Search for Kerry Ticket Mate Underway
________________________________
By Jim VandeHei and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 4, 2004
washingtonpost.com
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) yesterday launched a search for running mate that will consider everything from the historical importance of the South to the electoral necessity of tipping one of the nation's swing states away from President Bush, strategists inside and out of the campaign said.
Unlike many presidential nominees, Kerry does not exhibit major weaknesses such as foreign policy inexperience that must be compensated for with his vice presidential pick, the strategists said. A top Kerry adviser, who requested anonymity because the search has just begun, said there is no "obvious gap to fill" but emphasis will placed on the possibility of naming a southerner, a prerequisite for Democratic victories over the past 60 years. The last time Democrats won the White House without a southerner on the ticket was 1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (of Missouri).
Kerry yesterday named businessman and Democratic insider Jim Johnson, a former adviser to vice president Walter F. Mondale, to lead the search. Kerry is to outline the criteria for itas early as today.
A Democratic nominee has not picked someone to head his search committee this early in the process, underscoring Kerry's sense of urgency. The campaign had not intended to announce Johnson yesterday, but Kerry let the news slip, to the dismay of advisers.
Kerry is expected to cast a wide net for governors, women, minorities and swing-state political powerhouses. This would will allow him to stroke key officials and constituencies and to ensure that no one who might help the campaign effort is overlooked. Among those who may be considered, according to speculation outside the Kerry campaign, are four former rivals for the nomination: Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), Sens. John Edwards (N.C.) and Bob Graham (Fla.), and retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark. Several swing-state governors, including Iowa's Tom Vilsack, Pennsylvania's Edward G. Rendell and New Mexico's Bill Richardson, could add non-Washington balance to the ticket.
Several women are being talked about, including former New Hampshire governor Jeanne Shaheen, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, and former health and human services secretary Donna E. Shalala. Rep. John Lewis (Ga.), a civil rights champion, could be included.
Two names floated by influential Democrats outside the campaign: Robert E. Rubin and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). "The one person who . . . I think has the potential to really be a powerful voice against Bush's most significant vulnerability [the economy] is Bob Rubin," said John D. Podesta, the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.
The Kerry adviser said a selection is unlikely before May, but certain to be made before Democrats begin their July convention in Boston. "It's next to impossible to move next month if you wanted to," the adviser said. The chief advantage to an early pick is to make news during a slow period and to get a sidekick tocampaign, raise money and hammer Bush. The chief impediment to a quick decision is the exhaustive vetting process.
Presidential candidates typically seek out a running mate they are comfortable being around, such as Clinton and Al Gore in 1992, but it is not unprecedented to pick a rival, even a bitter one, as John F. Kennedy did when he tapped Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960.
In 2000, Gore picked Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), a conservative Democrat renowned for his fight for morality in entertainment, to help assure voters that the era of Clinton scandals was behind him.Bush went with Dick Cheney, in part because he liked and respected him and because he brought foreign policy heft.
Several Kerry supporters are pushing for a Democratic pit bull who can attack Bush while Kerry stays more above the fray, advisers said.
A few Kerry advisers said Gephardt could be the right choice because he is squeaky clean, loyal, tireless and as disciplined as any politician in the game. Gephardt has strong advocates, including leaders of organized labor and many House members, and one of his senior advisers, Steve Elmendorf, now serves as Kerry's deputy campaign manager. Gephardt advocates argue that Democrats must win the election in the Midwest and that the Missourian is a natural fit to make the case against Bush's economic policies in the industrial heartland.
Edwards, despite his sunny disposition in the nomination fight, has shown a penchant for pugilism, too, and has the added bonus of hailing from the South.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company |
