Monday, September 01, 2003

John Kerry at a Labor Day event in New Hampshire today. Ted Kennedy endorses John Kerry OK, since they're both senators from Massachusetts, perhaps Ted Kennedy is a little, um, biased, but still, to have the endorsement of Ted Kennedy ain't bad. This is from the Boston Herald on Aug. 29: Howard Dean is connecting with voters in his bid for the White House, but John Kerry will surge in the fall, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy predicted yesterday. "There is no question that Howard Dean has tapped into an energy in the country which is enormously important and which he deserves credit for," Kennedy said in an interview with the Herald. Noting that Dean appeals to voters concerned about President Bush's handling of both foreign and domestic policy, Kennedy added, "I think that's been a very effective campaign." But Kennedy, who has endorsed his fellow Bay State senator, predicted that as the campaign season picks up after Labor Day and the public begins to pay more attention to the race, Kerry "will be in the strongest position." "I think he's best able to lead," Kennedy said. "I don't think there's any candidate who is better qualified than John Kerry. I think that kind of experience and quality and leadership will best be reflected in the time during the fall when individuals are finally making up their minds." Polls show that Dean, who trailed Kerry earlier this year, now leads in both Iowa and New Hampshire. I agree with Kennedy; Dean, whose success thus far is commendable, is hot property right now, but voters in the early primaries and caucuses will realize during the coming months that Kerry is the best candidate to face the Bush regime's "re"-election machine. And while Dean leads in the Iowa and New Hampshire polls right now, that's largely because he's been advertising on TV in those states before the traditional Labor Day starting point and Kerry is just beginning to advertise in those states. Once both are running TV ads, Dean's poll numbers should dip and Kerry's should rise. (As I wrote earlier, time will tell whether Dean's unorthodox strategy of spending his campaign cash early on TV ads will pay off or will prove to have been a waste of his contributors' money.) The first contest in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 19, is more than four and a half months away. It's still far too early to be calling a winner. But it's going to be an interesting ride. 3:09:24 PM    Comments []