Posted on 12/05/2002 1:50:30 PM PST by BuddhaBoy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, voicing strong support for U.S. Sen. John Kerry's presidential ambitions, yesterday urged former Vice President Al Gore to stay out of the 2004 White House race
"Gore would lose," Frank said. "I don't think he should run ... His negatives are too high."
As Kerry officially created his presidential exploratory committee, Frank, D-Newton, said Gore lacks the political popularity to topple President Bush - who is riding a wave of favorability as he pursues the war on terrorism.
Frank stressed he wasn't blaming Gore, but simply recognizing a political reality Democrats must confront.
"Gore was the leading opponent of Bush - and then 9/11 happened," Frank said, recalling the terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon. "That made Bush a popular president. Al's been wounded. It's unfair and it's not his fault, but it's reality."
Gore, who lost to Bush in the controversial 2000 presidential contest, has thrust himself into the public spotlight recently with a series of high-profile media appearances as he mulls a rematch.
The former vice president has said he will decide by early next year whether he will run again. Most analysts believe he would become the instant Democratic front-runner.
Kerry, meanwhile, formally launched his presidential exploratory committee yesterday, filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Kerry will transfer all of the $3.1 million in his Senate account to his new committtee, John Kerry for President Inc.
Frank, while cautioning that it is far too early to declare any favorites in the 2004 contest, cast Kerry as the "strongest" Democrat for 2004.
Asked if he would actively support Kerry's candidacy, Frank replied: "I'm inclined to do that right now. At this point, he's the one with the best chance of winning."
Kerry's background as a Vietnam War combat hero and as a prosecutor would make it hard for right-wing Republicans to brand the junior senator as too "soft" for the White House.
"This is a guy who combines combat experience and heroism with a record as a tough prosecutor," said Frank. "As you begin to play that out, Republicans can't go after him as weak on national security issues ... It will just fall flat against Kerry.
"As Kerry has said, he's killed people and he's put people in prison. So it's tough for Republicans to say he's too soft somehow to be president. He is a very strong candidate."
Frank also noted that a recent profile in The New Yorker about Kerry, by "Primary Colors" author Joe Klein, gave the senator's candidacy a lift among political insiders and the media who track the campaign at this early juncture.
Wanna bet, Bawney? Kerry is on the far left (lifetime ACU rating = 5). He came back from Vietnam recommending that we cease our efforts to contain the spread of communism in SE Asia, IOW, to just let the commies take over wherever they went. Most recently, he has voted against limited gas and oil exploration, IOW, wants us to stay dependent on foreign sources of energy. He also voted against emergency anti-terrorism spending and thought it would be a great idea to have our servicemen subject to judgment in the International Criminal Court. He's as weak as they come on national security. Personally, I think his presidential "candidacy" is a feint intended to deflect attacks away from the candidate they intend to run, either Hillary or somebody else but not Kerry.
Exactly. The last sitting U.S. Senator to be elected president was Kennedy (the first was Warren Harding). Governorships are the usual path historically and today. The other successful routes include the vice-presidency and being a successful general in war.
Goes to show how stupid they are.
The media will decide who the Democrat "Front Runner" is and they will base their decision on both internal democrat whisperings and poll numbers.
If they think Gore is all they got then they will ram him down every throat they can. If they think someone like Kerry is better for the party and can help them win, they will massacre algor in a second. They hate losers and are known for casting them aside anyway, so it would be easy to justify. Look at Dick Schleperdt.
They will not let algor's personal ambitions harm the socialist cause. Believe it.
The Leftist wind of the media will either anoint algor or crush him before he can do too much damage.
The man's a liar. Way back when, he gave a speech that was represented as impromptu but was actually written by a professional and carefully rehearsed. During this speech, he tossed his "medals" away for dramatic effect. Trouble is, those were not his medals. They were fakes. His actual medals later turned up on the wall of his office. He's as phony as they come.
Frankestein doesnt have a chance.
Dont forget where the Pubs found Willie Horton, it was Al Gore who first made the charge, and then the Pubbies used it against Dukakis.
They want Gore out, but they also want him to shut the hell up about the rest of the candidates.
John Kerry (D-MA)
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He's not looking good on national security. And I've only scratched the surface.
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