Another "local supporters" piece.
washingtonpost.com
Kerry Supporters in N.H. Feel Adulation and Anxiety
By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 9, 2004; Page A08
MERRIMACK, N.H. -- For Bill Kennedy, choosing a Democratic presidential nominee was the easy part.
"I already have a family physician, so I'm not looking for another doctor," Kennedy said, poking fun at Howard Dean.
"I'm looking for a leader, and that's you. It's always been you," he told John F. Kerry.
The hard part, Kennedy fears, may be getting his man elected.
"You are behind in the polls in New Hampshire -- way behind, in fact," he told Kerry at an open meeting Wednesday night. "You may win New Hampshire. But if you lose in this state and come in second -- and I hope that doesn't happen -- can you overtake him down the road?"
Kerry, a four-term senator from Massachusetts, had a ready reply for his nervous supporters.
"With the energy building in this state and the energy building in Iowa, I believe we can win, and I'm not planning on any losses right now," he said to cheers. "Don't worry about the polls -- let's go out and do the work we need to do over these next weeks."
When he entered the presidential contest more than a year ago, Kerry had several advantages -- a lengthy résumé, war-hero status and close proximity to this first-in-the-nation primary state. But he has failed to translate those credentials into the standard early measures of political success, namely money and strong poll numbers. With less than three weeks left to the voting (and less than two weeks to the Iowa caucuses), Kerry's troops have been voicing a mixture of frustration, confusion and desperation.
"I want him to go up in the polls so bad," said Linda Piper, a waitress at Veano's Italian Kitchen. Kerry has visited the Concord restaurant twice, and Piper is supporting him because of his experience and because "he's not for the rich people; he's for me."
Analysts blame Kerry's seemingly aloof style and campaign shake-ups last fall. Former New Hampshire governor Jeanne Shaheen, Kerry's national campaign chairwoman, said voters in the state tend to make up their minds late, sometimes after the Iowa caucuses.
"I've never worked for a candidate who was ahead in the polls at this point in time," she said in an interview.
Shaheen supported Al Gore in 2000 and was a key adviser to Gary Hart when he ran. "People come and hear John Kerry and they are reassured," she said. "They confirm for themselves that he would be the strongest candidate against George Bush."
Or as one Kerry supporter put it Thursday: "At least now it seems like he wants it."
Kerry has suggested that the war in Iraq and the capture of Saddam Hussein last month turned voter attention elsewhere. But now, he contends, voters are paying attention.
"People are comparative shopping right now, and in the case of some candidates there may even be some buyer's remorse and people are beginning to look around," he said. "I think there's an opportunity over these next weeks to define what this race is really all about -- and I'm a fighter."
Later, he told reporters: "As I reach people, I am convinced I am going to win that confidence from more people than we have today."
Yet everywhere Kerry goes these days, he is greeted with a mix of adulation and anxiety. Even as the crowds grow larger and his stump performance gets smoother, voters cannot understand why he has consistently trailed Dean and now appears to be in a tight battle with retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark.
At a chili supper in Milford, friends stood in line to shake his hand and offer encouragement.
"Keep going," said a woman named Susan. "You have a vision."
"We're here to help," said a man named Tom.
Kerry, in turn, bucked them up. "We'll get there," he said to the pair. "You watch."
A few minutes later, Bob McArthur pulled Kerry aside for a huddle near the chips bowl. They were discussing, McArthur said afterward, whether Kerry had secured the endorsement of the electrical union at the General Electric plant in Lynn, Mass.
"He's more real than the other guys," said McArthur, who worked at the plant for 31 years. "I hope John's campaign gets some momentum. I'm a bit concerned. I can't figure it out."
Bill Marot has followed Kerry's career for decades and thinks the senator's difficulties are the work of Republicans, including Bush's chief political strategist. "A lot of it is Karl Rove and his people," Marot said. "They want Dean as the nominee. Dean can't win."
Before John Maraganis met Kerry, he "figured Kerry was just another rich kid." But after the Salem restaurant owner got to talk with Kerry, who started a bake shop in Boston, he was a fan.
"If everybody does get to meet him and hear him speak, they will be impressed by his knowledge of business," Maraganis said.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company |
