The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> WHO WILL CARRIER SOUTH CAROLINA? br> For several months, presidential campaign staffers of Sen. John Kerry had been planning on their man standing before "Old Ironsides" in Boston Harbor when formally announcing his candidacy for the highest office in the land. /p>

But over the past few days, adviser Bob Shrum has pressed for a more political and "in your face" approach to the announcement. "He [Shrum] wants a more aggressive speech, a more aggressive setting," says a Kerry aide in Washington.

So now plans are for Kerry to announce in front of the USS Yorktown down in South Carolina on September 2. In an early draft of his remarks, Kerry takes a direct shot at Bush, ridiculing him for his spring speech from the deck of an aircraft carrier, and disparaging the president, claiming that that appearance was a metaphor for his entire administration, all staging, no substance, all fiction, no facts.

"It's going to be a tough, bare-knuckle speech," says the Kerry aide. "It's going to establish the senator as the front runner, the straight talker and put people like [ex-Gov. Howie] Dean behind him. We're sure of it. The competition is going to see us shift into a whole new speed after September 2."

Kerry's announcing in South Carolina is a bit surprising in that everyone expected him to stick close to home and reinforce his strength in the Northeast. But Shrum is looking past the early "excite the base" days and is seemingly looking to take on the Bush Administration from the get-go in a state where Kerry is beginning to focus some of his campaign energy.

"Kerry is a frontrunner in New Hampshire. He's doing okay in Iowa. Now he's looking at raising his profile down south," says the Kerry aide. "If we push [Sen. John] Edwards back a bit down here, we probably push him out of the race altogether."

Edwards has staked out South Carolina as his do or die state in deterring in how far he takes his presidential aspirations.

p> DAMSEL IN DISTRESS br> Someone who isn't pushing her aspirations very hard is former Sen.

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