John Kerry is “thinking hard” about taking another shot at the presidency in 2008.
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said on Thursday he was seriously thinking about another White House bid in 2008 and will decide before the year is out. “I will make that decision toward the end of the year, but I’m thinking about it hard,” Kerry said in response to a question at the Latin Economic Forum at the United Nations. “If you can get help me find 60,000 votes in Ohio …,” he joked, referring to the close race in that state on which his 2004 loss to President Bush hinged.
Kerry’s a formidable candidate but has virtually no shot at the 2008 nomination. Not only is Hillary Clinton going to get most of the money, support, and organizational help from the Democratic establishment but the modern era has no tolerance for losers. Once upon a time, parties ran candidates over and over (think William Jennings Bryant). Richard Nixon got a second shot in 1968 after losing a narrow and controversial race to John Kennedy in 1960. Nowadays, though, candidates who lose are considered damaged goods and enjoy the scorn of their party.
Further, Kerry did not endear himself to his partisans by finishing the race with money in the bank.
