Is John Kerry nearing the end of the road?

Regardless of the game face the kerry campaign is trying to put on, the recent revelation that Kerry is (again) mortgaging some of his property means two things:

1. Kerry's burn rate is far outstripping his cash flow.

2. His fund raising continues to falter.

It is evident that Kerry cannot raise the funds needed to stay competitive in the primary.

It is also evident to even the most casual observer that he has not been able to motivate and energize the voters. He is now consistently polling in the single digits nationally. There is little likelihood that he will win Iowa or New Hampshire. He may not even place in the top three. His is even farther down in the super Tuesday states.

Kerry's collapse is really one of the big stories of this primary. Many thought he would be the front runner from the beginning. His campaign has been marred by poor planning, staff firings, and poor organization and execution.

Of course he was hamstrung by his recent voting record. IWR, the Patriot Act, etc, have alienated many who would have supported him.

The recent statements from his campaign spinning his loans to himself as evidence that he is in the race to the end may be the signal that the end is near. Many surmise that Kerry took the nomination for granted, and dismissed the others very early in the race. Big mistake on his part.

(Of course don't feel too sorry for John. He really isn't putting any of his multi million dollar properties at risk. His wife's vast fortune will guarantee the notes, and most certainly will pay them off.)

Too bad.

Kerry coulda been a contender.

that it's taken him this long to see the flow of his campaign

regardless of the fact that it's just a way around campaign finance laws, I would question whether he has seen it.

My post makes about as much sense as yours.

that's $250 mil right there . . . he'd be unstoppable, and the inaugural festivities might include a re-marriage.

yes.

nt

Prenuptual Agreement.

Then it's curtains for Kerry. Al Sharpton is polling higher than Kerry, so why Kerry's even wasting his money is beyond my comprehension at this point.

This is what happens when blind ambition, a sense of political entitlement, and delusion mix. A complete divorce from reality.

He expects Jesus or someone to come down and annoint him as the next ruler of America.

don't be surprised.

After NH, it's curtains for him when he gets consistent 4th place finishes.

Hawkeye-X

I think you're being a little generous there.

no matter where he finishes. You think you can bury Kerry so easily?
He will stay in it to the end.

ANd that's good... we need Kerry and Clark to stay in this as long as possible in order to take each other out and clear the way for Dean.

Kerry should have thought about it before he cast that fateful IWR vote. It's time to pay the piper!

And nothing's worked. This is really good news for posterity, because it's a political lesson for those who want to appease war criminals and then try to blow smoke over that deed later on in a campaign.

Learn well, DU. Your vote in Congress, like your words, are like cosmic boomerangs that are destined to return, with full speed, to their owner.

Kerry's done more to expose the BFEE than almost anybody. Moreover, he's put his life on the line to fight them.

What's your horse ever done? Besides ski, I mean.

If he manages a surprise second in Iowa, and becomes more competitive in NH, he may have a chance of reviving the campaign.. If he doesn't, then he probably is finished, since he seems to have little appeal in the February 2nd states, and probably wouldn't have the $$$ to run the ads.

I have a feeling Kerry will be paying the mortgage payments. Theresa's money is really knotted up in the Foundation. It will be noticed in the Kerry household. A little.

:shrug:

he should go all the way

I think his campaign is far from dead honest. I do like him, he is one of our best on environmental issues, I also like him standing for veterans rights, I think we must see how these primaries go, we must see then if a campaign is dead, and I dont think Kerry's is. I hope it isnt honest because I like him for the most part.

...but I don't think they are insurmountable and I don't think he's finished.

He's having difficulty raising money because of the obvious problems with the campaign's organization and the perception that he's finished.

He's in a statistical dead heat with Gephardt in IA, and both Kerry and Gephardt are within easy striking distance of Dean there. The IA caucuses are very fluid, and anything could happen there (including a Kerry win). Even a 2nd place finish would be the political news of the day (eclipsing Dean's win, which is expected) and give a big boost in NH.

Yes, he's betting a lot on IA, but an unexpectedly strong finish there coupled with an unexpectedly strong finish in NH would give the campagin a lot of momentum.

Don't forget, the majority of Democrats still can't name a single candidate, and don't even bother paying attention until their primary or caucus nears. Their answers in the polls are based on names being read to them, most of which they barely recognize.

Is, to be honest, is like betting on a 3 legged horse with a bit of brain damage going the wrong way in Kentucky Derby. He's good as dead.

second in fundraising. Just on Inside Politics - compared the candidates fundraising to money-making movies. Compared Kerry to Seabiscuit.

Kerry wouldn't be mortgaging assets if he was raising maoney this quarter.

The fact is, the frontrunners are able to raise money. When a candidate is deemed by the public to be out of the race, the money flow stops.

That's where Kerry finds himself now.

to be a horse apple.

It's ok, of the supposely electable candiates, I think Kerry is my candiate of choice.

than an internet onslaught by Starbucks stalwarts.

Kerry's the guy who voted for the war. He was so worried what Republicans might think of him that he forgot about what Democrats might think of him. I have to laugh! Kerry's supporters have no idea how disappointed we were when Kerry supported Madman George Bush.

to insure our security. Apparently Dean is, and he now cannot beat Bush.

I mean you seem to fixated on "military superiority", which history has shown is never held indefinitely by any single power.

So, what's with you and the military?

Are you implying a fetish, or mental illness to mask a smear? If so, it's not very subtle or clever.

If not, a little information for you: Just because Kerry puts America's national security ahead of his own political hide doesn't make him, or any of his supporters, an "imperialist."

Unlike Dean, who spent Vietnam on the ski slopes, Kerry's actually been to war. Kerry has no interest in seeing, let alone helping, its spread. That would be crazy. And that's why Kerry makes the better man.

political compromises.

You're in for a surprise. And ANOTHER disappointment.

well thought out political compromises except on things like, um, bringing up Christianity to pander to southern voters.


Give me a break.

the slightest bit of sarcasm in my previous post?

Also from Lieberman and Edwards and Braun and Kucinich and Sharpton and Gephardt

they'd run away with the primary.

against Bush*?

Oh dude....you are funny!

He betrayed and alienated his natural constinuency (including me) with his IWR vote.

When Kerry became pro-war, his basic identity became confused.

I am not enjoying his decline, but am not surprized by it.

not to be confused with the tyrant Edward Longshanks....

A tragic figure, always thinking he was doing the right thing but whose actions turned on him at every corner - leaving him weeping and lamenting his place and time, bewildered that the world didn't see him differently.

Amazing isnt it - how the more things change, the more they stay the same....

I know Dean supporters are frustrated by the constant attacks, but let us not sink to their level... we'll need Kerry supporters on our side one day.

He is a good man with a fine record.

On paper, he is perhaps the best candidate.

Certainly better than the endlessly touted Clark, who I USED to like before this board was filled with fauning mash-notes and divisive attacks on other candidates by his supporters.

Let's say it: Kerry was a genuine war hero who took an even more heroic stand against a criminal war (Vietnam).

He has stood for progressive causes for 35 years--not a few months like Clark, who voted for Reagan twice against better Democratic candidates.

I would like to support Kerry, but IWR blew for me, and he has seemed confused and panicked ever since.

Still I would take him over Johnny-come-lately, overrated, over-rpomited Clark any day.

At this point, seeing what I have seen from some of the Dean camp, I'll vote for the guy, but that's really about it. I give what little I can to John Kerry. I'm glad you recognize that Dean will need the supporters of other candidates to get elected. I think sometimes the Deaniacs let that slip their mind...

The Deaniacs I talk to in person are generally calm and polite, but here they sometimes seem confrontational and unwilling to discuss - "This bickering isn't good for the party" etc.

I agree, bickering is infuriating. Primary season IS for debate. Debate is healthy for the party, healthy for the candidates. Trashing a candidate, like some have in this thread and every damn thread in this forum doesn't do any one any good.

Can someone help me out here? John Kerry was on C-Span one night about a month ago and told a crowd in northwest Iowa somewhere about Benjamin Franklin's exit from the constitutional convention ( I think).

A woman was said to have asked Franklin, "Well, then, what sort of government do we have, Mr. Franklin?" And Franklin told her, "A democracy, if we can keep it."

If anybody can point me the right way on the source of that story, I would appreciate it. It's very inspiring to me.

And it's THAT John Kerry I respect and admire. I'm queasy about some of his votes, but his grasp of history is loads better than Bush. What I distrust most about Bush & Co. is their complete disconnect from the nation's history. There's no pathos or poetry. And it's a democracy I was hoping to help keep, so Bush has got to go.

... because he's done more than mortgage his house for his campaign. John Kerry's put his country's interests ahead of his own for most of his entire adult life. He knows how to use the office of the President to make this a better country for ALL Americans. What's more, Kerry's proved it. That's what makes him the best candidate for President.

He'll stay in because he still has a chance. He is doing fairly well in Iowa and is in 2nd place in New Hampshire.

I don't think he should be pulling out now. Instead, I think Edwards doesn't have a chance and should say, "Bye, bye."

Were going to see a Kerry/Edwards ticket in 2004! This is the strongest ticket out there and it will win. Trust Me!

That to me would be sort of cool.

Edwards
Dean
Clark

All candidates would be better than Bu$h INC., but these 3, in my view, will be the top 3 the closer we get.

I think Kerry stands a better chance than Edwards, to be honest with you.

.....Edwards, I think, will reach more with his "outsider" appeal and I hate to say it but his better looks.

He had a good chance to run an excellent campaign and I feel that he ruined his chance. Whoever was in charge of his campaign should seriously be hit, because a year ago Kerry was all anyone talked about for the Democratic nomination and he quickly lost that momentum. I have continually been unimpressed by the Kerry camp to turn their image around... he is still one of my top choices but I can understand why people have not been giving him support. His IWR and Patriot Act votes confused his supporters (myself included) and basically went against his principles.

I tried to. He just didn't do it for me. I never believed
he felt the fire in the belly that we need to win this thing.

He may want to drag this out to the end though, just to make
things tough on Dean and/or any other primary winners. The
tougher the better, I say. That way we're ready to fight
our real enemy.

John Kerry is no quitter. He is going to keep fighting and keep the good old fashioned torch of liberalism glowing in this campaign.

Many people here on DU are excited and energized by their chosen candidates. The excitement is wonderful to see. I am convinced, more than ever, that John Kerry is the right man to take on George W Bush next year.

It's a very visceral thing and I understand why others do not feel the same, but John Kerry speaks to the best part of me. He is an iconic liberal with the foreign policy credentials and biography to scare the hell out of Bush.

I wouldn't write off John Kerry just yet (hell, I'm always uncomfortable when ANY candidate is written off before a single vote has been cast), he may yet surprise everyone.

It makes me sad to think about it -- how lonely you will be without your favorite punching-bag. :evilfrown:

I would so love Kerry to lay a smackdown on Dean in NH.

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edited to show sarcasm on.