Sen. John Kerry is setting up and funding a political action leadership committee to advance the prospects of Democratic state and national candidates. The committee is supposed to emphasize proposals Kerry put forth in his presidential campaign.
A news story on this says the new committee will be separate and distinct from an already-created re-election committee, The Friends of John Kerry.
With these moves and others Kerry is making clear his intention to be a power, no doubt preferably the power, in the Democratic Party between now and 2008. The idea is probably to keep him in the catbird seat for the next presidential nomination, should he decide to make another run.
A 2008 run for the White House is probably an open question in Kerry’s own mind and will remain so for at least 12 to 18 months. But he likely wants and intends to have that option available to him, along with a head start against potential challengers.
If all this is so, Kerry’s making intelligent moves. And not a bit too soon. Al Gore’s hiatus from politics following his 2000 defeat was clearly not helpful to any political ambitions he may have harbored. Understandable, sure, but not helpful.
If in addition to launching these committees Kerry criss-crosses the country speaking up for Democratic ideas, ideals and candidates, he’ll be following a trail blazed by former presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Both bounced back from lost races by actively serving their party and its candidates. Along with promoting Republican ideas and office seekers, they built loyal followings among those candidates and the voting public  assets that paid off when Nixon and Reagan again sought the highest office in the land.
Early political forays without being the candidate, without being under the gun to maximize every dollar, every stop, every day ahead of an election deadline, no doubt helped Nixon and Reagan relax. They could come across as regular-guy types, as opposed to hard-charging-pol types. They weren’t under constant press scrutiny. They were free of endless horse-race questions, polling, the need to adhere to a limited set of talking points and prescribed spin.
Obviously, under such circumstances it’s relatively easy to be a hero. There’s good reason to believe the strategy served Nixon and Reagan well. We’ll just have to see if it really is part of Kerry’s game plan, and if it is, whether he can be as good at it as Nixon and Reagan were.
