Today's 2008 Speculation (Boston Globe 10/9)

[cmnh]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/10/09/kerrys_barnstorming_sparks_talk_of_a_run/

[globalvillage]

1. Rock Star.

``When you travel with him today, he's like a rock star."

That's so cool.


:patriot:

[kerrygoddess]

16. The rock star vibe

was visible when he spoke at Pepperdine last month.

[TayTay]

18. It is wonderful to have that posted, particularly for us Mass folks

We see through our end of the telescope and we see through a 'home town' prism at that. It is invaluable to read postings from folks outside of Mass and to see how the Senator is received in these locals outside of Mass. (The Faneuil Hall speeches are amazing, but there is a certain sense of preaching to a long-time choir. It would be odd if there wasn't that feel.)

[kerrygoddess]

19. From the perspective

of a former Mass folk who's seen it on the left coast it's pretty darn awesome Tay!

[YvonneCa]

37. Sure was ...

...visible ! :7

[_dynamicdems]

41. Ain't it the truth!

A lot of folks didn't know him in 2004. Good to hear he's bringing in the largest crowds, but we already knew that, didn't we? :)

[TayTay]

2. Big, big story here.

It answers a lot of questions and poses a lot more.

Bottom line: Please come to Boston in December!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's on.

[beachmom]

12. Okay, that's definitely a go! One more question:

how much? $100 or $500 or $5000? Is it for everyone or just the money men? It sounds like traditionally, it was just $100, but that was my one last misgiving that made me cautious to go ahead and buy a plane ticket.

[whometense]

32. I think pretty much everyone

gave the minimum - $100.

[karynnj]

3. This sounds like Tay Tay posted last week,

"The rich pool of Democratic political talent in Massachusetts provided the core of Kerry's 2004 campaign apparatus, and virtually all of those nationally tested operatives and strategists have signed on in advance for 2008 if Kerry decides it's a go."

That is good news. Who would you want the Carville/Begala 1992 crowd or the Boston group who engineered Kerry's primary wins and nearly won a much tougher race than 1992?

This does answer the Birthday party question pretty clearly. YAY!!!!! Though it's clearly going to be a bigger event (Itself) than before. This article is very very positive. (When you have a comment in the on the negative side part - that Grossman is impressed by Kerry's unbelievable focus, there is no negative side. Is this really the Boston Globe?

[MBS]

4. amazing, for Globe. .

actually a fair (dare I suggest even positive, even complimentary?) story. Miracles do happen!

[rox63]

5. Ok, now I'm excited!

That article put a major smile on my face. :D

[TayTay]

6. Very interesting article, very fair and well-researched.

Tiny side note from an obvious obsessive: the article ran on Page 1 of the Globe, the rest of the article was continued not in the national section of the news, but in the State and Local news section. Hmmmmm, the Globe considers this article local news. Hmmmmmmmm.

This changes things. We should have people come to Boston, it could get real interesting. We also must take into consideration the fact that not everyone can come to Boston, especially before the busy and expensive Holiday season and make sure we have internet up, maybe a conference call and IM and Chat possibilities. (We are Democrats. We do not leave people behind because of money. We find a way to include everyone. That's what Democrats do, period, end of conversation.)

We will, becuase of this news, be busy little bees, talking to people this week and possibly this weekend to see if maybe we can talk in Dec about how we can help. (And do what WE do online.) It could get really interesting.

Thoughts? Need those realtively cheap hotel links again?

From the Globe Story: Kerry at Iowa last week. Rock STar!

[MBS]

7. yeah, but

it's conspicuously placed, with that nice large photograph, in the city and region section. And actually, given some of the @#$ in Boston/MA politics, it IS as important a local story as a national one.. .and encouraging on both fronts.

[TayTay]

8. Very much so.

It always makes me laugh how provincial we can be in Boston. There might be two major candidates for Pres from this state, and it's ahm, local news. (Just strikes me as funny.)

This was a very fair article. It even brought up what Rox and I started talking about nearly two years ago, the good and true Senator from Mass cannot run for both Pres and the Senate. That would not go over well here.

It is beyond heartening to see all the hints that the Dems locally are still there for Kerry. It is also really heartening to see the 'money guys' are still there as well. That is very good news indeed. (Hmmmmm, that 'issues convention' next year in Lowell or Springfield should be interesting. I wonder if it will be like in 2003, which was a 'Kerry convention' and a great send-off. Hmmmm. See, mixing local and national.)

[Island Blue]

9. As much as it kills me, I'm going to have to be left behind on this one.

:( Maybe I'll get a chance to make up for missing this one down the road.

FYI for anyone who is thinking about flying to Boston. If you are able to purchase your airline tickets BEFORE Election Day, I suggest you do so. I've been checking airline ticket prices to Boston since January (yeah, I really want to go :( ) and they are now the lowest they've been all year. My guess is that airline ticket prices will go up again once fuel prices jump back up after the election.

Great article btw!

[whometense]

33. It won't be the same without you,

but it is an expensive trip at a tough time of year. Just so you know you will be missed. :hug:

[globalvillage]

35. Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!

You're not going to the bday party?
:cry:

[Island Blue]

38. No.

As much as I want to, I think it would be better for me to save my money so I can travel down to SC and see JK once he announces. My recent, unexpected injury kind of took a chunk out of the money I had saved for the Boston trip. (Life happens.) I'll be thinking about you guys though. :)

[wisteria]

10. Someone new?

That is the old wisdom, but I just don't think it is wise for Democrats to do this in 08. Many Dem's I speak with say they would vote for him again if he ran. Some are more enthusiastic than others, but that is to be expected. I have to wonder how enthusiastic Dem's would be in working for and supporting a couple of other candidates that come to mind. Those so called "new faces". Biden, Warner, Clinton,Edwards? I would say the Kerry supports are a very enthusiastic group of people. Perhaps, second to only the Clark people-(I may be overestimating a bit on their numbers) and it is still questionable if he will actually run again.

[TayTay]

11. What is really interesting is all the people who are sticking with him

The article notes that these are 'battle-tested' people who have been through the crucible of a national election before, they know what it's like to be on a 24/7 media cycle, they know what a crisis is and what to do and what not to do and so forth. That is, as I often say, not nothing. (Ahm, forgive me my hometown boosterism, but it is also not nothing to have a lot of homegrown talent available and sticking with the Senator. There really is a lot of political talent in MAss and it's nice to see it's not committed elsewhere.)

IB: You will be missed!!!! No question about that. Is there anything we can do that would at least let you know what is happening in Boston that weekend. It is important to me and to most others as well I'm sure, that people feel they can still be in touch with what is going on, if not physically, than at least by the internets. Any suggestions? What would help?

[karynnj]

13. I agree

The main negative that I have heard on Kerry is one that can be overcome, that he is not a "streetfighter", but a gentleman. Now, there are other Democrats who are ruder, but that is really not a virtue. Kerry is a fighter, but not a streetfighter who would match dirty tricks with the Republicans. I am mystified that they don't see that with the different level of media support, our dirty tricks (if we did them) would back fire. (Look at Rather's debacle - which was neither ours or a dirty trick).

How can a Democrat run on changing the tone and cleaning up the mess, if they are engaging in those tactics. Also look at your list: Does Biden seem a fighter? Warner?, Edwards, who certainly didn't stand up to Cheney? Hillary?

The other negative was for some Democrats who at least particially accepted PNAC.

[demdiva]

17. actually I'd be surprised if Clark has a real shot in 2008

I've heard from people who know him well that he's a great guy but probably not the best candidate. He'd be a great VP candidate I think.

[whometense]

34. "new faces"

Nice point you make. New?

And we are enthusiastic - and, may I add, enthusiastic without blinders on.

[kerrygoddess]

14. Great piece in the Globe

Very well timed... I posted about it here and added my 2 cents - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4414

The mention of the Dec shindig is certainly inspiring for everyone planning to attend!

[TayTay]

20. I think we could get a fair number of folks to come

Although I worry (excessively) about the expense for people. It's very, very important to me, personally, that something be arranged so that folks can check in whether it's IM or something else. (Hey, I was homeless ten years ago, I know from not having any money. Ahm, there will be a way to bring people and their comments, questions and observations into any meeting in Boston. It will be figured out, we don't leave people behind here.)

[kerrygoddess]

21. I think so too...

As the date gets closer I may consider it myself. Too far out for now to commit, but's it's on my wish list.

[TayTay]

22. That would be nice. (East reconnecting with West!!!!!!)

Last year was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun just laughing with people and taking people on my, ahm, tours of Boston. (And showing off the, ahm, indigenous population and their,ahm, verbal habits. Oh dear! Ahm, well, we are a vocal lot in Boston, as witnessed by our local newspapers.)

I think we will be able to divvy up hotel rooms and lower the expenses. I think we can know more later this week.

[kerrygoddess]

31. It certainly would...

I'm going to look at making this work, perhaps bring my daughter too. We're due for a trip back home and I can think of no better occassion.

[demdiva]

15. Run Kerry Run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think now that dems are seeing the light at the end of the republican controlled tunnel they are less willing to play the "blame game".
Run Kerry Run!

[Blaukraut]

23. great article!

Although I would really like to whom this Charles Cook was speaking in these 38 states. From every other account we hear that people highly encourage JK to give it another go! Besides; what is this 'he had his shot' business anyway? By that logic, Clark, Edwards, and Dean should not even be up for consideration - they never even made it out of the starting gate in '04. So they definitely had their shot and blew it.

[ProSense]

26. Non-partisan my

ass! These are those Morton Kondracke types that sit around posturing as the pulse of the political world. They all have their agendas. From his website:

Charles E. Cook, Jr.

Charlie Cook is Publisher of The Cook Political Report, and political analyst for the National Journal Group, where he writes weekly for National Journal magazine and CongressDailyAM. He also writes a regular column for the Washington Quarterly, published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and is a political analyst for NBC News.

Widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading authorities on U.S. elections and political trends, Charlie has appeared on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening news programs, as well as on "Good Morning America," the "Today Show," "Nightline," "Meet the Press with Tim Russert," and "This Week…." He has also appeared many times on CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, CNN and National Public Radio.

Before joining the National Journal Group in June of 1998, Charlie wrote for 12 years a twice-weekly column in Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill. Charlie also served as an election night analyst for CBS in 1990 and 1992, and for NBC in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004.

The New York Times has called Cook, "...one of the best political handicappers in the nation" and noted that The Cook Political Report is "...a newsletter that both parties regard as authoritative," while Bob Schieffer of CBS News has called the Cook Political Report, "the bible of the political community." The Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt once referred to Cook as "the Picasso of election analysis," while David Broder of The Washington Post has written that Charlie Cook is "perhaps the best non-partisan tracker of Congressional races."

Updated January 2005

Kerry is polling in the top three. Everywhere Kerry goes he draws significant crowds. People clamor to hear his speeches. Democratic candidates around the country have actively engaged his support. He still has an extensive mailing list. He is among the top in raising money. So the comment from Cook reeks!


Check out the board of the CSIS:

http://www.csis.org/about/trustees

[wisteria]

28. Cook's opinion does sound like it is personal rather than based on

polled fact.

[ProSense]

24. Yay!

Lots of good information! Run Senator, run!

[demdiva]

25. Has anyone seen JK's full pre-election schedule???

Yesterday , Senator John F. Kerry was in Iowa. Tomorrow and Wednesday, he'll be in Nevada. On Friday, he'll be in New Hampshire. After that, he'll visit 11 more states, including South Carolina, before the Nov. 7 election.

Eleven more stops ...I'm interested to know where he's going exactly. Has anyone seen this anywhere???

[ProSense]

27. Want RW advice on this?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpolitics/20061009/cm_rcp/rereporting_for_duty_1

Hahaha!

[wisteria]

29. Real competition this time?

Then he goes on to mention the same old names. No need to go into detail. None of them have a better chance than Kerry.
Oh, and then the obvious, why the fuss? if Kerry is no threat or has any potential, why do those apposed to his running again, always have to make a point of bring up any negatives. Seems to me, those who do, all have agendas.

[kerrygoddess]

30. Bevan is an ass

I just added a note to him on my Dem Daily post.

[ProSense]

36. Time blog

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2006/10/rereporting_for_duty_1.html


Have to protect the http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2870996&mesg_id=2870996">Saudi money!

[wisteria]

39. What a jerk! He must of taken some time to find that picture .

Most people are broad minded enough to see it for what it was- Kerry wearing protective cover ups. This guy though, has to use it to make a point that has no real basis to it.

[kerrygoddess]

40. The wingnuts use

that photo frequently. I read the wingnut blogs that bash JK on a regular basis and counter them when ever possible.