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January 31, 2008 4:22 PM

John Kerry says Obama best to beat McCain

Sen. John Kerry, the Democrat’s 2004 presidential nominee, will land in Seattle tonight on a West Coast swing to boost the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama. He will appear tomorrow with Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels at 9:30 a.m. at a town hall meeting at the UW student union ~~Town Hall~~ and at 3:50 p.m. at the Tacoma City Association of Colored Women Club at 2316 S. Yakima.

Kerry is one of one of Obama’s recent high-profile endorsements and he has campaigned for his Senate colleague in Nevada and South Carolina. Kerry told me in a telephone conversation this afternoon that he will tell undecided Democratic voters that Obama is better positioned than Hillary Clinton to beat Republican John McCain, who he assumes will be the GOP nominee.

“I think Barack Obama has the best opportunity to unite the country and to win in November and be the clear contrast against John McCain that we need; on issues, generationally, on reform, on outside Washington, on a whole bunch of things.”

Kerry said that Democratic senators and governors in predominately Republican states who have endorsed Obama believe the candidate will help Democrats in down-ticket races in those red states.

“He has the ability to unite the entire country.”

(When our cell phone conversation abruptly disconnected Kerry called back and joked that Obama would also improve cell phone coverage in America.)

I would also expect to hear Kerry remind Democratic voters about Clinton’s and Obama’s record on the Iraq war.

“I think it’s a very important issue to Democrats and I think it’s a legitimate difference.”

Kerry says that McCain, with his reputation as a maverick in the party, will most certainly run as someone who will change the system in Washington, D.C. Democrats, he believes, need to be able to offer more than McCain.

“You really have to look at who has the ability to build a movement across the country that changes our politics. People are tired of bickering and excessive partisanship and polarization.”

He says Obama has “a new slate of credibility to begin rebuilding” Americans’ trust in their government.

“It’s a very legitimate issue to Americans and that’s why you need that contrast. I think that’s going to be very important to this election.”

I asked Kerry if he’d suggest Obama do any fine-tuning now that there are just two candidates in the race. He said anyone who has been doing as well as Obama doesn’t need his advice. But he did say that Obama’s challenge in the final stretch is to “close the deal” on convincing voters he has the experience to be president.

After his Puget Sound visit, Kerry flies to California, a Super Tuesday state, for appearances in San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento.

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Posted by Winghunter

5:26 PM, Jan 31, 2008

John Kerry??

Now why am I not surprised that he would endorse a woefully unqualified and inexperienced freshman senator without the vaguest clue what he would do in the White House, let alone, be responsible for it.

Neither of these clowns should be allowed on the White House lawn much less in it.

Posted by JimD

7:50 PM, Jan 31, 2008

I'm beginning to believe Kerry's analysis is correct. And the fringe-right is going to have a hard time refraining from making racist-sounding personal attacks, like Obama's ability to be "responsible", or "woefully unqualified" and "shouldn't be allowed on the White House lawn".
And I suspect a good number of Americans may vote for Obama for no other reason than to force this fringe-right to either shut-up or show their partisian ill will for what it truly is. Enough already.

Posted by Wingshot

9:41 PM, Jan 31, 2008

There's a ringing endorsement! - Kerry, a loser in the presidential race (and depending on your perspective, a 'loser' in other respects), meeting with another local stuffed shirt that can't even take care of the basic tasks of local government. Peas in a pod, I would say. But what else would you expect?

Posted by redflag

10:44 PM, Jan 31, 2008

The way that the right wingers are going after McCain today, anybody will be able to beat McCain. And everybody already knows that Romney can't win against Clinton or Obama.

So Kerry's punditry is hollow political smoke, trivial and meaningless.

I remember the chief point of the Kerry backers at my neighborhood caucus 4 years ago - it was "Kerry is the only one who can beat Bush." Oh brother.

Can't we just decide that when it comes to Kerry we've all "been there, done that" move on, and start listening to someone else.

Posted by JimD

11:52 PM, Jan 31, 2008

red flag,
Kerry's endorsement is an important establishment stamp of approval. No one's going to vote for Obama just because Kerry says so, but it makes it easier for other heavies to get behind him, and increases his credibility as a worthwhile investment for financial contributors.
At the time (the calendar's racing too fast to keep up) Edwards - Kerry's running mate - was still in the race. The story was about why Kerry wasn't endorsing Edwards.
The obvious conclusion was that Kerry - who represents a significant part of the democratic establishment - thought Obama the better candidate, which dried-up Edward's funding and consolidated the race - in time for tonight's debate, no less.

Posted by Hinton

1:18 AM, Feb 01, 2008

I'm sure that Kerry's damaging endorsement of Obama will have at least the same amount of impact as that endorsement given to Howard Dean by that other democrat dim bulb.... Gore, was it?

Obama is no more qualified to run this country than JimD. And that is not at all.

Posted by Jim Guthrie

11:12 AM, Feb 01, 2008

The only person injecting race into this conversation is you, JimD.

Obama could be pink-pokadotted with yellow stripes and the criticism that he is "a woefully unqualified and inexperienced freshman senator without the vaguest clue" would still apply.

Obama talks a good game. That's about it.

Posted by JimD

11:19 PM, Feb 01, 2008

Jim Guthrie, Hinton
If you had some salient point about policy, strategy, positions, even demeanor or personality....ANYTHING besides just the blather of hate-STYLE speech - I'd give you'all the benefit of the doubt. But if all you have to offer are visceral temper tantrums intended to inspire loathing and contempt - it doesn't matter if it's racist or not. Hate is hate.
I moderate a web site for truck drivers who generally have more intelligent things to say than you two - not because they're smarter but because they WORK at civil debate and intellectual exchange. It takes some effort to express something thoughtful. For what it's worth - I would really like to know your opinions, instead of your uncensored emotional content, regarding the subjects at hand.

Posted by Gina

1:59 PM, Jul 07, 2008

Wow ... what a creep Kerry is. He had approached McCain as a running mate ... McCain defended Kerry when he was being unfairly attacked ... Kerry demeans McCain's judgement, when it was McCain who came up with the surge, which worked! And, Kerry is choosing Obama, who has no experience, voted present 100 times in the senate, and never voted on the committee he chaired, and spent 20 years in Jeremiah Wright's anti-American, racist church. And, Kerry is saying McCain has poor judgement???
Thank God Kerry wasn't elected President ... and, God help us if Obama is elected President.