BEAR ANY BURDEN
Apparently Sen. John Kerry cares enough about what
Sen. Ted Kennedy thinks of him that the
presumptive presidential candidate called Kennedy to inform him
that he would not cross the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association
picket line at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Boston on
Monday.
Kerry was scheduled to speak at the conference, but abruptly
pulled out. While a Kennedy Senate staffer said that the senior
senator appreciated the courtesy call, the two men remain cool.
“Kerry should have been speaking to us about the problems in
Boston weeks ago,” says the Kennedy staffer. “One good move in
support of organized labor does not make up for weeks of ignoring
the issues.”
While Kerry might have won a point with Kennedy, he lost big
time with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who got hung
out by Kerry’s abrupt exit. In fact, some Democrats in Boston say
Menino may rue the day he got involved with Kerry.
“The Democratic Convention is a disaster. The city will not end
up making the kind of money Menino was promising a year ago.
Business is going to suffer. The union contracts have placed him in
a terrible position and Kerry had done nothing to help him,” says a
Boston-based Democratic political activist.
KEAN INTEREST
Some Democratic advisers to Sen. John Kerry have
been pushing him to consider former New Jersey Gov. Tom
Kean, a Republican, as his vice-presidential choice. Kean,
who has proven himself a reliable tool of the Democratic members of
the 9/11 Commission, which he co-chairs, is the latest in a series
of liberal Republicans floated by the campaign, the other most
prominent name being former Sen. William
Cohen.
Kean hasn’t expressed or shown any interest in getting back into
competitive politics, but the name floating is probably due to some
Democratic concerns that New Jersey is now in play in the
presidential campaign.
The Bush campaign recently began advertising in the state once
thought to be a solid winner for Kerry, while the Kerry campaign
has been spending more than it had originally been budgeting for
the state.
“It’s closer than many of us think it should be,” says a DNC
staffer. “But no one’s freaking out about it yet. It’s up to the
campaign to fix what ever is wrong there.”
Bush has apparently been polling better than expected in the
Garden State, in part, because of his handling of homeland security
issues. “People forget that New Jersey was touched by September
11th as much as New York and Washington and Pennsylvania were,”
says the Democratic pollster. “It tracks that they would be
thinking about this election differently from previous
elections.”
As for the Kean rumor? “Hey, he fits the criteria: executive
experience, bland and nonthreatening, from an important state. But
let’s face it, he doesn’t have a chance in hell of even getting a
vetting,” says a Kerry campaign adviser.
BLAME IT ON RIO
Former prez Bill Clinton was in Las Vegas Sunday
night for a Nevada Democratic Party fundraiser at the Rio hotel and
casino, and, from reviews, didn’t do John Kerry
any favors. While Clinton warmly endorsed the candidate, he spoke
for almost 45 minutes in a room with about 350 people. By the end,
according to eyewitnesses, people in the back were walking in and
out of the room.
“He talked about everything,” says an attendee, an employee from
another hotel. “He just yammered on and on. Who cares about Calvin
Coolidge?”
Apparently Clinton. The former president autographed some books
that audience members brought, but there was no formal book
signing. The state party, however, did buy more than 1,000 copies
of the book to give away to supporters. Once again, the Clintons’
book sales seem pegged to the favors they perform for their
followers.
