Voted with Democratic Party 93.5% of 306 votes

Kerry’s PAC gave $8.5 million to 250 candidates in 43 states

Last nominee to get 2nd chance was Adlai Stevenson in 1956

Doubts about Kerry lurk just beneath professions of respect. Some Democrats [at a recent party event] wonder how a nominee, particularly one who had warned opponents not to question his patriotism, could have been caught so flat-footed when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacked his military record. Although most said they weren’t ruling Kerry out, they also stressed that 2008 is a whole new race, and said they planned on giving all the candidates a hard look before making any decisions.

Rejected challenging Ohio irregularities as too “personal”

• First, he could mount a challenge in Ohio based on the provisional ballots.
• Second, he could challenge Ohio based on allegations of voting irregularities.
• Third, and most dramatic, he had a dossier that showed how people in Democratic precincts in Ohio waited up to seven hours to vote. In Republican precincts there were no lines. Eight voting machines in some Republican precincts, and only one or two in some Democratic precincts.

Kerry decided to accept the result. “To do otherwise,” he said later, “would have personal. It would have been venal. As strongly as I feel that it is flawed, deeply flawed, it would have been the wrong thing to do, to prolong the agony.”

Against Bush, did poorly with married women & older voters

Kerry also did poorly among older voters. A majority of older voters are women; wives outlive their husbands. Beyond social security, their largest concern is health care.

Ended 2004 campaign with $14M in campaign funds

Kerry blames his defeat on the fact that the Republican team had “six years to develop its electoral strategy,” while he had only eight months. Time suggests that Kerry sees Nov. 2, 2004, as “merely a detour on his road to the White House.“

Incredible as it sounds, Kerry has $14 million left over from his defeat. (What does it say about a candidate that he would lose an election while still holding funds in the bank?) Kerry is now handing out his money to other Democrats, trying to curry favor for his next bid.

Steve Grossman, a former chair of the DNC put it best: ”It has been a long time since the Democratic Party gave somebody a second chance. That’s a big challenge to overcome.“

FactCheck: No, Kerry is 11th most liberal, not 1st in Senate

CNN FACT CHECK:National Journal’s Feb. 2004 rankings did list Kerry as the most liberal member of the Senate in 2003, but the result was based only on his votes in the year 2003, and may have been artificially inflated by Kerry’s unusually high absentee rate last year. National Journal based its ratings on 62 key Senate votes cast in 2003 in three issue areas: economic policy, social policy and foreign policy. Kerry’s rating was based only on the 20 votes he cast in the economic policy area. His votes in social and foreign policy were not counted because he missed more than half of the votes in those categories. Had he missed four more economic votes, Kerry would not have been included in the 2003 ratings at all. Kerry’s lifetime liberal rating is 85.7 out of 100, making him the Senate’s 11th most liberal senator.

Late Night: “Top 10 Bush Tax Proposals”

Kerry’s “Top 10 Bush Tax Proposals” are:
• 10. No estate tax for families with at least two U.S. presidents.
• 9. W-2 Form is now Dubya-2 Form.
• 8. Under the simplified tax code, your refund check goes directly to Halliburton.
• 7. The reduced earned income tax credit is so unfair, it just makes me want to tear out my lustrous, finely groomed hair.
• 6. Attorney General (John) Ashcroft gets to write off the entire U.S. Constitution.
• 5. Texas Rangers can take a business loss for trading Sammy Sosa.
• 4. Eliminate all income taxes; just ask Teresa Heinz Kerry to cover the whole damn thing.
• 3. Cheney can claim Bush as a dependent.
• 2. Hundred-dollar penalty if you pronounce it “nuclear” instead of “nucular.”
• 1. George W. Bush gets a deduction for mortgaging our entire future.

Bush & Cheney unfit to serve because they misled us into war

The vice president even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I’ll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.

Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you’re still on their payroll makes you unfit. That’s the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it’s not going to change.

Will lead an America where all are in the same boat

Urban Legend: Kerry did not disparage Reagan at funeral

“This moment in Simi Valley is a moment of truth,” Kerry said. “Not just for my campaign, but for the future of my party as well. For some of us, this may be our only chance to confirm the demise of the man who is solely responsible for turning the American people away from liberal philosophy. As Democrats, we need to put small differences aside and be certain that this man is truly gone. Next, we must reclaim our country from the church-goers, the middle America folks and the uneducated conservative masses.“

Clear separation of church and state

Revoke every Bush order that favors special interests

My first major bill to Congress will be national health care reform, taking on the insurance industry to hold down costs and cover all Americans. I will repeal Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy so we can invest in education and health care. I will take on the oil industry and make energy independence a national priority while creating 500,000 new jobs. I will attack corporate corruption and end the special interest feeding frenzy in Washington. And I will declare an end to the Bush policy of unilateralism and pre-emptive war.

I have spent my entire career standing up to special interests and fighting for the American people. I am running for president because we need a President who is ready and willing on day one to make tough stands and fight the hard battles.

Not yet ready to consider a Kerry-Edwards ticket

EDWARDS: I think an Edwards-Kerry ticket would be powerful.

Q: Are you saying that if you get this nomination, you will ask him to join you?

EDWARDS: He certainly should be considered. He’s a very, very good friend.

Q: And where does Edwards stand in your thinking?

KERRY: I want to thank him for the consideration. I appreciate it.

Q: Is he on your list?

KERRY: I don’t have a list. I’m running for the nomination.

Q: But do you see any view that would make it impossible?

KERRY: I take nothing for granted in this effort. And if I win the nomination, then I’ll sit down and think about who I ought to run with.

Q: What quality-and his hair and smile don’t count-does Edwards possess that you wish you had?

KERRY: I think he’s a great communicator. He’s a charming guy. He’s a good friend of mine.

Despite Zell Miller, Dem Party does speak to southerners

A: I disagree with Senator Miller. I respect him but I disagree with him. People below the Mason Dixon line don’t have adequate health care, their water is polluted and they are losing their jobs overseas under this administration. Every time I’ve been down there -- people have responded very positively. I think everyday Americans understand that I will be the president to stand up to special interests and fight for them. And last time I saw Zell, he told me that he liked my speech and that what I was saying would resonate in Georgia.

Bush broke his three biggest campaign promises

• First, he pledged to “change the tone” in Washington-to reach out to Democrats & all Americans and overcome the partisan bitterness of the late 1990s. But since then the president has done the very opposite, presiding over the most partisan administration I have experienced.
• Second, Bush pledged frequently to temper the harsh ideology of his party with a “compassionate conservatism.” [But Bush’s approach has been] a rhetoric of compassion and concern accompanied by policies that are compassionate primarily toward the most comfortable members of our society.
• Bush pledged many times to usher in a “responsibility era,” to exercise brave leadership whatever the political costs. He has reneged by refusing to deal with global climate change, the impending crisis in retirement programs, the culture of corporate corruption, our vulnerability to energy blackmail, [and many other dangers.].

Contest between common sense values and extreme ideologues

I’m talking about things that matter to people

KERRY: Well, probably I ought to just disappear and contemplate that by myself.

You know, I’ve heard that for a long time, but I’m attracting support all across the country and it’s because I’m talking about things that matter to people. I’m the only person running for this job who’s actually fought in a war.

I believe I bring strength to this ticket: strength about how we maintain a military that is strong, but make ourselves stronger in the world. And I think I know what our vision is for this country at home: health care, really leaving on child behind, putting people back to work and I have a proven record of fighting the tough fights that will give people trust that I will do that for America.

I’m a good person to be in the foxhole with

Saw the fear in the eyes of people who were not free

Attended boarding school in Europe; fluent in French

Despite aristocratic roots, a Catholic outsider at schools

Raised Catholic, but family history includes Jews

One thing that hasn’t changed for me as a result of this revelation is my Catholic heritage. I am a believing and practicing Catholic. And being an American Catholic at this particular moment in history has three particular implications for my own point of view as a candidate for the presidency.

Favorite song: Bruce Springsteen, “No Surrender.”

This is for the Gen X crowd, and it’s very personal. What’s your favorite song?
• MOSELEY BRAUN: What’s my favorite song? “You Gotta Be.”
• SHARPTON: My favorite song is James Brown’s song on the Republican Party, “Talking Loud, Saying Nothing.”
• KERRY: Bruce Springsteen, “No Surrender.”
• DEAN: One you’ve never heard of, Wycliffe Jean, “Jaspora” [Creole for “Diaspora”]
• LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, like a good politician, I’m going to take two. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, remember that one? And the classic Frank Sinatra, “My Way.” We’re going to do it our way in 2004.
• KUCINICH: John Lennon, “Imagine,” as in imagine a new America.
• GEPHARDT: Bruce Springsteen, “Born In The USA.”
• GRAHAM: Jimmy Buffet, “Changes In Attitude, Changes In Latitudes.” We’re going to change some attitudes and latitudes.