Kerry Won't Run For White House

Losing Democratic Presidential Nominee In 2004 Says He Won't Try Again

(CBS/AP)  Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats' losing presidential candidate in 2004, said Wednesday that he will not run for the White House in 2008.

"Two years ago, I sought the presidency to lead us on a different course," he said on the Senate floor. "We came close, Mr. President, certainly close enough to be tempted to try again. There are powerful reasons to want to continue that fight now. But I have concluded this isn't the time for me to mount a presidential campaign."

Instead, Kerry said he will continue to try to change the Bush administration's Iraq policy from the Senate. Officials said he would run for a fifth six-year term in the Senate.

"We have to find a way to end this misguided war and bring our troops home," he said.

Kerry, 64, who lost the White House when the state of Ohio voted for President Bush by 118,601 votes on election night in November 2004, made the announcement at the end of a lengthy speech on Iraq.

Though he never formed a committee or took any other legal steps, Kerry clearly had been eying a second run for the White House, CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss reports. But following a week in which two other Democratic senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, announced their intentions to great fanfare, Kerry decided to bow out.

Kerry's decision leaves a field of nine Democrats running or signaling their intention to do so, including his 2004 running mate John Edwards.

The Republican field is similarly crowded with Mr. Bush constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.

Kerry's 2004 campaign drew widespread criticism from fellow Democrats after his defeat. His critics said he had failed to make a forceful enough response to Republican criticism as well as charges by conservative groups that he did not deserve the medals he won for combat in the Vietnam War.

The Massachusetts senator stirred unhappy memories for Democrats last fall, when he botched a joke and led Republicans to accuse him of attacking U.S. troops in Iraq.

He apologized, then hastily scrapped several days of campaigning for fellow Democrats as party leaders urged him to avoid becoming an unwanted issue in a campaign they were on the way to winning.

Polls showed Kerry trailing his Democratic rivals. Last October, an Associated Press-AOL News poll had Kerry at just 1 percent and recent surveys indicated he had gained little among Democrats.

Still, Democratic strategist Mark Mellman, who served as a senior Kerry adviser in 2004, says the senator would have been a "serious contender" in 2008. Mellman notes that Kerry received more votes and raised more money than any Democratic nominee in history and maintains "a lot of assets." As to where those assets go, Mellman tells CBSNews.com there will be a competition among contenders for Kerry's long list of staffers, donors and volunteers but doesn't see any individual Democratic hopeful gaining an immediate advantage.

If anything, said Mellman, Kerry's absence will help lower-tier candidates. "The thinner the crowd is below the frontrunners, the easier it is for those guys to stand out," he said. "There’s one less guy sitting up there in those multi-candidate debates, one less set of ads on the air, one less person competing" for staff.

Despite his difficulties on a national level, Kerry customarily rolls up large victory margins at home in Massachusetts. He won his first term in 1984.

While Kerry was saying privately as recently as December that he would likely wage a second campaign, the tone among his aides changed in recent weeks as Clinton and Obama announced their White House bids.

Instead, aides began talking about Kerry's concern about the personal toll a campaign would take. Kerry had millions left from his 2004 run – a sore point with some Democrats. Despite the advantage, he would have faced intense competition with Obama, Clinton and Edwards for campaign dollars.

[teeus]

Kerry's a good man, and if he ran I would vote for hom. But, as much as I like him, he has such a target on his back now, any attempt is doomed to failure. It's too bad.

[gunnerv1]

There are no such things as "Slaves", theres "Owners" and Ownees"

[hillaryin08]

how about this

John Kerry get Water Boarded by Hillary!

Just like Algore and Obamma.

Wake up Libs

[perception5]

The people of the great state of Massachusetts should do us all the favor by not electing this rich liberal snob back to the Senate in 2008. Mr. Kerry has a long history of being a "talker". What Massachusetts needs to do in 2008 is to elect a "walker". Maybe a future President can appoint Kerry to ambassador of France where he can hang out with the rich elite over there. We believe he's more comfortable in that environment.

[hillaryin08]

Headlines

John Kerry gets swift boated by Hillary!

[bluestardad]

Why is this news when someone was bitten by a shark or lindsy lowhan is in Rehab?

[lieberman18]

Don Henley to Glenn Frey's Botox-injected Eagles replacement, John Failure Kerry:

Play that gee-tar, Johnny.

Kerry -Frey: "Reporting for Duty...I'm the New Kid in Town" -

What a laugh riot. He wasn't much of a Senator, he betrayed his fellow servicemen, and he probably can't carry a tune either.

[lieberman18]

karlimhof,

go back to your hamas hole in the ground, and don't give us lectures about our history, because yours is a joke.

Tee Hee.

[karlimhof]

GunOwnerDan

Read your bible piece and agree.

Our forefathers separated church and state for a reason. They came from a Europe where they saw what religious conflict was all about and wanted to spare us from the same bloodshed. But we also inherited the right to religious freedom.

Republicans then came up with their electoral ploy (thank you Karl Rove &Co.)to motivate and include an assortment of "christian" groups promising them that the US government would apply their "values" to the running of this country. Republicans now claim they are the standard-bearers of the new "moral majority of christian values".

By doing so they have opened pandora's box and are undermining the foundation of this country.

[teeus]

He should STOP creating...I mean. Typing too fast. :-)

[gunownerdan]

The Bible was used by southern whites to justify slavery. It helped them to convince slaves and others that GOD says slaves must obey their masters......

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)

Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given. (Luke 12:47-48 NLT)

When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)

And today, people want to bring the bible back into our public schools and into our government.
Oh dear........

[teeus]

"jimfinster i may not agree whith his way of doing things but GWB has been honest with the people..."

Wha....? If he wants to "get the terrorists" perhaps he should creating new ones in Iraq, and look for the ones that actually tried to kill us BEFORE this nonsensical war.

If you think he's been honest, you don't know enough to even recognize the lies.

[gunownerdan]

Barack Hussein Obama.
I wonder if he's related to Saddam...
Good going libtards. Hey, maybe there's a good reason why Bill cheated on Hillary.
I hope for the Democrat's sake they spend more time talking about John Edwards.

[frb01]

If Evan Byah decided not to run because the field was to deep, John Kerry is better off not wasting his time. Unfortunately in modern politics, unless you are the incumbent, you only get one good chance when you are the nominee, we will see what happens to McCain. Obama is intelligent enough to pick up on the one shot idea.

[kaliveotin]

George Bush, Honest? To have absolutely no awareness of reality is a symptom of insanity.
Yes he said he would try and get the terrorists, but his primary aim was hundreds and hundreds of miles off. He has done a good job fighting terrorism, but he broke the law and ignored the constitution and Bill of Rights in doing so. His plan to make Iraq better, if successfull will turn over a country run by uncivilized Sunni Arabs into a Theocracy run by sheits, hell bent on distroying the United States. GOOD JOB.

[kaliveotin]

Kerry blew it bigtime with his three issue campaign. He's a good guy, but were better off without his half hearted style in the mix in 2008. We really need to take back the government after these past 27 years of hell. (except for the slight breather in 93&4) Run Hillary Run.
Give em' "Hill", democrats.

[wayfedup]

loserman18... Well, as I can see, you are Indeed too childish/insecure to take my advice and TRY posting WITHOUT making rude, non-factual, immature posts here JUST TO SEE how much of a change in responses you recieve; Hell, you MAY even get some decent resonses in return. But no, as always, you take the LOW ROAD!
Sad, really, because you are PROBABLY really more intelligent than you come across with all of your rediculous rantings provided you by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Shawn Hannity, Karl Rove and GOD know who else. You're a pathetic WHINER.

[fascistusa]

Kerry is another Skull & Bones member. The Elite. The People who OWN and RUN America.

We The People have NO say in our Government.


Let's all sit here and pretend that we do.

[lieberman18]

care to respond finsterjahr?

[brackattack]

jimfinster i may not agree whith his way of doing things but GWB has been honest with the people...he said he was gonna try to get the terrorists..and try to help Iraq become a better country and he has done both. so what is so wrong..and i dont wanna response about how many have died in this war..because these men and women sign up knowing that they may die in a war. so they arent getting into something they know nothing about.