Meet Senator Kerry
As Election Day drew nigh, Kerry was introducing himself
By PERRY BACON
With only a few days left in his presidential campaign, John Kerry was doing something you wouldn't expect he would have to: introducing himself.
In Ohio, Kerry picked up a hunting license, and then a week later went out on a trip to fire at geese. Over the weekend in stops in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Florida, Kerry repeatedly mentioned his stint as A Boston prosecutor, saying it helped him understand why early education programs were needed for children. In Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, Kerry spent an entire speech discussing faith and values and repeatedly talked about what "Catholics believe."
Kerry has spent almost two years campaigning for president full-time, but voters seem to know little about him. And many seem to agree with President Bush's critique of Kerry as a liberal who is soft on defense, something the Kerry campaign hopes to rebut by describing him as a prosecutor who went after criminals and a hunter just like millions of other American men.
"Those who are undecided are still seeking some of those fundamental questions answered," Kerry senior adviser Mike McCurry said. "Who you are, what your values are, is something these voters really look to."
And he's working hard to keep the base fired up. President Clinton joined him in Philadelphia last Monday for a campaign stop that drew a crowd of more than 50,000, as the former president hopes to excite Democrats who loved his administration.
Kerry increasingly is tailoring his stump speeches to appeal to the base. Returning to some of his rhetoric from the primaries and ideas that are popular with liberal voters, Kerry is describing health care as a "right for all Americans," promising to increase the minimum wage and accusing Bush of "outsourcing" the job of capturing Osama Bin Laden to Afghan warlords. And he's found traditional villains for the Dems --namely, big companies.
He's added two new popular attack lines that Democratic crowds love -- mostly because they attack Bush's intelligence and competence, something Kerry has usually shied away from.
Criticizing Bush for focusing his campaign on terrorism, Kerry says "we need a president who can do more than one thing at the same time." And then, Kerry says "the president was kind of leaned over," in the debates, and he mocks Bush by hunching down on whatever podium he is near. "He kept saying it's hard work, it's hard work, it's hard work being president," Kerry says to loud cheers from the crowd.
"Mr. President, I would be honored and privileged and I'm impatient to relieve you of that hard work." (Of course, Most of Bush's "hard work" references were related to restoring stability in Iraq, not the job of being president.)
It's almost impossible to tell if any of this is working. Both national and state polls show a myriad of results -- and in most instances they are effectively tied. Both campaigns have narrowed their playing fields to around 10 states, and Kerry is tightening his speeches from more than 35 minutes to 20 , so he can make stops in three or four states each day.
If voters respond to his personal story and message, he might be introducing himself in a new role: president-elect.
