This doesn't sound good:

[babylonsister]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2899601&mesg_id=2899601

[LittleClarkie]

1. No it doesn't

Makes me wanna cry, actually.

[babylonsister]

2. Whazzup w/Kennedy? Why do you think he's pushing this?

And someone commented on that thread that he won't be running for the Senate next time either (though they could be blowing smoke). Sigh.

Maybe our Kerrycrats will have some firsthand knowledge.

[LittleClarkie]

3. Indeed. I am wondering if that person has insider info, or is as you say

pulling stuff out of his or her butt.

[kerrygoddess]

4. Buck up

Uncle Ted could be just giving JK a kick in the pants to get him to announce earlier (or providing cover) for him to announce earlier.

[LittleClarkie]

5. True

I hope you're right.

[kerrygoddess]

6. The power of positive thinking.

Have to be. :)

[cadmium]

7. I would take Rick Klein's reports on Kerry vis a vis

his political future with a grain of salt. Never does he ever report on anything to do with John Kerry without putting it in the context of a 2008 presidential ambition. Kerry could say something about the Red Sox pitching and it would be spun by Klein hurting him politically for 2008. Klein also wrote an article about how Kerry wasn't doing enough for dem candidates -- echoing the heyjohn website. I expect worse than this in the upcoming months.

[JI7]

13. could HE be behind the heyjohn stuff ?

[kerrygoddess]

14. Doubtful. n/t

[cadmium]

19. No, his sources probably just pointed him

toward the pseudo-contoversy. I dont have the column handy right now but there was a similarity. He ostensibly was writing about the general issue of politician's with big money givng more but they titled it "Kerry urged to do more" (or something similar) and focused on John Kerry --citing heyjohn.com. He did not note that Hillary Clinton had more money than most of the other's combined.

Gossip disguised as news with plausible deniability seems to be some of the Globe reporters' formula for negative reportage. They did a lot of this to Deval Patrick early in the 2006 governor's race.

[Mass]

8. I think Kennedy is trying to push Kerry to decide soon.

[sandnsea]

9. I think so too

I didn't read this as anything so bad. If Kerry decides to run, Kennedy will support him. At the same time, he doesn't say anything bad about Obama or Hillary, which I think is just his nature. I don't recall him saying anything bad about the 2004 primary candidates either. I suppose a lot could be read into it, but it really just sounds to me like Teddy being Teddy. No big deal.

[Mass]

11. Here is the excerpt from later in the article that clarify what Kennedy says.

Later in the day, Kennedy's office issued a statement clarifying that Kennedy will support Kerry if he declares his presidential candidacy "in the near term," though Kennedy aides declined to define that schedule.

[JI7]

10. which he should do if he decides to run

that way you can get the controversy and other stuff out of the way. you know it will come up if/when he decides he wants to run. the earlier it happens the more time he has to deal with it.

that's what happened with the IWR and some other things. enough people had time to hear his explanation and as we got closer to the voting all the attacks on that just seemed old and worn out.

i'm not sure what he will do. i don't believe the stuff that he wont run in the Primary or the Senate. i just can't see him being satisfied out of public office.

with Democrats winning control of Senate i do feel a little bit better no matter what he decides to do.

but in a way i still want him to run to influence the debate. if he doesn't seem to have much chance couldn't he just decide to drop out and stay in the Senate later ?

i don't know. but i'm with him on whatever he will do. he still is only one who really gets it out there in my opinion.

[Mass]

12. There is definitively a lot in this article, including this piece

David Wade, a Kerry spokesman, said Kerry values Kennedy's friendship and guidance. While Kerry won't set a specific deadline, Wade said, the senator realizes that he must decide soon.

"He has no intention of waiting too long, kicking the can down the road, or holding this decision in limbo," Wade said. "Senator Kerry remains very grateful for Senator Kennedy's ongoing counsel, friendship, and support as he makes this decision" and work together in the Senate.

It seems to me that this article is another hatchet job by the Globe.

[Democrafty]

15. Hmm, not really sure the headline

is consistent with what's in the article.

[JI7]

16. i agree, i read the article

and it's one of those trying to make something out of nothing.

like that gossip about Kerry where they said how he had nothing good to say about Hillary or Edwards. but when you read he wasn't even asked about them or said anything bad about them.

[kerrygoddess]

17. My take on this

Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill: Kennedy Won’t Wait “Indefinitely” for Kerry to Declare his ‘08 Intentions
December 11th, 2006 @ 11:34 pm

Don’t you just love it when the media makes a mountain out of a molehill, or better yet stretches a statement and takes it out of context. Case in point is the latest reading of the ‘08 tea leaves from Rick Klein in the Boston Globe — Kennedy rethinks support for a Kerry presidential run in ‘08. As a matter of fact Klein stretched his point so far in the piece I am referencing that it caused Ted Kennedy’s office to issue a statement clarifying his position on supporting Kerry in ‘08.

So here’s my take on this…

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4935

[cadmium]

18. I think you are correct in that article.

The hyped up title and the opening sentence make it sound like Kennedy is dropping support which is not what he is saying.

Ted Kennedy is a party boss at the ground level. I am sure he is getting a lot of pressure to help out other potential candidates and from his point of view it is better to know sooner rather than later. I think that is the main issue. This column by Rick Klein is written more like a gossip than news.

[kerrygoddess]

28. No doubt

Uncle Ted is getting pressure. Klein's column was downright weird.

[ProSense]

31. Excellent!

It's really incredible how spin has become the norm in media reporting. Clearly the follow-up piece indicates that the stretch was a bit too much and less than believable, which makes me wonder why they'd go to such lengths to distort in the first place (desperation).

[Mass]

20. New version of the article, with a different title and a substantially different line.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/12/12/kennedy_wants_sign_of_kerrys_plans_for_08/

[cadmium]

21. Note: on Page 2 they run a good story about Romney

The Globe juxtapositions stories like this. I think they have been pushing for Romney for a long time.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/12/12/romney_is_fast_rising_as_a_serious_contender/
NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Romney is fast rising as a serious contender
By Peter S. Canellos, Globe Columnist  |  December 12, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Until very recently, Governor Mitt Romney has been a long shot preparing for a race -- the Republican presidential primaries -- that almost always goes to the favorite.
But through shrewd moves and good luck, Romney has steadily risen through the ranks of GOP prospects. Now, almost everyone in Republican politics ranks Romney as the second-likeliest nominee, behind Senator John McCain of Arizona.

Always look for the juxtaposition of stories in the Globe.

This story about Romney is largely true I think. The Globe does this Juxtapositioning of stories too often for it to be coincidental in my opinion

[karynnj]

29. This does make it sound very different

It may actually be Kennedy pushing Kerry not too wait too long - because doing so might hurt him. If Kerry sat silent as Hillary, Obama, Edwards .... all made their entry, it could appear that he was not willing to make a bold move. Also, with Iraq, Afghanistan, and other foreign policy issues the main issues - and Kerry leading on them - in a way none of the others are or in fact could, he might see that he NEEDS to run to get airtime to push for the solutions he knows are needed in the foreign policy arena.

Look at the Faneuil Hall speech. I sent the Real security speech to a WWII vet (Jewish, Republican) and his reaction was incredibly positive - including saying that this was the biggest effort he had ever seen in over a decade - and all of us know that that was 1 of 4 Faneuil Hall speeches - each as strong in its own right. Then there was the Pepperdine speech that was amazing and reached out to some people who were not likely Kerry fans. He got a huge amount of applause at a very conservative university - where Ken Starr is. Then consider, Kerry/Feingold and the fact that Kerry's 2003-2006 Iraq detailed plans seem to be what the ISG see as sensible ideas.

It may be that Kennedy sees that Kerry stating his case - based on his issues, ability and intelligence would be the best counter to letting the attack continue to partially define him. The best way to remind people that he is very very articulate is giving the interviews he like he has. Kerry gained enormous support in 2004 whenever he was able to actually speak to people. He likely will get a boost when he announces - in an odd way - doing so when the numbers are likely depressed may not be a bad idea. The difference of after to before the announcemnet would include people who were likely to drift back as they see the real serious Kerry.

[demdiva]

22. It sounds to me like they are twisting his words a little

I think that Kennedy is just backtracking a little in case another candidate surges ahead quicker then expected (or in case Kerry ends up not running) ... and then the press could turn his support of Kerry into lack of support for the other candidate and continue the story about a broken Democratic Party. I think this means very little until he actually makes an endoresement.

on edit....also gonna copy this on GDP. Thanks for the link.

[whometense]

23. Tim Grieve (naturally)

has jumped on it. I left a comment, but if anyone else feels like jumping in...

Note - he's pointing to yesterday's story, not the revised version Mass pointed out that's in today's paper.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2006/12/12/kennedy/index.html

Et tu, Teddy?

The New York Post's Page Six had a piece the other day on a dinner John Kerry had with donors in Washington. It quoted a source who knew someone who was there as saying that Kerry had started off by asking his dinner guests whether he should run again in 2008. "When no one answered," the Post said, Kerry launched into a talk extolling the virtues of such a repeat candidacy.

We didn't put much stock in the story when it appeared -- it was on the gossip page, it came from someone who wasn't at the dinner, and it quoted others who had different recollections of the event -- but the Boston Globe is up today with a more directly sourced piece that underscores the lack of enthusiasm for a Kerry rerun.

As the Globe's Rick Klein writes, even Kerry loyalist Ted Kennedy is making it clear that he won't necessarily be on board if his Senate colleague from Massachusetts makes another run for the White House. Kennedy said as early as 2005 that he'd back Kerry in another White House run, but he says now that he was under the impression that Kerry was definitely running again. Now that Kerry has pushed back his decision date into sometime early next year -- he'd probably like some more distance from that Iraq joke of his -- Kennedy says he's not sure that Kerry will run and apparently feels free to reconsider his earlier commitment.

"I have no plans of supporting anyone else at this juncture," Kennedy tells Klein. But then he adds: "I'm also not going to just wait indefinitely until he's made a judgment or a decision."

As Klein writes, the loss of Kennedy's support would be a "huge psychological blow" to Kerry, who relied on the senior senator at a time when few others gave him much of a shot at the Democratic nomination in 2004. We don't know anyone who gives him much of a shot now, either. Kennedy says that both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are "ringing the bells" with the voters and would be "formidable" candidates if they decide to run.

-- Tim Grieve

[Mass]

24. It seems the core of what Kennedy says is

"If he does not run, I will not support him". This is what passes as news in our town.

I am sure Kennedy is probably mad of even having made the comment, because everything else he said in this hour long interview has been forgotten. All the Globe has noted is that he did not assault Hillary and Obama and that he stated something obvious concerning Kerry. I think there was another instance last year where Kennedy made comments like that and the media went nuts.

[karynnj]

25. I agree

He didn't say he supported anyone else. In fact, he DIDN'T say he did not support Kerry. The best simple view of this is that he is saying he won't CONTINUE supporting Kerry if he doesn't make a decision soon. (To my mind, this means he still supports Kerry, but is urging him to not wait too long.)

Didn't some of the press put out stories in 2003 that Kennedy had decided to support Edwards. (That Kennedy countered by showing up with Kerry in Iowa.) As to the Obama and Hillary comments - they sound not that far from Kerry's polite comments when asked about them. What is he suppose to do, list all their negatives?

[karynnj]

26. self delete

[karynnj]

27. self delete

[whometense]

30. I'm seriously pissed off

The two Salon Editors' Choice letters are both nasty attacks on Kerry in the "oh, sit down and shut up; no one likes you" vein.

I just wrote a letter complaining ([e-mail]) - and threatening to cancel my Premium subscription.

Those bastards.

Edit: I already got a response from someone at Salon, who said the job of picking Editor's Choice letters is rotated,and done fast - he said no intent against Kerry should be read into it. Hmmm. He's also forwarding my letter to Tim Grieve.

:evilgrin:

There's a pundit I wouldn't mind exchanging emails with.

[wisteria]

33. Seems they can't wait to post anti Kerry posts that might benefit

another candidate. Hummmm.

[demdiva]

34. Nicely done! nt

[Inuca]

32. My 2cents...

.... I did not like the idea that he will wait until Spring or so to announce either way. I understood the rationale, but my gut feeling (worth barely more than the 2 cents mentioned in the subject) was that waiting too long is not good. Not for his chances if he decides to go with it, and not for the country. Other people will announce quite soon I guess, and they will implicitly have the pulpit, the media will pay attention to what they say, and implicitly people will listen. I assume that announcing does not necessarily imply that he has to start on a heavy campaign schedule. He can still do his work in the Senate full time for a while, and it will be so much more visible. And if he decides not to do it, he can focus 100% on his Senate work, which is also good. He is only human (I assume... :-)), and I just cannot believe that having this decision weigh on his shoulders does not have an impact.