy probably in September or October, possibly set against the image of the Constitution in Boston Harbor. The backdrop of ''Old Ironsides,'' the Navy's oldest commissioned warship, would not only pay tribute to the region's history, but the candidate's unique Navy combat experience. Kerry officially became a candidate in December when he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, but campaigns typically hold an additional public declaration to attract media attention.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/190/nation/Kerry_campaign_opts_to_pick_up_pace_in_fall+.shtml

[chimpymustgo]

1. Kerry is in great shape heading down the stretch.

And he got lots of face time this week taking on *. Kerry definitely has a level of gravitas that will expose the Fraud for what he is. Edwards is still my number one - but Kerry, strong 2.

[phillybri]

2. He's pacing himself beautifully....

Go John!!!

[Nicholas_J]

4. Kerry hasnt even begun to campaign

HE is relaxing for the fall, when the media will begin looking more closely at the records of the other candidates, most particularly Dean, because so little is known about him and Vermont while he was governor.Dean has been the media's pet lately because of his dark horse label. but they will sooon begin to look for the dark horses darker secrets.

Deans fights with liberal will very likely become an issue, most particularly with progressives and liberal democrats, and the term Bush-Lite will come back in a differnt incarnation and very likely be used against Dean himself, by comparing Bush Conservatism to Dean Conservatism.CLOSELY. Kerry will let the media do its job and benefit from it.

[DrFunkenstein]

3. Time Again To Compare Bush's Manhood

From the authoritative look at Bush's crotch after his carrier landing, "Bush's Basket: Why the President Had to Show His Balls," a Village Voice piece about Bush's over-snug flight suit and masculinity.

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0321/goldstein.php

"Bush may be a master of populist pretense, but he can't claim to be self-made. His saga rests on his quest to be a man. The real triumph of Bush's media team is not a matter of lighting and positioning but of creating a presidential persona that radiates stead-fastness, plainspokenness, sexual continence, and righteous religiosity. These are the hallmarks of conservative macho.

But something about Bush's image seems as artificially enhanced as his crotch. His need to flaunt it can be read as a response to anxiety. If you have to show your balls, maybe it's because you can't take them for granted. That isn't just Bush's problem. If macho seems so tragicomically x-treme these days, it's because many men think masculinity could actually disappear."

---

"Kerry isn't the front-runner, yet the White House has singled him out for sexual calumny. To understand this fixation, you have to consider Kerry's stature (he towers over Bush), his war record, and his sloe-eyed Kennedy aura. In another era, these would be clear signals of masculinity. Today, you have to flash your stash, and Kerry's patrician style doesn't lend itself to that. But he does have those tales from 'Nam, and in a one-on-one he could expose the angst under Bush's aggression. If the economy tanks while Iraq seethes, we just might have a real contest."

---

Clearly, Kerry is gunning to compare his mojo to Bush's this fall. It's possible that the "AWOL" issue might slip out, but it might be too early to let the bomb drop just yet. Check out this quote, from the Globe article:

''I'm confident that whatever campaign spends money will go up in numbers'' in public-opinion polls, Kerry said. Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont, saw such results in recent weeks after he became the first candidate to air TV commercials.

Nonetheless, Kerry said, ''It's too early, in my judgment.''

- That's the sound of a chessmaster at work. The man is not going to prematurely shoot his load when nobody is paying attention. It was the right move for Dean at the time, but Kerry is clearly working at the determined, but leisurely pace of a marathoner.

And how's this for an aloof patrician:

"Throughout the interview, the senator was unusually relaxed. He wore sandals and a Nantucket Golf Club polo shirt, and alternately sat on the grass and stood as he fiddled with a clasp from his kiteboarding harness that broke while he was on Nantucket Sound on Sunday. While he was sailing, Kerry came across a boater stranded on a sand bar. An aide said Kerry tried to pull the boat free before sailing back to his house, where he notified the Coast Guard."