If any moment summed up passing the baton this election, it was this

[ProSense]

Senator John Kerry endorses Barack Obama (which reminded me of this)

A lot of people were waiting to see who Kerry would endorse, and it has turned out grand.

I thought about this after Obama's 30-minute infomercial. He possibly couldn't have done it had he not opted out of public financing.

Lessons learned.

[ProSense]

1. Wow,

more than 120 views and no comments.


The second link is to Kennedy introducing Kerry in Iowa 2004, great stuff.

[blm]

5. Beyond the obvious, Kerry turned over HIS national team to Obama - and once the Clinton loyalists

were subtracted (to the Clinton campaign) that team had TeamClinton defeated by Super Tuesday.

[ProSense]

7. Kerry made a bold and courageous move

Conventional wisdom held that it would hurt him, but then again, CW is worthless.

[politicasista]

8. Yep.

I remember the attacks, and name calling towards him here saying that it would hurt Obama too. :rofl:

[blm]

9. he really had NOTHING to lose, imo...Clintons had already done their dirt to him for years...

so, dispatching his team to Obama to help break the stranglehold the Clintons had on the Dem party looked like a natural move for someone of his integrity.

[karynnj]

11. I think the endorsement was because Kerry, as he said, saw that

Obama could be a transformational President - something Kerry always wanted to be himself, especially on foreign policy.

I think there was a risk, but it was the certainty of having to deal with angry Democrats in his own state. It was not the risk of losing his seat, but it did mean he had to deal with a nasty challenger, who would never have been on the ballot otherwise. In terms of influence in the Senate, he will clearly have more in an Obama administration. Under either he would be better off than he was in 2005 - 2006, when the Republicans and one wing of the Democrats tried to make it hard.

[politicasista]

12. Something that doesn't make sense

I have noticed that Obama is being lauded for taking the high road, being calm, cool, smooth, and presidential, but Kerry was, and still is attacked here and everywhere for taking the high road and being calm and presidential.

Though there is no comparison needed, but that's sorta mind-boggling in a way, isn't it?

[ProSense]

13. It's phony.

Ulterior motives. I keep seeing one left blogger who insist on repeating McCain's Kerry VP rumor every chance he gets.

The funny thing is watching as the GOP candidates who are up for re-election invoke Kerry's name to try to burnish their bipartisan credentials.

[politicasista]

14. Oh, that makes sense

I see people here repeat that too and other corporate media spin against Kerry.

It's just weird. :)

[karynnj]

15. I think it's beacuse they don't want to see the contradiction

Remember long ago when we were arguing that Kerry had to run a high road, calm presidential race and that he could not do more attacking than he did - and he did more than Obama is doing, possibly because he had few good strong surrogates. (Clark and Cleland and sometimes Dean were not enough - Edwards clearly should have been out there fighting and given the result he likely knows that now.)

Kerry and Obama are alike in temperament - but they are not all that similar otherwise. Obama is more outgoing - though I wonder if a Kerry who had never been attacked by the media as he intensely was in 1972 and later - might be more similar. He is funny and laughs easily and in the video when there is no media he is very charming and relaxed. Had he won, that is the Kerry that likely would have been seen more often.

I think part of the reluctance to acknowledge how similar their temperaments are and how they both have held themselves to high standards is because it takes away an argument they had for nearly 4 years - that had Kerry acted as a Michael Moore against Bush or had he blown his top at the SBVT - he would have won. That is NOT what Obama is doing and they can see that he is getting credit for his behavior. (Also, admitting that Obama is similar on that account might be scary now because the election is not over - and anything like Kerry may scare them.)

[politicasista]

18. That makes sense too

I always thought that just because of the BCCI thing and daring to go against the establishment was why few Democrats jumped to his defense or weren't surrogates when the smears made the rounds. I noticed many of them are now standing with Obama. Guess things had to get bad, if not worse for them to wake up and pay attention.

[karynnj]

19. You might be right on that - or they may have already written off the year

and thought that it was not in their self interest to help. But with Carter, it might have been BCCI, which caught Bert Lance and Kerry's close connection to Kennedy. He was one who had the moral authority and veteran status to have called out the SBVT. (it kind of hurts that he didn't - though that could even have been Kerry's 1971 protest - Carter honored Lt Calley when he got out of jail.)

[politicasista]

21. Wow, I didn't know that n/t

[karynnj]

23. I fortunately didn't know it until reading it after 2004 on DU

He was the Governor of Georgia the state Calley returned to. There were many who thought it wrong that no one higher up was also held responsible. That however did not make him even innocent, much less a hero. I was shocked reading the DU thread then that many white southern Democrats here on DU saw nothing wrong with this - and at the same time were critical of Kerry's 1971 action.

I say fortunately - as that would have made it impossible for me to vote for him - though I disliked Ford. I almost voted for Anderson as it was in 1980.

[politicasista]

28. That's interesting stuff

Glad I didn't join until after the 04 election. :)

[politicasista]

2. Yep. Good stuff

:kick:

[ProSense]

3. Kerry is campaigning in NH this weekend

for Obama and Shaheen

[politicasista]

4. That's awesome!

Everybody is doing a great job campaigning for Obama. :bounce:

[politicasista]

6. kick n/t

[karynnj]

10. There really is a common thread there

Both Kennedy and Kerry did a wonderful job in giving honest praise to the man each endorsed.

[Dr Fate]

16. Kerry is the man. I bad mouthed him once or twice, but I'll always love the guy.

I vowed that he would always have my support if he kept his promise on SCOTUS filibusters- he kept his, I'll keep mine.

[Cha]

17. I knew Kerry would endorse Obama..he

brought him to the national party, didn't he?:party:

Thanks for the review, ProSense~

Thankfully Obama went the smartest route and passed on public financing which mccain tried to get out of too..but thanks to Dean and the law..he couldn't do it.

<snip>

"CNN) -- Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean accused Republican presidential front-runner John McCain of trying to skirt campaign finance laws Sunday by trying to opt out of public financing for his primary campaign.

Howard Dean says John McCain has been trying to dodge some campaign finance laws.

1 of 2 Dean told reporters McCain has already used the prospect of nearly $6 million in federal matching funds -- which he now says he won't claim -- as collateral for a January campaign loan and to obtain automatic ballot access in every state.

Dean said he was filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to block McCain from quitting the public financing system, which imposes a spending cap on candidates.

"The law is very, very clear," Dean said. "He cannot be let out of the matching fund program if he has already used the promise of matching funds for loan collateral, and it's already clear from his FEC report that he has used that promise."

<move>
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/24/mccain.finance/i...

And, this article on mccain..


"Yep, there's more articles, but here is one
Posted by BostonTLover
There's more articles out there, but just quickly browsing, I found this:

http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2008/02/mccai...

In plain English, McCain got the loan by promising a publicly-funded bailout, if anything went wrong. The FEC is not amused.

McCain opted for public financing when his campaign was struggling last summer. Then, when his electoral fortunes rebounded, he told the FEC he wanted out again.

Rick Hansen of the Election Law blog writes, "Meanwhile, as Marc Schmitt has documented (see here, here, and here), McCain, in applying for a campaign loan, apparently promised to remain a candidate and opt back in to the system in the event his campaign faltered again."

McCain didn't get the public money in his pocket, but he borrowed against the promise of public money. In the eyes of the FEC, benefiting from the prospect of public money may be tantamount to taking the cash.

McCain could be in big trouble if the FEC won't release him from the program. Public financing imposes strict spending and fund raising limits. McCain has already burned through about $46 million, betting on his ability to raise still more money from private donors.

What a smarmy sleazeball. The McCain of McCain Feingold can't even make it to through the primary without embroiling himself in shady private financing schemes."

Sorry to veer OT but people have forgotten about mccain trying to snivel out of Campaign Public Finance.

[ProSense]

22. The GOP's

outrage about the public financing issue is BS. McCain has done everything to get around the law he supported.

[TheDonkey]

20. I was so proud when Kerry came out for Obama early in the primary season

he did not wait until it was "safe" or even dramatic. He cam out early because he KNEW that Obama was the guy.

[ProSense]

24. Nice photo

Democratic Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama shakes
hands with Senator John Kerry at the 2008 Democratic National
Convention in Denver, August 27, 2008. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

[No Elephants]

25. Tissues everyone, for Sen. Kennedy leaving chemo to place the Kennedy family mantle on Obama at the

convention. Remember, he had to go to the hospital when he got to Denver.

I love that man. If he had not been stricken, he would have been stumping for Obama like nobody's business. He had to be hospitalized and told them he had to be home in time for the debate. (The third one.)

Have I mentioned, I love that man?

[ProSense]

29. Awesome moment

DNC Tribute and Speech by Sen. Edward Kennedy

[politicasista]

31. I miss Uncle Ted too

Here is hoping he will be around for President Obama's inauguration. :toast:

[Bake]

26. I think it was Ted Kennedy's endorsement, personally.

Bake

[ProSense]

27. Kennedy's endorsement was awesome.

In 2004, Kennedy passed the baton to Kerry (see the clip at the second link in the OP). This year, Kennedy endorsed Obama a few weeks after Kerry so that's why I consider his endorsement the moment the baton was passed.

[politicasista]

32. It was awesome

To each his own. They're will be some who will say the Kennedy or other big name endorsements were more personal, mattered more, or just refuse to give Kerry any credit because he didn't endorse other candidates or because of past grudges (i.e. 04). Noticed it wasn't covered (in magazines or non-political blogs) as much as the other endorsements were. He and Obama might have wanted it that way, you think?

[Tribetime]

30. I think it was the turning point, followed up by Kennedy a week later

[BlooInBloo]

33. Not the "passing" of the baton. The fucking TAKING of the baton.

EDIT: Which was Super Tuesday, if it isn't obvious.

[blm]

34. It actually happened FAR EARLIER than media realizes. Kerry turned over his national organization

to Obama MINUS the Clinton loyalists who were always really working for Clintons all along. Once you subtract the saboteurs from your political organization and ADD the community organization potential, the team was far stronger than the one Clintons fielded.

The quiet team behind Obama's rise was Durbin, Daschle and Kerry. Media only saw Oprah....heheh.