Kerry campaign opts to pick up pace in fall
Plans key speech at Old Ironsides
By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff, 7/9/2003
ANTUCKET -- Senator John F. Kerry is planning a burst of campaign activity this fall, including a formal announcement speech possibly set against a backdrop of the USS Constitution, in a concerted effort to elevate his presidential candidacy among the Democratic contenders and cast himself as the party's most credible alternative to President Bush.
At the conclusion of two days of meetings with 21 top political aides, the Massachusetts Democrat pronounced himself satisfied with the state of his campaign and eager to get to the voting that begins in January.
''If someone would have told me two years ago we would be in the strong position we're in today for my first national campaign, I would not have believed it,'' Kerry said in an interview on the seaside lawn of a summer vacation home on Nantucket. ''We're ahead of schedule in terms of raising money -- we have more cash on hand than any of the other candidates -- and we have very strong ground operations in the early states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina. . . . Obviously there are sort of some message challenges, but they are normal.''
Kerry refused to provide details about the outcome of his staff meetings, but he confirmed that he will make a public declaration of his presidential candidacy probably in September or October, possibly set against the image of the Constitution in Boston Harbor. The backdrop of ''Old Ironsides,'' the Navy's oldest commissioned warship, would not only pay tribute to the region's history, but the candidate's unique Navy combat experience. Kerry officially became a candidate in December when he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, but campaigns typically hold an additional public declaration to attract media attention.
In Kerry's case, the speech will not only be aimed at elevating his national profile, but also distinguishing him from the rest of field. The campaign is also planning to unveil a number of high-profile endorsements this fall, aimed at convincing voters of Kerry's credibility as a candidate. Those supporters include Henry Cisneros, a Hispanic who was housing secretary in the Clinton administration. He prematurely revealed his support for Kerry in a recent interview with a Texas newspaper.
Kerry said he and his aides made no decision about when to begin advertising in the early-voting states, but he acknowledged that the topic was discussed at the meeting. ''I'm confident that whatever campaign spends money will go up in numbers'' in public-opinion polls, Kerry said. Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont, saw such results in recent weeks after he became the first candidate to air TV commercials.
Nonetheless, Kerry said, ''It's too early, in my judgment.''
Throughout the interview, the senator was unusually relaxed. He wore sandals and a Nantucket Golf Club polo shirt, and alternately sat on the grass and stood as he fiddled with a clasp from his kiteboarding harness that broke while he was on Nantucket Sound on Sunday. While he was sailing, Kerry came across a boater stranded on a sand bar. An aide said Kerry tried to pull the boat free before sailing back to his house, where he notified the Coast Guard.
Told that Governor Mitt Romney and two sons had helped rescue passengers from a boat sinking in New Hampshire's Lake Winnepesaukee on Saturday, Kerry said: ''Oh really? I hadn't heard that. That's great news.''
The meeting attracted a number of longtime Kerry aides, including pollster Tom Kiley, strategist John Marttila, tactician Michael Whouley, and former aide Ronald Rosenblith. Others came from the top echelon of Kerry's current political organization, including chief of staff David McKean, campaign manager Jim Jordan, deputy campaign manager Marcus Jadotte, communications director Chris Lehane, policy adviser Sarah Bianchi, speechwriter David Wade, scheduler Kaaren Hinck, and political operatives Luis Navarro and Jill Alper.
Kerry's two top money men, campaign treasurer Robert Farmer and chief fund-raiser Peter Maroney, also attended the meetings, as did pollster Mark Mellman, media consultants Jim Margolis, Robert Shrum, and Michael Donilon, along with Kerry's brother, Cameron, and Jeffrey Lewis, chief of staff for Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. Heinz Kerry, who was entertaining houseguests, also attended some of the meetings.
''I looked around the table at a couple of points and felt very good about the team we have assembled,'' Kerry said in the interview. ''While I haven't done this before, a lot of these people have, and I'm very happy they're on my side.''
The mantra from both Kerry and his aides is that he has been running a consistent campaign.
While stumping in Concord, N.H., last night, Kerry said more international troops are needed in Iraq to ''win the peace,'' a task US soldiers there now are not well trained for, according to an Associated Press report. Kerry said that if he were president, he ''wouldn't have the prideful problem of'' promptly going to NATO and the United Nations to get troops from other countries involved in Iraq.
Glen Johnson can be reached at Johnson@Globe.com.
This story ran on page A5 of the Boston Globe on 7/9/2003.
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