Syndicated Column 2-26-04
John Kerry is a New Yorker in many ways
by Alan Chartock

It appears that John Kerry has a lock on the Democratic presidential nomination. To the outside observer, Kerry is a lean, mean machine who knows what he wants and will do what he thinks needs to be done in order to get it. To his advantage, Kerry comes from money, has married big money, has survived prostate cancer, and is a good buddy of Teddy Kennedy, the top Democratic icon in the country.
On the other hand, he comes from the Northeast, which has proven in modern times to be the kiss of death for Democratic voters because it has meant losing the South. The name of the failed presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis, looms large on the collective Democratic conscience. What Kerry does have going for him are all the very things that people think of as traditional bad news. He is lean, ambitious, hungry, and personally dedicated to getting what he wants. He will fight like a banshee to get ahead.
The question for New Yorkers is whether Kerry is good for them, and the answer is probably yes. They think he's is mean enough to beat George Bush, who they detest. I recently conducted a public radio fund drive in which people are allowed to say whatever they think and we read their comments along with acknowledging their pledge. Over and over again came the declaration that "I am ABB." ABB, of course, means "Anyone But Bush." The ideals of president, a self-identified "compassionate conservative," run counter to the instincts of New Yorkers who believe that the state has a role in providing every human being with the basics of life. While New Yorkers can tolerate the likes of a George Pataki, a namby-pamby, sometimes faux liberal, sometimes aspiring conservative, they don't like Bush who they see as off-the-right-wing charts.
New York is an ethnic and religious polyglot that eschews the old boy, monied elite. If you give New Yorkers a choice between a classic liberal who they think is giving away the store to those who want to suck the state dry, they will go for the centrist, like Pataki. If you mention the failed New York City mayor, David Dinkins,or even the Rev. Al Sharpton to them they will roll their eyes and look for someone closer to their blue collar, white collar roots.
The New Yorker ABB's are angry. They are angry about the occupation of Iraq. They are angry about being lied to about weapons of mass destruction. They are angry about the Bush take-no-prisoners line on abortion and life-saving stem cell research. They are angry about the drain of manufacturing jobs, especially upstate.
At one point, Bush actually thought that he could win New York State. The Pataki people and others were feeding him a bunch of malarkey. That's why Bush brought his convention that now threatens to be a disaster for the Republicans, to New York. If Kerry is the candidate, he will clean Bush's clock in New York. But he may do something else. He may reverse the Clinton-Carter "Southerners only" lock on the presidency. He will pick a Southerner to be his running mate. He will make much of his Vietnam War record. He is mean enough to throw Bush's AWOL Air National Guard service in a face-to-face debate that will happen if and when Bush falls behind in the polls.
If John Kerry can bring the presidency back to the cities of the Northeast, he will be very good for New York. In one fell swoop, New York will be back in the game, big time. People like me, who once supported a Howard Dean candidacy, will certainly fall into line, and fast. They want Bush and his trickle down, give-it-all-to-the-rich, break-the-economy, put-us-into-debt shenanigans out of the White House. Gone are those who thought both parties meant the same thing. Gone are the Naderites who would split the vote. There is a lot at stake for New York, and Kerry, even with his exterior mean-spiritedness and ambition, seems just what New Yorkers need and want to fight fire with fire. In many ways, Kerry is a New Yorker. He'll spit right in Bush's eye and New Yorkers will cheer.



- posted by Alan @ 2/26/2004 07:14:00 AM