Senator Kerry
Ann Althouse reminds us not only that Kerry is mostly not mentioning his 20-year Senate record, but that time in the Senate does not seem, historically, to be a good preparation for the presidency.
This reminds me of Bob Dole. I always liked him, and liked his sense of humour. He was known for churning staff--many of them bright and highly educated, since people like that line up to work for Senators. When Dole got testy he would say: "If you're so smart, why are you working for me?" Not a bad question.
As a presidential candidate, Dole made a good Senator. Once he was asked about a controversial issue--clearly, it was a yes or no that was wanted--and Dole said "that bill is in mark-up."
The 100 U.S. Senators are proud of their collegiality and bipartisanship. This doesn't necessarily wear well in a partisan campaign where differences are supposed to be accentuated. There are exceptions: Bill Frist seems to be going to some lengths to show he is tough and partisan--possibly to prepare a run for the presidency in 2008.
We were living in Minnesota in 1988. Dole won both the North Dakota and Minnesota primaries. He was doing a lot of travel anyway, so at the last minute he scheduled a stop at Minneapolis to acknowledge his victory there. He literally added a quick flight from Fargo just to do a quick newser at the Minneapolis airport. There he was on TV, obviously tired. He muttered something about: I've been to so many states today, I hardly know where I am, but it's great to have your support, blah blah blah. Some wag called out "You're one of us"--playing with a line Dole and Bush (Sr.) were using on each other. Dole picked up some energy and half-smiled, half-snarled. "Yeah, I'm one of you--whatever that is." Not the right thing for a presidential candidate to say, but funny.
UPDATE: What I've said about Kerry's Senate career adds some context to Kevin Drum's observation: Kerry may not straddle or waffle any more than Bush does, but Bush is far better at it. Kerry makes it too obvious he is doing it--I would guess because straddling is seen as a virtue in the Senate.
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