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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (334278)	12/28/2002 5:43:12 PM
From: American Spirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

South Carolina learning to love/support John Kerry. He is currently tied among democrats in SC with John Edwards from North Carolina, surprising support explained by his 100% support from SC veterans groups. Kerry recently appeared at The Citadel on "hardball", a very right-wing pro-Bush group indeed. However by the end of their time together the Cadets were giving John Kerry a standing ovation, impressed with his courage in battle and his explanations for not wanting to let the last man in Vietnam die for a mistake. South Carolina veterans feel betrayed by Bush who lied to them about McCain and his plans to support veterans during the 2000 campaign. South Carolina article: Democrats favor Kerry for president U.S. Sen. John Kerry, who is laying the groundwork for a possible White House campaign in 2004, is an early favorite among South Carolina Democratic leaders. They like his style, his straight talk, and common-sense approach to solving problems. U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., has all but endorsed him. The Massachusetts Democrat has been traveling the country, raising millions of dollars. He has hired staffers and consultants with national political experience. He has visited South Carolina three times. Kerry says he'll make a decision before the end of January. South Carolina's 2004 Democratic presidential primary will be in February, the first contest in the South. "It could be real important," Kerry says. Some state Democrats have already told him privately they will be with him if he runs, Kerry says. But he declined to name them. "I probably ought to let them tell you," Kerry says. If there is any drawback to Kerry's candidacy in this moderate-to-conservative state, it is that he is seen as "that northeastern liberal from Massachusetts." Kerry is constantly asked about that, and he hits it head-on. "Massachusetts is not the state people think it is," he said in a recent interview. He noted the state voted for Ronald Reagan twice, backed conservative Washington Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson for president in a Democratic primary, and that five of the last six governors have been conservative Republicans. "I'm going to rely on talking to people and meeting people and hoping they'll listen and see who I really am," he says. Kerry, 58, considered running in 2000 but concluded he didn't have enough time to raise the more than $20 million he thought he'd need. Kerry said at the time that he and his wife, Heinz foods heir Teresa Heinz, decided against using their own money, which totals in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He said he would rather run on a broad base of individual supporters. Kerry doesn't take money from political action committees representing corporations, labor unions and interest groups. A Yale graduate who lives in Boston, Kerry is extremely well regarded on Capitol Hill. But he may have an identity problem outside Massachusetts and Washington. He's a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee. He's also a Vietnam war veteran who led protests after returning home. On the domestic front, Kerry has demonstrated an independent streak, breaking with many in his party in 1985 to support the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit-reduction measure. He fought hard for welfare reform and led the push to put 100,000 extra cops on the streets. Kerry says he's confident in his ability to talk to people and show his values aren't much different from those of South Carolinians. "I think they'll like the fact that I'm a guy who tells it straight," he says. One thing he's sick and tired of is labeling people "liberals" or "conservatives." He said he would love to walk into a Republican audience, "look them in the eye, and let them grill me, and talk about the things that really matter." That would be fun to watch.