The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 2)

br> While Sen. John Kerry 's presidential campaign continues to hum along in its front-runner of the month mode, his fellow Democratic contenders -- and the Bush re-election team -- are waiting for the announcement they feel surely will be coming from the liberal Massachusetts Democrat: that's he's going to take his campaign off the books, decline federal matching funds and go private. That's the same approach the Bush team took in 2000 to great success, breaking all fundraising records for a presidential run. /p>

Kerry married well when he caught the eye of Teresa Heinz, whose late husband, Republican Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz, was scion to the condiment empire.

Thus far, Kerry has said he plans to run his campaign within the guidelines for federal matching funds, and that he would not use his wife's wealth for the campaign, unless his competition -- Democrat or Republican -- made personal attacks against him or his wife. How gallant.

Now it appears Kerry, who has enjoyed a good opening month since formally announcing his candidacy, is looking to big-foot his competition early and take his campaign in a direction that surely will affect his Democrat competition. According to several Kerry campaign sources, the candidate is mulling over the notion of just giving up the ghost and announcing early that he'll take the campaign private.

No other announced candidate has the kind of personal wealth to compete with Kerry. And his national fundraising team is solid, perhaps superior to that of several competitors: former Vermont Gov. Howie Dean, Sen. John Edwards, and Rev. Al Sharpton. Rep. Dick Gephardt and Sen. Joe Lieberman, who lately has been snapping up staff from the 2000 Gore campaign and former Clinton aides, are perhaps best positioned to compete against Kerry, but still can't match his bank account.

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