"A second go for Kerry? He'd need to convince Iowans why" by DAVID YEPSEN. [View All]

[Mass]

This article is certain to start protests in GDP, but I find the analysis interesting and balanced. On one side, Yepsen shows how this would be difficult to sell due to CW , but he also makes the case of all that would be positive in such a candidacy.

While keeping in mind that Kerry has not said whether he will run again or not and is focused on 06, this is an interesting analysis, particularly coming from a paper which did not endorse Kerry for the 04 caucuses.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051011/OPINION01/510110352/1035/OPINION

Yepsen: A second go for Kerry? He'd need to convince Iowans why
By DAVID YEPSEN
REGISTER POLITICAL COLUMNIST

October 11, 2005


So, should John Kerry run for president again?

It appears Iowa Democrats may be asked to answer that question. The Massachusetts senator was back in the state on Sunday doing appearances and looking as if he were ready for another bid for the White House in 2008.

The conventional wisdom is that Kerry shouldn't do it. He's had his chance and muffed it. He's so scarred by the 2004 campaign, he'd still be damaged goods in 2008. A Kerry candidacy would be a rehash of the past, just as it would be if Al Gore ran again or if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton runs. Instead, goes this logic, Democrats should look for a fresher face.

...

If he runs again, Kerry would have an uphill struggle. Democrats haven't given a losing presidential nominee another shot at the White House since they renominated Adlai Stevenson in 1956. He lost in a landslide to President Eisenhower
...


What's the case for another Kerry run?

...

If Kerry wants to run again in 2008, he'll have to discuss these things publicly with Iowa Democrats. They gave him an important victory in the 2004 caucuses, largely on the strength of his argument that he was the most electable of their choices.

Since he didn't win, they'll need to hear just what he'd do differently if they gave him another chance.